Sakura tied off the ends of the bandage around her midsection. It had barely been four days since she had originally encountered Sasuke and gotten struck by his chidori. Even though the wound was healing very well and soon wouldn't require bandages, she still felt the time since then stretch into years.

New skin was already growing into the cut she had received from Touru's sword. It was going to make scoring from the chidori look strange. At least it was not very deep. She sighed. This made three scars on her midsection. She already got enough stares at the hot springs back home.

She tsked and pulled on her blouse. She looked around at the inside of Sasuke's cottage. It was late afternoon and dirty yellow light filtered in through various cracks in the slats. She chuckled to herself thinking that five or six years ago Naruto would have tried to peek at her through the cracks. Just to be sure she had waited until the Konoha complement had left with him and Kakashi, and then to be extra certain she recommended Sasuke go into the village to check on Genmei and the other people the Iwa had harassed.

She giggled to herself remembering his stricken look as she pulled apart the knot on her obi earlier in the afternoon. She honestly didn't know if she would have gone ahead and pulled off her clothes right in front of him. That would have been quite the experience! But she had been quite certain that he wouldn't stay and watch and she wasn't wrong. Still, the once unthinkable idea of teasing him was proving to be simple and fun.

She tugged her blouse down and lined up her skirt. It felt good to wear her own clean(ish) clothes again. In some sense she was still in the field and on a mission, but her jonin uniform of pants and stiff vest were more or less rags now.

Sakura tidied up her things and pulled on her shoes. On her way out she paused. Behind the door Sasuke had hung the shirt he had been wearing. A threadbare, sleeveless kimono, black and short and with the Uchiha crest on both sides. It fit him tightly and still had wrinkles in it.

When Sakura had pointed out that Sasuke ought to go to the village and talk with Genmei he nodded. Then without further ado he'd stood up and pulled off his hitaiate. Sakura had been shocked silent but Sasuke didn't stop there. Sakura had tried very hard not to drool or stare openly when he pulled off the shirt, completely indifferent to her reactions. He didn't train as extensively or regularly as he once did, but he was definitely didn't slack off either and was still in fighting trim. And when he turned to pull out one of his ordinary kimonos, and she caught an eyeful of his strapping back, heat automatically flushed her face and neck.

She had stared at the meal of field rations in her lap and refused to look up when he walked out.

She could have sworn she heard him laugh.

She smiled at the kimono hanging in front of her. There was no use denying it, no matter how far apart they grew or what different paths they walked, he would still be ridiculously beautiful to her.

Although... She put her finger to a fraying edge. This kimono was clearly on its last legs, and being worn for two days straight had only put it closer to the scrap heap. Even washing it, she thought, could destroy it now. Her smile became sorrowful. Was this all that remained of a once monumental Uchiha pride?

Sakura pulled open the door and stepped outside. At least he was coming home. She smiled and the happiness pushed back her shoulders and tipped her face up to the sky. Sasuke was coming home.

She hadn't asked for any further details while Naruto was around, but she fully intended to investigate his plans and intentions. Sasuke still seemed extremely skittish around the idea that he would be a shinobi from Konoha once again. He clearly couldn't make up his mind about wearing the hitaiate.

Sakura studied the clearing around the cottage. It ended in a drop into the river with an edge of tall grasses and foxtails dividing the water from the land. Low clouds were changing from a dark gold to a fiery red as the sun sank in the horizon. Sasuke was right, this was an ideal place to keep an eye on the border. Any effect to the nature of the area would show up here and the village would quickly know of any change in human travel or trade.

She had wanted him to take a stand. To give a damn just once more. There was something about how he was not eager to face either the Konoha or Iwa ninja, how he was perfectly fine with abandoning his cottage that drove her nuts. Maybe it was selfish - hell, it probably was selfish - but she wouldn't let him think about shinobi life in the past tense.

And in the end... he lost all of his privacy, he gave up a lot of sleep, he'd been in very close company with Naruto, he'd listened to nobles prattle on, and heaven knew what a hassle the elders had put him through and finally she'd summoned him into a battle that ended with him replaying the worst night of his life. Yet somehow that hadn't pushed him away.

Sakura permitted herself a little grin as she remembered him taking down Sai. He had reacted flawlessly in defense of his teammates, it thrilled her in more ways that one.

