"He stole his brother's eyes."
Sasuke's eyes widened a bit before he schooled his expression. "I don't remember reading that in the clan's history," Sasuke replied.
"It's not common knowledge. After the death of his last brother, Izuna, many in the clan felt that Madara's actions and decisions were questionable at best. Standard protocol of the time was to remove and burn any Uchiha's eyes upon death, long before the funeral was normally held. No one knew that he had kept Izuna's eyes," Itachi explained.
"But he didn't go blind? Why keep that hidden?" Sasuke questioned, his confusion and frustrations growing. There was a cure- not just for his brother but for him, Shisui, and anyone else in the clan with their eyes. Why not share clan secrets amongst the entire clan? Why bury such important history?
"The loss of his last close family member ravaged what remained of Madara's sanity. By the time he implanted his brother's eyes into himself, he was unrecognizable by even those that knew him well. Madara's condition was believed to be an extreme form of our clan's curse- a madness so profound that no one was spared. By the time the first Hokage was able to break through the madness and darkness surrounding Madara, he had already singlehandedly killed many Senju and Uchiha alike," Itachi continued.
Sasuke couldn't keep the stunned disgust from his face. Could their clan's curse really drive one of their own to madness? Could it really make them so homicidal (and fratricidal)?
"Everyone shared the blame in his brother's death- his clan for not being strong enough, the Senju for opposing them, and Senju Tobirama for striking the killing blow," Itachi answered Sasuke's unasked question.
"But the curse was broken. The fighting between clans stopped, Konoha was starting to thrive, and the Uchiha were prospering again after decades of death and war," Sasuke pointed out. History may not have been his favorite subject, but Sasuke did know that much.
"Yes, but Madara eventually succumbed to his hatred once again. He tried to use the Kyuubi to attack the village, and those actions sowed the seeds of distrust towards the Uchiha. Our clan's tumulus relationship with the village is believed to be partially Madara's fault by many of the clan's elders. Needless to say, the clan elders buried the history and made the practice of exchanging eyes forbidden to prevent another Madara from being born within the clan."
"None of that matters now!" Sasuke loudly objected. "At least half of the clan elders were outed as traitors to the village. What they want doesn't matter."
"I understand your upset, Sasuke. But even if you and I were to trade eyes and neither of us suffered any side effects from the change, it wouldn't save my life. At most, my life would be prolonged by some years," Itachi pointed out, but Sasuke was no longer listening.
"That's what these are for, Nii-san," Sasuke said in exasperation and held up a book. Sasuke waited for his brother to offer up any more excuses, but Itachi remained silent. For the first time in days, Sasuke was starting to remember what hope felt like. He stared pleadingly at his brother for what felt like a lifetime before Itachi finally released a heavy sigh and held out a hand. Pure elation overtook his features as Sasuke happily handed Itachi a thick, medical scroll to read through. "We can cure you, Nii-san. I know that we can."
"Hn," Itachi grunted, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
~:~
Sasuke was sure that he'd managed to blindside Sakura when he practically accosted her in front of the hospital as she was heading in for her morning shift. The poor pinkette had let out a girlish shriek and stumbled backwards at his sudden appearance, but Sasuke hadn't focused too much on the mild panic he'd instilled in his friend before dawn.
"Sasuke-kun-" Sakura started to chastise, but Sasuke cut her off.
"Sakura, what about these for Itachi?" he asked before shoving a piece of paper with a list of some plants and compounds under Sakura's nose.
A confused, "Huh?" escaped before Sakura took the list and quickly read through it. The further along she got, the faster realization set in. "Sasuke-kun…" she started slowly.
"Would those work or not?" Sasuke pressed.
"Normally, some of these medications would be worth the try," Sakura started and then lowered her tone. "But with the full extent Itachi-san's condition-"
"We already have a cure for that. I need to know that you can fix everything else," Sasuke pressed.
Suspicions rising, Sakura asked, "What do you mean that you already have a cure?"
"It's a clan secret. But please, Sakura. You can treat him. Right?" Sasuke asked, for once invading Sakura's personal space without prompting.
