xxx
It's been two days since Sakura got a hold of the Uchiha scrolls, and she can say now that she is a very knowledgeable woman. She is also a very tired woman, and rightly so, after reading meters of script, and picking out the information with the most relevance for hours on end.
Now she waits patiently in the Chief Surgeon's office looking squeaky clean and dressed in civilian clothing for a change. This scheduled meeting will make up for the last appointment that Sakura missed, and she hopes that her extended notes will make up for it. She sighs out, and sips at the coffee, which is cradled in her grasp. Sakura closes her eyes, and wishes for her tired headache to go away.
She has had a really full on week with the sharingan study, as well as the developments in her love life, and Sakura wants a short break.
In fact, it wasn't until this morning that she finally went home to her apartment.
Everything was just as she left it when she bolted from the house two days prior: her bed was unmade, her dishes were in the sink, and the light in the bathroom and hallway were still on. Sakura wasn't at Sasuke's for any nefarious reasons though! There's a simple explanation –
As soon as the two of them returned from the archives she got to work. Sakura fell into her bag full of scrolls and barely came out of the haze to tend to herself. The events that happened around her were few, but she remembers vague voices and activity; people talking to Sasuke. She didn't look up from her work and she thinks they ignored her, for the most part. Sakura recalls eating food that Sasuke placed in front of her, though she isn't sure what it was or what it tasted like.
Sasuke spoke very little to her during her time at the Main House, and nothing happened that Sakura considers romantic. Still, a secret smile comes to her face as she thinks about waking up on Sasuke's couch, covered with a blanket, with a pillow beneath her head, and no recollection of how she got there. It's not much, but it tells her that Sasuke does care.
Despite this fact, Sakura doubts that he wants her to stay in his house for reasons other than work, and she knows that she wouldn't have encroached on him either. Sakura is nothing, if not observant, and while she may spend time thinking of Sasuke, she is no fool; the last thing she wants to do is crowd him or make him feel uncomfortable.
The familiar click of low set heels approaches and Sakura sits up straighter. She attempts to rid the tired expression on her face, and smiles for her boss.
"Good morning Sakura." Tsunade says as she passes the threshold. The blonde is dressed in her regular green get up with an aging lab coat over the top. Tsunade takes a seat, placing her mug of coffee on the tabletop. She pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
"What have you got for me?" She asks expectantly. Then, she peers over the rim of her spectacles at Sakura.
Her brown eyes narrow, "You look like shit." She observes, before smiling triumphantly. "You must have something good then."
Sakura grins at the statement.
"You bet I do." She says.
Her superior is correct in assuming she has something of worth. It's Sakura's usual m.o to throw herself into work until she solves whatever puzzle she is immersed in. Sakura is a great healer and kunoichi, and she loves her position dearly, but she thinks that if neither of those happened for her, she would have been a great lab tech or researcher.
Sakura sips at her drink and places it on the desk in front of her. She takes in a deep breath, and as she breathes out, she begins -
"Sasuke took me to the Uchiha vault, in the archives. It was amazing." Sakura gushes. "It's almost unbelievable that there is so much history down there, right under everyone's noses."
Tsunade smirks and it turns into a knowing smile. "That's good to hear, I was hoping that you'd see it." Her brows draw together momentarily, "I asked Sasuke to access the vault after your first successful mission. The Hokage tells me that Team 7 is working together well. I can see from the ANBU observation report that Sasuke is proving to be integrating better than expected – " She pauses, choosing her words carefully. "The fact that Sasuke showed you this information is more than I thought."
She reaches for Sakura's hand and squeezes it briefly.
"Good work Sakura"
Sakura smiles loftily and she enjoys the feeling of pride from Tsunade's praise. She is also struck with surprise though, and it's because of Sasuke. His behaviour of late is starting to make sense; why he had a sudden interest in showing her his family's sacred places; why he didn't seem interested in any of the information in the vault; why he seems to be lost in thought a lot.
Knowing Sasuke, he probably went through everything in the vault in secret, and then decided to bring her in on it.
However, the fact that she was included at all means a lot to her…
Briefly, she wonders if Sasuke was holed up in the archives the days after their mission, and if that's the case, perhaps he wasn't avoiding Sakura as much as she thought he was.
"The archives have survived because of long standing protection. They have been beneath Konoha since the village was first conceived, which gives us a plethora of history. Unfortunately, the protection on the Uchiha Vault is very old and stopped us from cutting into the stone. The only way we can access this information is Sasuke." Tsunade leans forward and holds out her hand, palm facing upward.
"So what secrets do you have for me?" She asks, and Sakura quickly reaches for her work. She opens the satchel on her lap and pulls out a stack of papers that are about two centimetres thick.