"You look happy with yourself."

Sakura jumped. "Sasuke-kun!" He was a few feet away, carrying a satchel on his back.

"Hn."

She narrowed her eyes. "You were hiding your chakra!"

"Hn." A smirk flashed across his face. "You should be more alert."

Sakura hitched, her eyes growing wide. "You're going to lecture me now? You snuck up on me for no good reason! If I had been on alert I probably would have skewered you with a kunai!"

Sasuke shrugged. "But you didn't because you weren't." He finished walking up toward her and smoothly dropped the satchel and sat down on a large stone against the cottage wall.

Sakura made a frustrated sound. She hadn't missed how Sasuke could cut her with just a few choice words. She wanted to spit out something equally sharp but Sasuke interrupted her before she could decide on anything suitable.

"Here." Sasuke held up a hand to her. In it was a plum. "Those orchards by the pier on the other side of the river belong to Kouki's family. Things have been so tense that they had been putting off taking the harvest to markets further away. They're glad to get back to business."

Sakura took the plum. She was still a little miffed at Sasuke but she wouldn't reject a kind gift. "Thanks." She sat down on the step in front of the door to Sasuke's cottage and bit into the plum. It was juicy and flavorful. "Don't tell them, but I think I saw Kakashi swipe a half dozen plums."

"Hn. I saw." Sasuke bit into his plum. "They're glad the shinobi are gone, but the treaty is going to cause them some trouble. Technically a third of their orchards are in another country."

"You've given this a little thought."

"Hn. They will have to pay taxes and tolls in two countries and because they live here, the Land of Earth could seize the property at any time. They could say that Kouki or members of his family are spies and arrest them."

"So even though you got the treaty this isn't settled."

Sasuke took in a breath and leaned back on the wall. "I don't think things are ever totally settled. Rocks settle. Human beings live."

"Do you really think the Land of Fire will seek an amendment to a treaty it just fought to get in order to protect one family?"

"No. That's why I told Naruto to look into proposing the Land of Earth purchase the orchards from Kouki's family. It would sting to lose that much property but they would become very wealthy."

Sakura blinked at Sasuke. Just when did he become so canny?

"You looked like you want to know what Naruto and I talked about. Stuff like that. Stuff I saw on the road from regular people who sometimes get screwed over because they're not shinobi." Sasuke frowned for a moment and then took another bite of his plum.

After a moment of chewing Sasuke spoke again, "I doubt I'll ever go on another real ninja mission again."

Sakura could only stare at him.

Sasuke finished off his plum with another bite and turned to Sakura. "Even Naruto can't really go on missions anymore as the Hokage, and I know you are very busy in Konoha. Teams have to specifically request combat medics, right? Otherwise you only go out on really rare missions. Right?"

Sakura's skin prickled with goosebumps and she pressed her lips together, fearing she might cry. The man in front of her... Sasuke Uchiha...

Sasuke seemed to react to the look on her face and he appeared a bit unhappy. "Look, I know you wanted me to come back and be a shinobi again, and Naruto wants the same thing. But -"

He was cut off when Sakura flung away the remainder of her plum and tackled him with a hug. "I've missed you so much, Sasuke-kun! You don't even know!"

He was stiff in her arms for a few seconds but right when she was about to pull away, embarrassed and blushing, a hand landed on her back. She could feel Sasuke chuckle softly and when he turned his head to quietly say her name into her ear she never wanted to let go again.

However, her side finally began to ache and Sasuke straightened himself like he was quite done hugging her. Sakura pulled herself away slowly, praying her heartbeat and breathing would go back to normal soon. As she moved she felt Sasuke's hand move up and off her back. She caught sight of his face and realized he was watching her hair spill through his fingers.

She paused her movement and found there were only a few scant inches between them. Sasuke's eyes flickered to hers, took in her face. He seemed to recognize their closeness. Sakura's breath caught and her lips parted.

The world fell silent for a moment as Sakura and Sasuke stared at each other, hands almost about relinquish contact, breath softly reaching each other. His obsidian eyes flickered to her hair and then back. His eyebrow twitched and the enchantment holding Sakura still released her.