Sasuke watched Sakura frown slightly as she glanced at the paper in her hands again. His breath was caught in his chest as he waited for her to pass her judgement. It felt like she made him wait for hours on the spot, but eventually she gave him a look of determination. "Let's go inside. I understand how important clan secrets are, but I'll need to know everything before I even consider moving forward with any experimental procedures," she finally said.
Sasuke barely held back the urge to fall to his knees in relief. Convincing Sakura would be easy. He and Itachi had spent the last three days pouring over what remaining medical texts had managed to survive Pain's attack. They'd worked through idea after idea together until they'd had several semi-viable treatments in mind.
Despite the grim nature of their days together, Sasuke had enjoyed the one-on-one time with his brother. Every moment spent in companionable silence or being the sole witness to his brother's unexpected quirks was a moment that he deeply treasured. (Itachi was constantly brushing his hair out of his face. Sasuke couldn't understand why he chose to keep it so long.) Sasuke had to frequently remind himself that those moments wouldn't be his last moments spent with his brother. Not if he had anything to say about it.
When they had made it back to Itachi's room, Sakura paused in the doorway. Her jaw dropped slightly as she took in the sight of the small room. There were books, scrolls, and loose papers strewn about. The small trash bin in the corner was buried under a pile of crushed papers and empty take out containers. Itachi was currently resting under his blankets and a small pile of books that couldn't have been comfortable. "I was here just a few hours ago. What happened?" she couldn't help but ask.
"I apologize, Sakura-san. We normally clean up the mess before you arrive, but Sasuke was insistent on seeking you out first," Itachi apologized.
"As long as it gets cleaned up before I get back for my mid-morning rounds," Sakura hinted with a serious tone and her fists planted on her hips.
While Itachi nodded in acquiescence, Sasuke was shoving a book into Sakura's hands. "We can cure his eyes, but we need your help with his disease," Sasuke steered the conversation.
"How? I thought that the condition with Itachi-san's eyes were permanent."
"Permanent in the sense that the only method of fixing the problem is forbidden by our clan's laws," Itachi explained.
"But those don't matter anymore," Sasuke inputted. Sasuke ignored Itachi's chastising look and continued, "The old ways and laws are probably going to be changed anyways after what's happened. The clan head has the final authority over all decisions within the clan. It's pretty much guaranteed that we can do this."
"What exactly is this?" Sakura asked, her irritation at being out of the loop starting to show.
"We need you to exchange our eyes," Sasuke requested. At Sakura's wide-eyed shock, Sasuke rushed to explain, "It's worked once before for our ancestor, Uchiha Madara. He implanted his brother's eyes into himself to cure his blindness and relieve the strain on his body."
"I'm sure that he had no idea that doing so would have cured his vision. He most likely did it after he was driven to madness," Itachi (unhelpfully) pointed out. Sasuke shot Itachi a narrowed glare.
"Madness? You want to attempt a procedure that's only worked once and was performed by a madman?" Sakura asked incredulously.
"If it saves Itachi's life," Sasuke said in a serious tone.
"What if it endangers it? Organ donations are risky enough as it is. To do such a procedure with the eye could easily go wrong if either of your bodies rejected the transplant. And an organ transplant might be too much for Itachi-san's body to handle," Sakura said with a deep frown.
Sasuke wanted to pull his hair out. "I know the statistics, Sakura. He's my brother. That already makes us at least somewhat compatible. If not me, there are others within the clan," Sasuke said.
Sakura looked at Itachi then. "I know how Sasuke-kun feels, but this is still your decision to make, Itachi-san."
"I admit that I had already accepted that death is inevitable. I was fully prepared to leave this life behind, but I also found it difficult to ignore my brother's passion. I'm actually starting to feel a bit hopeful," Itachi replied with a serene expression.
Sakura nodded once with an unreadable expression. "I want to take some blood samples from the both of you to compare. I won't go forward with anything without some sort of indication that it won't be a complete catastrophe. I won't be responsible for causing my patients harm or worse," Sakura said with a look that was ironically threatening.