"This is what I have so far." She begins to rattle on. " – Basic sharingan properties, the different forms of the sharingan, the age that it usually activates, a basic history – Uh, Sasuke's techniques." She bites her lower lip in thought, and continues to list, "A summary of Uchiha Fugaku and Shisui's sharingan capabilities, and a few dot points on the main family, and the branch families. Sasuke has given me access to everything, Tsunade-sama, and I'm sure he will take me down there again." She takes in a much-needed breath and finishes, "You'll also be happy to know that I have Itachi's scroll."
Tsunade listens as she flicks through the pages, and when Sakura stops, the woman nods curtly, pushing her glasses up to sit on the top of her head.
"Good work Sakura. Compile everything and have it in as soon as possible. After that Shizune, you, and myself, have some work to do."
"Of course, Tsunade-sama." Sakura inclines her head.
Tsunade reaches for a black notebook and flips through the pages. She lands on one, poking it silently with her finger - then, she nods in decision.
"Give me time to read over this." She says, and she straightens up the pages of Sakura's draft by tapping the stack on the table. "I'll have it delivered to your apartment as soon as I can."
Sakura nods slowly, trying to decide if this is the best course of action. In the end, she chooses to say,
"Could you please have it delivered to the Uchiha compound, Tsunade-sama? I've been conducting a lot of my work there."
Sakura can feel herself stiffen as her boss, and friend, stares intently at her. She wonders what Tsunade finds in her gaze, because her lips form into a thin line, and her brown eyes narrow as she nods.
"If you think that's best." She says, agreeing to Sakura's request. The medic isn't quite sure what her mentor means by that, but she thanks her anyway.
"Now go home and get some rest, you can't get anything done looking like that."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Sakura inclines her head out of respect, and then stands. She tosses her empty disposable cup in the rubbish, and slings her satchel over her shoulder. She makes her way to the door.
"Sakura." Tsunade addresses, and Sakura's hand curls around the frame of the entryway as she turns back to look at her respected teacher.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama?"
The blonde fixes her with a serious expression that is filled with unsaid warning.
"I hope you're being careful."
Sakura meets her eye and nods solemnly.
"As much as I can be." She replies, and she receives a small smile in response, it looks a little sad and mirrors something that Sakura feels sometimes.
"I'll talk to you later then." Sakura smiles and exits the office. She lets her feet lead her home, and not a minute too soon. She has missed her bed, and after she scoffs down as much food as possible, Sakura will enjoy a really long nap.
xxx
She sleeps for sixteen hours and doesn't wake until it is early into the morning. Sakura knows that her sleep pattern will be messed up but she sits up anyway and turns on her bedroom lamp. She has a moment where she sits there, in a state of nothing, before she clicks on. Sakura crosses her legs and reaches beside her bed for her bag, and she plonks the satchel down in front of her.
Her clock reads 2.30am, which isn't too bad. She will probably work on this until the sun rises.
A groggy yawn escapes her, and Sakura stretches her arms above her head, arching her back in the process; she cracks her neck next, and her eyes begin to look livelier. She glances at the photo of her team that sits beside her lamp, and she feels a familiar motivation start to pool in her stomach. A coffee would make this easier but Sakura doesn't want to get up.
She does want to finish Shisui's scroll, before she begins with Fugaku's and Itachi's tomorrow. However, Sakura skimmed Itachi's earlier, and she suspects that Sasuke has already given her the information she needs. Sasuke is surprisingly knowledgeable about his brother, for the little time that he spent with Itachi -and even before they visited Konoha's archives. Knowing that he is interested in his brother makes Sakura want to take her time with Itachi's scroll, and try and learn a little about the man. She wants to ask Sasuke but she isn't sure if that is such a good idea.
Sakura and Sasuke might talk sometimes, though it's never about the important things; the stuff that keeps him up at night.
Sakura doesn't tell Sasuke her own demons either, so she tries not to feel the sting, or wonder when he will let her in; they will open up to each other when it's the right time, just like everything else.
Sakura unfurls the off-white fabric and locates the temporary sticker that marks her place in the text; she pulls off the note and tosses it in the bin.
Re-reading the last line she read, Sakura slips into her work, making notes and observations on her scratch pad in her lap. Without realisation she enters a state of contentment that hasn't been possible for a while. She is alone with her research and there is no one close enough to bother her; she has missed this.
The anxiety that Sakura has learnt to associate with Sasuke slowly becomes hidden, and she relaxes in her favourite way. She sighs happily to herself, unheard by anyone, immersed in the words of the scroll.
