Chapter 9

It took them almost a month before they were finally able to convince Sakura to leave her room, and another two months before she was able to leave the house. Tsunade had placed her on an indefinite leave from missions and the hospital, until she was sure she could handle it.

With the rest of her friends having to work and go on their own missions, there were times when Sakura would be left alone, with no one to sit with or anything to occupy her time. So, she started to walk, a little bit every day until it became a staple of her everyday life.

Every day at 3 in the afternoon, she would trail the outer forest of the village for hours, sometimes not returning until early the next day. At first, her friends were worried about her going off by herself like that and for so long, but they decided amongst themselves that it was probably best to let her do what she needed to.

And they were proven correct, because the walks seemed to be helping. Sakura was no longer as pale as before, and the bags under her eyes seemed to be receding, as well as the glazed over expression they had all grown accustomed to seeing on her. It was a small step, but it was a step in the right direction.

…

Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to hours, days to weeks, and before she knew it, 8 months had passed since their deaths. Sakura was finally back at work, though away from any life-or-death situations. Mostly, she was just doing paperwork and overseeing the training of the new medical ninjas. It was disappointing and unfulfilling, which was why today, on her way back from work, she decided to take a walk.

As she made her way along the familiar path, she noticed a man a few feet away. He was just walking and seemed to be brooding over something when his eyes caught hers. Sakura almost forgot that he was even in the village. Naruto's team had encountered him on their mission, and Gai's team had gone as backup. They had managed to take him back, and he had served some time, though she wasn't sure how much. Clearly, he had been released.

Without breaking stride, Sakura continued to make her way, walking right past him as if he were never even there.

…

"What's wrong with her?" Sasuke asked, though his voice and stance showed indifference, the fact that he had asked clearly said otherwise.

"Who?" Naruto countered, caught off guard by Sasuke's question. They had gone to the old training fields to spar and were now packing up to head back to the village.

"Sakura." He simply replied.

Naruto went silent, which was almost a dead giveaway that something was up. "Why'd you ask that?" he was unimpressively trying to deflect.

"Something is off with her."

Naruto raised his eyebrow at the fact that Sasuke had even noticed. Still, the Uchiha seemed unbothered and waited patiently for a response. Ever since he had returned, something just wasn't right. At first, he thought it was just because he had returned, but after watching from a distance, he had noticed that it wasn't the case. Far from it, in fact. If he took into account her vacant expression the other day by the river's trail, the woman he had seen that day was a stark contrast to the girl he had left all those years ago.

He had gone out of his way to observe her a few more days after seeing her for the first time since his release and had noticed her smile never quite reached her eyes, and he would often see her by herself when she wasn't at the hospital. Though his presence in the village probably didn't help, something else had caused his former teammate to be in such a state.

After spending so many years pushing those who cared for him away, somewhere in him, Sasuke felt moved that once again, her heart had been broken. It didn't seem right for her to be sad.

"It's not really my place to say, ya know?"

"Hmm." Sasuke would just find out on his own.