"Fine," Sasuke easily agreed.
"And one more thing," Sakura said as she rested the book in her hands on an already large stack at the foot of Itachi's bed.
"Name it," Sasuke said, his tone full of eager promise.
"You'll speak to Naruko before we do anything. Since Kakashi-sensei started hiding from her, she's been following me around and asking about you. I had to change my shifts just to get some peace," Sakura said, walked towards the sink, and began washing her hands.
His tone was remarkably less eager when Sasuke replied, "Fine."
Both Sakura and Itachi had matching, dubious expressions. Sakura even snorted once as she went about gathering her supplies to begin Itachi's morning examination. "Foolish little brother," Itachi muttered loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. Sasuke chose to ignore them both.
~:~
Sasuke wasn't sure if he should have brought some ramen with him as a peace offering. He stood before the Hokage's residence feeling hesitant, nervous, and slightly guilty. He was sure that his tight leash on his chakra was the only thing that had spared him from having the front door shoved open and an incredibly irritated blonde already screaming in his face. He hadn't intended to ignore Naruko. With the situation that he'd been dealing with, it had just...happened…
He should have brought some ramen.
Before he could change his mind, Sasuke raised his hand and quickly rapped at the door. Less than a second later and the door was already being pulled open. Sasuke froze on the spot at the sight of an eerily calm Yondaime gazing down at him. Desperately fighting his mounting nerves, Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, but the Yondaime was quicker. "She's not here," Minato said, his tone leaving no room for arguments.
Sasuke knew that this was a blatant lie on the Hokage's part. He could sense Naruko's chakra within the home, brightly gleaming away in what felt like her room. He knew that he should have tried her window first. "Is that her clone that I'm sensing?" Sasuke asked rhetorically.
This proved to be the incorrect thing to say because the space around Yondaime quickly dropped several degrees as his icy blue eyes narrowed. Sasuke was spared from whatever tirade the man had prepared by Karin loudly shouting, "Is that you, Sasuke-kun?" from within the home.
A louder voice shouted from even further within, "Sasuke!?"
Against his will, his entire body froze on the spot. Her rapid footsteps descending the stairs sounded ominous to his ears. Sasuke wasn't sure what face he was making, but it caused Minato to willingly stand aside and quickly pull him into the home. Just as Naruko descended the last step, Sasuke heard Minato lock the front door. Sasuke barely noticed the Hokage turn and leave him to his fate before his face was suddenly full of irate Naruko.
"You!" she shouted as she grabbed him by the collar. "What part of stop running away from me don't you understand!?" she shouted loud enough to leave his ears ringing. She started roughly shaking him as she shouted, "I'd chase you down anywhere, Bastard. But that doesn't mean that I want to do it for the rest of our lives, dattebayo!"
If he wasn't disoriented, he might have blushed from her words.
Eventually, she let him go and folded her arms in front of her expectantly. Sasuke silently stared down at her blue eyes as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say while not getting too distracted. (When was the last time he'd gotten the chance to stare at her too blue eyes?) After several seconds of silence, he was no closer to what he needed to say. The less the subtle attempts of the house's other occupants to observe them was also a bit unnerving.
"I'm sorry," he said softly, pouring every ounce of sincerity that he had into the words. Apologies weren't something he did often. They still came out awkwardly and stilted whenever he tried. But that didn't mean that he didn't mean them.
"Good," Naruko said with a nod.
"Maa. She forgave him so easily," a low voice drawled.
"Too easily," the Yondaime griped.
"He's so much like his father that it hurts."
"I think he's doing better than Fugaku, dattebane."
"Shh, Kushina-nee. They'll hear you," Karin's poorly whispered voice hissed.
Sasuke shot the peanut gallery a look, but none of them had the decency to look cowed. Turning his attention back to Naruko, he pointedly said, "I need to talk to you."