For a while, Sakura forgets to think about Sasuke – and while this moment isn't full of love, it isn't full of pain either.
xxx
For most of the day Sakura works and thinks, napping on and off. Honestly, she's pleased with her progress. She is happy that she decided to take some alone time because her efficiency rate has risen and there are no longer unsightly hollows beneath her eyes.
She has yet to read Sasuke's scroll, or his mother's; she is saving them for last, when she has gotten through the in depth stuff. Today she has mostly written pages on the male heirs - more specifically their sharingan abilities, and unique doujutsu traits, as well as sharingan related illnesses. The main family has also had some heiresses, however, and Sakura's notes are as extensive as they can be.
Unfortunately, many of Uchiha heiresses did not assume a life of combat, and instead entered the home. Sakura questions if it is what they wanted, or if it had to do with the times and the male dominated community. Sakura is lucky to live in a time where she can do whatever she wants, whether it is working, or child rearing, or both. Obviously, Sakura is not an Uchiha, and she would never have clan restrictions put upon her in the same way, but she can imagine. Civilian upbringing isn't as strict as clan living, and there are a lot less family members to deal with. Regardless, Sakura is happy with her roots.
Sakura has been reading a lot of general Uchiha history, and what she finds interesting is that there were hundreds upon hundreds of clan members, and all had a rudimentary knowledge of martial arts. She also knows that they were a diligent people, who were controlled in nature, and were proud of their sharingan history. The history log of the Uchiha Clan, from the main archive, was very helpful in filling in gaps that weren't provided in the cold, factual scrolls.
Sakura has gone through the Uchiha main family scrolls thoroughly, and has rapidly been able to expand the sharingan data. It's interesting to her that although Fugaku -Sasuke and Itachi's father - did not have the mangekyo, his power level and control was considered legendary. She's been reading up on him this afternoon and she's learnt a fair bit.
He wasn't a prodigy like Itachi, but his reputation was extremely formidable, and his mission log is unprecedented. Sakura wonders if his exemplary control was instilled through generations of clan teachings, because there were other Uchiha like him. Sakura is also curious to know how many Uchiha lost their control and fell to the darkness; how many since the first Uchiha brother's grappled for power?
The almost Uchiha Coup was neutralised by Itachi, and the history in between then and now is unknown to the public, but Itachi is commemorated in Konoha's public history, and is no longer considered a criminal.
Many call him a hero.
Sakura doesn't know all of the true details about Konoha's history, because the confidential logs have left things vague. She has hunted for more, but the best she came upon was in Shizune's first look at the sharingan. Sakura learned that Sasuke's father tried to stage a take over of the village, and Itachi completed his job as a shinobi of Konoha, wiping out the clan upon order.
The copy of Itachi's order was destroyed long ago, but elder testimony, along with Naruto's account of Itachi's contact, and Sasuke's influence, had Kakashi pushing the motion through, to pardon Itachi. Though, Sakura thinks that Kakashi would have done it without a push. He may be a lazy Hokage, but he is a fine man.
They are ninja and the work doesn't always line up with personal morals and beliefs. Itachi completed his mission in taking out his clan, and Sakura assumes that it was the hardest that he ever completed.
And while Itachi completed his task, he didn't kill Sasuke, and for that, Sakura is incredibly thankful.
Still, she knows that Sasuke isn't without troubles, and she wishes that he had a better story - something less painful.
As Sakura sits at her kitchen table with scrolls strewn around her, and the thick log in front of her, she closes the pages, and her fingers brush across the lace woven cover. Her eyes fall upon the faded Uchiha insignia that sits on the front of the book.
Her heart aches and a picture of Sasuke comes to mind. Sakura is pulled from the haze of her work and she realises just how avidly she has been dissecting this information.
These people, the Uchiha, while they are interesting, and a medical fascination…they are also gone. This book is a written account of an almost extinct line, and it hurts deeply to think of. She feels guilty for being fascinated. Like a scientist at work, Sakura has begun to separate the evidence from her emotions…and she must keep working.
Sakura thinks, 'This shouldn't be easy.'
She's not recounting the history of strangers, but Sasuke's clan.
The familiar name slips suddenly from her lips and Sakura is becomes extremely restless. She is comfortable in her apartment, but there is something missing.
It takes Sakura half an hour for her to shower, dress, and primp.
Sakura hauls all of her research as she walks down the dirt streets of Konoha. Her heart leads the way to Sasuke's, and her head provides the excuse.
xxx
a/n: Uni starts on Monday so I might have to move to weekly update. Rest assured you will see the end of this story soon enough :)
Oh, and since this chapter is part one of a three part chapter, there will be about 5 chapters left with one chapter broken into 3.
Thanks for reading.