She sat back on her ankles before getting to her feet. She resumed sitting on the step, heart beating so hard it felt like it could choke her. Get a hold of yourself, she thought, with increasing impatience for the voice at the back of her head that yelled at her for not diving at Sasuke lips first and having her way with him. She was sure he already thought she was a lunatic for willingly going with the Iwa in the first place. And then she had announced she loved him at the same time that she almost crushed him...

"Sakura."

Her heart stuttered and for a moment the world dimmed as Sakura came perilously close to passing out. She forced in a breath in and out to clear away the shadows. Then she answered Sasuke. "Yes, Sasuke-kun?"

His voice was very quiet. "We'll figure out what happens next back in Konoha."

She gave a little grunt and nodded. He, of course, meant with regard to his life, whether he could be a shinobi from Konoha, or what exactly. Her silly falling all over herself and saying dumb things like she loved him... that was for her to get over. Of course. So silly.

Sasuke cleared his throat and then was silent. Sakura glanced over at him. He had a serious look on his face like he was trying make sure he had the right words. "I want to know about your mission - the one where you destroyed the tower and saved Shikamaru's eye."

Sakura hitched. "Oh... I guess I never finished that story. And I shouldn't be surprised you saw Shikamaru, then. Did he tell you about it?"

"Not really, I guessed you worked on his eye and he said it was on that mission. I want to know what happened."

Sakura nodded and let her restless hands smooth down her skirt. She had made two attempts to tell the story and was somewhat reticent to finish. Before, when it seemed like Sasuke would run off and she would never see him again she just hoped to tell him something about herself to explain who she had become. She hadn't expected he would actually want to know the whole story. And now... now that he wasn't going anywhere she was nervous of the impact it would have on how he thought of her.

Especially now that he was almost being nice to her.

"I really had to..." She sighed. She had to admit it wasn't just what Sasuke might think, but what everyone already thought of her. "I always hated hearing that I did the best I could, that I saved my teammates lives and that's all that matters." She gave a bitter laugh. "Someone tried to tell me it was heroic..." Sakura pushed her humorless laugh into her hands and covered her eyes.

When her breath was steady she put her hands on her lap. "It's not like there were monsters or ridiculously powerful shinobi among the enemy. There were tough fights for all of us. But they were just ordinary shinobi, like us." Sakura looked back down the clearing toward the river. A wind had started, light but chilly. "They had made the area their home and they defended it furiously. Our orders were to force them out. They could surrender, they could run or they could die. We didn't question the intelligence, we just assumed they were rogue shinobi and street thugs."

Sakura sat back and pulled her arms around her waist. "Okay, so I told you I took down the tower. I didn't wait for any cleanup, I went to rendezvous with Hinata. She had doses of the antitoxin with her so if she got to our teammates she could wake them up. But I knew she'd need backup to get out of there with them."

Sakura had always considered the first mistake she made to have been the worst. Despite knowing Hinata for years, they had rarely trained together. That was the primary reason, she imagined, that Hinata was taken down so quickly when she arrived on the scene.

Hinata had been fighting by herself. Sakura later realized that shooting off the flare had alerted the enemy to her presence, and they had stopped dragging off Shikamaru and Kiba to fight Hinata.

Sakura found her way through the maze of tents to Hinata. She was a glorious flurry of movement.

"Hinata got in the middle of the group and administered the antitoxin to Shikamaru and Kiba and Akamaru at the same time that she fought the enemy." Sakura smiled crookedly at the memory. "She was so amazing, flawless technique, speed, reactions and everything. They couldn't get around her Byakugan and she wouldn't give in to their greater numbers. The enemy were forced to fight her up close."

Sakura couldn't track Hinata's rapid movements, the long katas of kicks and hand strikes pushed back her opponents while her hair moved gracefully, slicing through the air. She remembered thinking if Naruto could see Hinata he would definitely fall for her.

"The poison was a nasty sedative that knocked the target out within a minute by eating away at their chakra reserves. You could stay awake if you removed enough of the toxin or neutralized it quickly, but the longer it stayed in the system the worse off you would be. Then, even with the antitoxin you could wake up again but your chakra would be low and you'd be sluggish." Sakura explained. "That's why Shikamaru and Kiba received the antitoxin but weren't in top condition."

