Chapter 3

It was evening when they had finally settled into town. Neither of them had a lot of baggage and so when Sasuke woke up they both sat outside the Inn. They sat in utter silence for a while before Sakura noticed a red bump forming on Sasuke's arms.

" They used a poisonous kunai!" she claims in utter horror. Sasuke looked at her with lazy eyes. Surely the Uchiha bloodline can't be immune to this too. Sasuke pats his wound lightly.

"You've already healed it, It's enough"

"No! I'm going to see if this town sells any herbs" Sakura stood up. " I can't have you die on me"

"Tsch" Sasuke smirks. As boisterous as ever huh Sakura?

"Very well" He walked over to her. "I'm coming with you"

Sakura rose an eyebrow at him. Since when had he ever wanted to help her. Oh right. She was the one who was going to heal him.

"Suit yourself" she walked before turning around. "Just stop touching the wound! It'll get worse!"

Sasuke droped his arms to the side. " Alright doctor"

The kunoichi huffed as she started walking faster with a smug Sasuke trailing behind her.

The town was smaller than she thought. A notice at the front of the town had said that it would take approximately less that 10 mins to walk around the perimeter. That was almost the size of Konoha's center! And the center of Konoha wasn't that big. Sakura looked to the line of small houses. There were people lighting up lanterns as the sunset. It must look really beautiful at night. She thinks.

A small pharmacy was located right next to a smaller inn than they were staying. The shop looked really messy and un organized she thought that her mother would have a fit if she ever saw this place. Heck, she might even clean up the place herself. The pinkette smiled at the thought.

She'd never admit it, but not matter how many times she'd done this she always missed home while she was away on missions. She entered the pharmacy with Sasuke trailing behind her. The duo stopped at the counter.

"Do you by any chance sell – herbs?" Sakura asked the man behind the counter. He started tapping his food with an inquired look.

"Yes I do" He says at last. " Why? Did someone get poisoned?"

"It's for my-" Sakura noded her head over to Sasuke who was looking around the shop. "Friend" she figured using the term ' teammate" seemed too stiff.

Sasuke looked up at this and stared at the back of Sakura's head. He felt oddly content by the term but at the same time he wishes she hadn't used it.

"Why'd you decide to become a medic?" He asked.

The question came out of no where and the kunoichi was visibly stunt. "huh?"

Sasuke sighs. "Back in the day" He began slowly which in turn annoyed the pinkette. " I'd never thought of you as the medic type"

"Back in the day I'd never thought that you'd betray the village"

"_"

Sakura clasps her hands over her mouth at what she'd just said. "I'm sorry.. i-it just came out!"

" It's ok" Said Sasuke with an unusually softer expression.

The shopkeeper goes to the back of the shop and brings out a small green substance with yellow stripes on it. " Here – herb" he said brightly as he placed it in a bag.

"Oh no need for a bag" says Sakura. She was just going to use the herb that's all.

"Alright then that would be 5 ryuu"

Only five? She remembered how the herbs in the village hidden in the sand were much more expensive. But then again it would have taken a long time to grow such herbs in the schorching heat. She doesn't complain as she payed the amount.

They walked out the shop and the sun had completely set. This side of the town was much darker than the rest. Sakura looked around to find a proper place to sit so she could treat the Uchiha.

"I saw a place" he said nonchantly.

"What?" Sakura asked.

Without answering her he walked off into the direction towards the inn they were staying. Sakura sighed and followed him, clutching onto the bag. She could barely see where she was going when she bumped into him as it was dark.

"There" Sakura rubbed her nose and looked at where he was pointing at. It was a bunch of benches around a fountain. Sakura thought that this was ideal and took a seat with Sasuke next to her.

She touched the forming red blister on Sasuke's shoulder. It wasn't as bad as she thought it was as it wasn't as rough, but it would be if it wasn't properly healed. She took out the herb and channeled some of her healing chakra into it and carefully touched Sasuke's wound.

Sasuke looked in wonder as she worked quietly yet efficiently. Her eyes looked just as determined as it looked when she first healed him earlier that day but the healing effect was twice as calming as her warm chakra was infused with the cool herbs. Sasuke could feel the irritation going away slowly as with his tiredness he felt from the poison.

When she was done Sakura wiped her forehead. "There, you're lucky you didn't have any poison seeped in you, otherwise that would have been a bigger problem"

Sasuke touched his fully healed wound. " Yeah"

The rosette frowned a little at this. " You know.. in other words you'd be dead without me here" All she wanted was a little gratitude.

" I'm not too sure about that" Sasuke answered with his eyes still on his healed skin. Sakura was about to have a comeback to this when unexpectedly the whole area illuminated.

The lanterns surrounding the town square were now lit. The town would have looked like a flat candle from an arieal point of view. It was as if the dark gloomy town during the day turned into a light warm home as the night fell. Sakura looked around in wonder. The flames from the lights were reflecting on Sasuke's eyes. A light in the dark. A dark in the light.