She frowned and rubbed her hands over her chilly legs. "Sometimes I still think that when I found them I should have tossed in a poison gas of my own. I held back because I was worried it might be even worse for Shikamaru and Kiba. The poison was lethal and even with the antidote they would have been in danger. Also I thought I'd want to take a couple prisoners for questioning." Sakura's voice sounded hollow to her own ears and she shook her head.

"Instead I waited until I thought the moment was right and then jumped in to fight."

Sakura closed her eyes for a moment and steadied herself. Then she proceeded to tell her story to Sasuke mechanically, as if she was reciting the events during a debriefing.

She recalled there were four of the enemy, three of them had been carrying Shikamaru and Kiba and Akamaru away though she had no idea why. When she jumped into the fight she meant to attract the attention of two of the fighters, to balance things out with Hinata. She easily knocked one down but looked up to find she had inadvertently created an opening for the enemy to throw a kunai at Hinata. It stuck in her leg and the woman screamed and fell, clutching her leg. Sakura realized the kunai was poisoned.

The enemy turned on Sakura and blocked her path to Hinata. Two of the enemy, a man and a young woman, engaged her right away but a third seemed unable to move. Shikamaru had regained consciousness and forced himself up to one knee, though Sakura could plainly see he was weak.

It was everything Sakura could do to keep the enemy close enough that they couldn't throw their weapons at her while avoiding their poisoned blades. She reasoned that Hinata's Byakugan could have given her a slight advantage if the poison carried chakra in it.

But then there was movement behind the two shinobi she fought and realized Shikamaru stumbled back, screaming and clutching his face. His tenuous Shadow Paralysis had snapped and his target had slashed at his face.

Sakura threw caution to the wind and knocked the man into the young woman, leaving them both to stumble together while she ran to Shikamaru's aid. Another ally reached the enemy who stood over him first. Kiba, weak and sluggish, but otherwise healthy, bowled into the enemy and knocked him flat.

Sakura nodded to Hinata and got Kiba to go to her. She looked at the enemy and frowned. She could only account for three now, but there had been four when she had joined the fight.

The man who had been fighting her snarled and rushed her with a knife dripping with poison out in front. Options for non-fatal responses were dwindling and then she was blocking and parrying his slashes with her own long knife.

Behind her Shikamaru groaned, unable to keep his hand away from his face and the other two shinobi advanced on Kiba and Akamaru. The man and his dog both had swallowed soldier pills and growled in unison. But Sakura knew the poison had eaten away a great deal of their chakra reserves, and what was worse, the enemy knew it as well.

Rapidly Sakura enacted a risky strategy. She leapt into a handspring toward the man fighting her. At the point one finger touched the ground she pushed a precisely controlled jolt of chakra into the ground, giving more power into her spring into the air and creating a fissure under the man's feet.

While in the air she threw a kunai with an exploding tag toward the two fighting Kiba and Akamaru. The explosion knocked them into the man-beast clone's waiting claws.

The man Sakura was fighting lost his balance and as a result flung out the arm holding onto his knife. Sakura easily caught his wrist as she landed behind him and snapped it in her grip. The man hollered in pain and let go of the knife.

Sakura never second guessed herself as she took possession of the knife and sliced his throat. She didn't pause before leaping to Kiba's side. The kunoichi had an arm around the male shinobi who seemed to take the brunt of the explosion. She screamed at Sakura and barely hauled her companion away to avoid Sakura's slashing arc.

Sakura sighed as she remembered the kunoichi's curses. At the time Sakura barely registered them, "...bitch, whore, shit-face c&# rag..." She was about to charge the young woman to kill her and her wounded ally but Shikamaru cried out in pain and Kiba called her name.

Sakura held her ground until the woman turned and pulled the man away toward a large tent further down the path.

Sakura barely remembered her actions. She first administered the anti-toxin to Hinata. She hadn't quite passed out but was swiftly losing her senses. Then she turned to Shikamaru and administered field surgery.

Kiba noted that they were completely exposed there and Sakura agreed. However, the enemy's poison was a serious problem. Kiba agreed.

All too soon two of the enemy emerged from the tent. Sakura had only finished reconnecting the tiny capillaries in Shikamaru's eye but hadn't been able to heal the surrounding flesh. Sakura asked Kiba to buy her time to finish healing Shikamaru but stopped when her patient put a hand on her arm.