" This reminds me of o-bon" said Sakura her voice full of delight at the site.

"O-bon?" He turned to look at her.

"It's a festival to honour the dead!" Explained Sakura, she then immediately quiets down after realizing what she had just said. Sasuke noticed this and shook his head.

" I remember Itachi saying something like that when we were younger" He answered and hints that the subject was ok. Sakura didn't seem to have caught on as she looks at him in sadness.

Sasuke sighed. "Till he turned thirteen he would always find one way or another to honour the dead"

Finally taking the hint Sakura smiled. She too had been told the truth about Itachi from Kakashi a few days after the war had ended. The story shook her and all she thought about was how they had managed to do the impossible. No. Sasuke had turned himself around on his own. And Itachi had been the drive. And always will be. Had it been any other story. The out come might not have been as pretty.

" Last year Naruto and I went to the celebrations" She laughed at the memory. " He claimed that he saw the ghost of the Sandaime!"

The Uchiha chuckled lightly. " That dobe"

Sakura grined at the old nickname. " Yeah.."

"He's ready"

The kunoich rose and eyebrow. " What do you mean?"

" To become Hokage"

"But Sasuke-kun didn't you want to become Hokage too?" She asked.

"Didn't say I wasn't going to" He looks up. " I'm just saying that Naruto is at that level now"

Sakura sighs. That's going to be one battle she wasn't looking foreword to at all. Though the circumstances were entirely different to the last battle she had to watch between the two.

" Sakura" she bolted up at the sound of her name still not used to it. "What's your ambition" He looked at her.

"Ambition?"

Sasuke sighed. " You asked the fifth to train you for a reason"

Sakura laments remembering the day she made the choice to better herself. So far her journey and training with Tsunade had been all for the purpose of protecting her teammates and … bringing Sasuke back to Konoha as she made a promise to Naruto. But now that the goal had been achieved Sakura found that she's at a loss for words.

"I-I don't know" She says.

"You should probably have that figured out" Sasuke shook his head and stands up. "It's getting late the man might be here early so we should probably go"

Sakura nodded and they both walk down the irradiated path towards the inn.

Sakura woke up well before break fast. Having nothing to do till then she walked towards to the herb shop which was convinently opened to gather supplies so she wont have to rush or run out of supplies before they leave. Behind the counter wasn't the man from before but a young woman,

"Hello welcome to the store" she bowed. " Can I get you anything?"

Sakura smiled. " Yeah I just need some aka herb"

The woman chuckled. "Why? Are you going to make poison" she started gathering the red herbs from a nearby shelf when Sakura didn't answer she turned to look at her. "Oh"

"There's no such thing as being too prepared right?" Sakura placed 7 ryuu on the counter.

"No not at all" The shop keeper gives the aka herbs to Sakura. "Especially not for a kunoichi"

Sasuke was sitting in the outmost table in a small diner right next to their inn when he spots a flash of pink.

"Sakura" he called.

The said kunoichi stops and looks around her finding the source of her sound. Sasuke chuckles lightly at this. She finally spots him and sits on the chair infront of him.

"Sorry I went off to get some supplies" she showed him the bag. Sasuke raises an eyebrow and questions no further.

"Good thinking"

"Is the man here?" Sakura wasn't even sure. who they were suppose to be looking for. Tsunade hadn't given them any description. It's either that or the Hokage herself didn't quite know how he looked like.

"No" He says as he took a sip of his Miso soup.

They ate in silence. The meal wasn't extravagant. Miso soup and steamed rice. The latter was cold and not at all 'steamed' as promised and the kunoichi found the stone chair she was sitting on deeply uncomfortable.

"Excuse me"

The both looked up. There was a man in about his 40's holding a package.

He starts fidgeting. "Sorry to interrupt but I noticed your head bands, you're from Konoha yes?

"Yes and you are?" asks Sasuke.

" I think I am meant to give you this" He raises the package.

Sasuke takes the package and shakes it. A lot of content but not as heavy as expected. The man seemed to have recognized Sasuke as his expression changes. He touches the package again.

" On second thought, I think I should hand this to the Takigakure elder myself"

Sasuke did not move to release the package. "I was assigned this mission and I will do it"

The man had a concerned look in his face as he turned to face Sakura. The rosette on the other hand had an annoyed expression which then made him turn back to face Sasuke.

"I know a safer road" he stammers.

" That safe road would take you a month! We need this delivered by seven days!" Sakura growls and the man takes a step back. He stares at Sasuke again. The wanted posters had been taken down less than a month and yet here he was.

"I'm surprised the village would assign-"

"I'm not doing this for the village" The Uchiha cuts him off and Sakura's eyes widen. "I'm doing this for Itachi" with that he walks out of the diner with the package in hand. Sakura follows closely behind him.

For Itachi.. Didn't Sasuke value the village as his own person? Did he ever value it? Sakura didn't want to know.

The two steps out of the town and walks out into the hardest leg of their journey. The Kuro forest.