Shikamaru could see enough of the situation with his other eye and he gave Sakura her orders. The poison was too much of a problem. She had to get into the tent and take all the supplies she could find and stop the person producing the poison. Kiba and Akamaru would back her up while Shikamaru would get Hinata out of the scene.

Sakura attempted to argue but right then Kiba engaged the enemy - both of them kunoichi. Akamaru barked fiercely and assisted his master. Sakura was annoyed but rushed to carry out her orders. She quickly packed coagulants into Shikamaru's wound and bandaged him up.

Sakura turned toward Kiba's fight and took note that the older kunoichi wore tool holsters similar to her own. Another medical ninja. She didn't need to study the weapons they wielded to know they were coated in poison. Sakura was willing lay down money that the medical ninja in front of her was the creator of the poison.

Sakura pulled out a kunai attached to a spool of wire and began to run toward the fight. At the same time the younger kunoichi raised a finger to point at Sakura and snarled "that's HER" with the most venom she had ever heard loaded into two words.

With an explosive "BITCH!" the woman threw down something in her hand. She and the other kunoichi leapt clear and a cloud erupted from the ground.

Sakura had no time to cry out a warning to Kiba. She held her breath but could already feel her skin itching as the poison landed on her arms and face. Akamaru let out a terrible howling whine. She pulled a dose of antitoxin from her pouch and administered it to herself. Then she jumped clear of the cloud and located Kiba and Akamaru.

She also saw the kunoichi pair about to descend on Kiba and Akamaru. With one hand she flung out the kunai and used its weight to wrap the wire around the medic's legs and drag her down. The woman crashed to the ground while the girl screamed to her.

The remaining kunoichi turned to Kiba and Akamaru. They were both coughing and whining - even though they still had enough anti-toxin in their veins to keep from falling unconscious once again, the poisoned gas filled their noses to the point their fighting ability was negated. Howling curses at Sakura, she ran for them, poisoned blade at the ready.

Sakura abandoned securing the medic to protect Kiba and Akamaru. She collected Kiba in one arm and scooped up Akamaru with the other. She turned, intending to spot a place, any place where she put them out of the way.

She almost didn't notice the girl had stabbed her in the stomach until the enemy-ninja gave a cracked half-laugh. The younger kunoichi stared up at Sakura, her grin a mask of loathing and hysteria.

At this point in the story Sasuke interrupted. "She was a girl?"

Sakura blinked. She had quite forgotten her surroundings. The air was significantly colder and the wind was sharper. "Yes, maybe 14. Some good instincts, but naive. I wouldn't rank her better than chunin." Sakura frowned. "She was shorter than me. She had swung down wildly. I kind of think she was amazed she even hit me."

Sakura's fingers absently traced over her abdomen.

"How did you get away?"

"Well Kiba and Akamaru couldn't fight, but they weren't unconscious either. The girl was so stunned she just stood still for a second. Right then Akamaru got away from me and kind of just flopped over on her, knocking her down."

Sakura continued by noting that the older kunoichi had gotten free of the wire and was running back to the tent. Sakura was not about to let her get away, not after all she and her team had suffered. She pulled out the knife and began to work chakra into the wound even as she half ran, half stumbled toward the tent the kunoichi ran into.

She absolutely could not allow the woman to emerge with more poison.

Behind her Sakura heard a barking whine as Akamaru was knocked down.

The young kunoichi cried out "No way in hell! Earth Style: Brick House!"

The ground under Sakura hummed with chakra. Walls of bricks surged out of the ground, stacking on themselves, and then creating a slanted roof over the tent.

Sakura had had enough. Other than knocking down the tower she had been holding back a good amount of her chakra for the purposes of healing. But if they had earth style on their side then they could conceivably move underground to get away. She would end this fight now.

"SHANNARO!" She dug toes into the ground and drove her fist into the brick wall.

Sakura stumbled back, chakra dipping well below the half way mark and her wound throbbing. If she were watching a patient do what she had just done she would have been furious at their recklessness. Instead she only felt numbness in her heart as the walls collapsed crushing everything under them.

A few dozen feet away she became aware of wailing and screaming. The girl was mindlessly struggling against Kiba and sobbing.

Sakura slowly realized the kunoichi was howling for her mother.

Sakura sat back on the step outside Sasuke's cottage and leaned on the door. She was gripping her arms and shaking. It was impossible to tell if it was from the cold wind or from memories. Dark clouds blotted out the sunset and were sweeping up from the horizon. Sakura felt a stone pressing against her heart and she couldn't breathe properly.

Sakura explained, her voice toneless, lost. "They were rogue ninja who wanted to make a name for themselves exploring new jutsus and selling stolen hidden jutsus to the highest bidders. That's why they wanted to take us alive. It was easier to get live specimens to show off how secret jutsus worked. At least for this medic kunoichi. A different ninja tools specialist built the thing in the tower." Sakura's voice faded to nothing as her thought drifted back to that awful day.

Warmth descended on one upper arm and she looked to her side to find Sasuke next to her, a curious look on his face.

"We should go inside," he said.

Sakura shivered hard and pulled back from Sasuke's hand. "I...After I healed myself enough and Kiba tied up the girl we started to pull up the bricks."

Sasuke frowned and put his hand back on her arm. He put his other hand on her other shoulder. "Sakura."

"No, I... we dug them up." Sakura found she couldn't bear to look at Sasuke. "All of them. They had an underground system. That's where they hid the kids."

"Sakura," Sasuke insisted. He tried to pull her close but she shook him off. "It's getting too cold out here; it's going to rain soon."

"Didn't you hear me, Sasuke? They had kids underground. The walls collapsed on the tent and then crushed the cave underneath. I killed the girl's mother and her little brothers!" A gasp ripped through her lungs. "And her father. I killed that girl's whole family!"

Sakura felt cold. Lost. It was wrong, Sasuke touching her and holding her like she was broken and needed care. She wasn't the one who had lost everything. He should be angry! He should leave her in disgust, but instead he pulled her to her feet and let her stand in his arms until she could breathe normally.

"You wanted to save everyone."

"What?" She gulped and looked up at Sasuke.

"You wanted to save your team and stop the enemy. Just killing the enemy from the beginning would have been more effective but you wanted to save them from that."

"But..."

"You and Naruto have always been like that." Sasuke closed his mouth with a click as he regarded Sakura.

She tensed under his scrutiny. Her gaze fell to his shoulder. "It doesn't matter." Her voice became hollow. "From the time I pulled the bricks off their tiny bodies I just..." Her arms hung down loose at her sides. She couldn't say it. She couldn't quite tell Sasuke what it felt like when her heart hardened and shattered at the sight of two little boys holding on to each other. The bodies of two little...

"You've put protecting your comrades above saving strangers from themselves." Sasuke's hands swept down her chilled arms and stopped at her hands.

Sakura could feel numbness within and without her body. Her voice was flat. "The only thing that mattered was getting the job done. Becoming a jonin after that was easy. I wouldn't accept failure from myself or anyone else. It pissed people off sometimes but..." She shrugged.

"You wanted someone to be mad at you. To yell at you, openly judge you and find you wanting. Isn't that it?" Sasuke's voice was very close to stern.

Sakura shivered. She began shaking and she couldn't stop. She had nothing to say and she couldn't look into Sasuke's face.

Sasuke let go of one hand to put his arm around her shoulders. He rested his chin on her head and held her still. "I know the feeling." He wrapped his arms even more tightly around her. She gingerly put her arms around him.

Sasuke spoke softly, right into her ear. "You told me you feel coldness and protectiveness for the people you care about."

Sakura blinked and recalled the secret conversation they had while she was the Iwa's prisoner. She had been about to tell him more about her feelings before he stopped her.

"That's why you killed those Iwa. To protect me."

"Sasuke..."

"Thank you."

Sakura could feel Sasuke's warm throat against her cold nose. She could smell him and feel his pulse against her skin. The stone pressing on her heart softened and began to melt. She swallowed hard and clutched his kimono at his back.

They stood quietly until Sakura felt a large drop of rain hit her arm. Another hit the ground and another landed on Sasuke's back. The rain then began to fall hard and fast. Sasuke guided her in the door and leaned over to pick up the satchel of food. Then he moved inside and shut the door firmly against the rain.

I don't remember what I was going to say so... please review! レビューおねがいします！