"I have privacy seals in my room," Naruko said and took him by the hand. As they passed, Sasuke couldn't help but notice the encouraging looks on his mother's, Kushina's, and Karin's faces, the subtle promise of bodily harm on the Hokage's, Kakashi's bored look and thumbs up.
For once, Naruko's room was nearly spotless when he stepped inside. He watched her quickly go through some hand signs before some seals appeared on the walls, glowed bright blue, and faded away. Surrounded by the silence, Sasuke once again found it difficult to form the right words. "I…didn't want to involve you because I thought it wasn't your burden to bear," he started.
"Are you talking about your eyes or what happened with your clan, 'ttebayo?"
"Both," Sasuke answered. He wasn't sure what to make of the look she was giving him. The mix of emotions were all on full display, but she moved through them so quickly that he didn't have enough time to decipher them.
"You thought that, but you don't know how much it hurts."
"I…wasn't trying to hurt you," he said. He wasn't sure that he could spitefully hurt her.
"I know that. I meant you don't know how much I hurt when you hurt, 'ttebayo," Naruko said. "I feel it right here. I see you taking on all these things and it hurts. I know that you feel it too, dattebayo," she said and held a hand over her chest.
He did. He felt it profoundly whenever she suffered. It made him want to act- drove him to do anything to relieve her pain. If she felt what he did… "I'm sorry," he apologized again, sounding even more contrite.
"Dobe," she insulted him and punched him in the shoulder. "I guess someone has to pull your head out your ass, 'ttebayo," she mused with a shrug.
Sasuke wasn't sure if he was right to feel relieved that she understood him so well. He'd spent nearly an hour being chewed out by Sakura that morning. Apparently, Naruko had been spending more time with Sakura and Ino than he was aware. Enough time for Sakura to form in depth opinions on his performance as a boyfriend. She'd properly dressed him down on everything he was doing wrong with unhelpful commentary from Itachi as well. It had been humiliating and irritating, but Itachi's unreadable expression had kept Sasuke in place throughout all of it. Despite her blunt criticisms, Sasuke couldn't totally disagree with her words. He couldn't change his past actions. But he could do and be better.
The easy expression on her face slowly slid away when she looked up at him again. The curiosity on her face was plain as day. "Itachi's dying," he blurted because he didn't see the point in sugar coating the news.
Immediately, her jaw dropped in shock. "What!?" she shouted.
"His eyes are making his condition worse. Sakura doesn't think that he'll live longer than a year at most."
"His eyes? Itachi-nii-san has the Mangekyo, too? It's killing him? Is it going to kill you too?" she asked, her panic steadily increasing.
"I'm not dying. Itachi was sick before his eyes changed. The strain from his eyes is too much too handle," Sasuke answered. Before she could start another round of panicking, Sasuke rested his hands on her shoulders to regain her attention. "We're going to deal with it. Sakura is working on it."
"I thought Sakura-chan couldn't cure you."
"She can if she exchanges mine and Itachi's eyes. Once he has my eyes, she can treat his disease again. He won't be fully cured, but he'll be able to live a long life," Sasuke explained.
She didn't reply right away. For several seconds, she silently stared him in the eyes. "It'll cure you too, 'ttebayo," she said and brushed one of his bangs away from his face. "When are you going to do it?"
"As soon as possible. I'm sorry that you can't know where or when. Everything about Itachi's condition is being kept confidential for his and the village's sake," Sasuke replied finally succumbing to the urge to move in closer. He had barely taken a step into her personal space before Naruko was responding by embracing him tightly.
"It's okay, 'ttebayo. You'll just stay here until you have to leave. Ne?" she asked, not so subtly daring him to disagree. She narrowed her gaze as she stared up at him, making her slowly tightening embrace feel only mildly threatening.
"Hn," Sasuke grunted while returning her embrace. He could feel her wholeheartedly return his embrace, taking advantage of the chance at physical contact. She was in the middle of nuzzling her face into his chest when Sasuke felt his heart lurch.
He'd fully intended to apologize and tell her about the upcoming operation, but he'd also wanted to do more. Itachi had made him realize several things that he now wanted to share with her, but he wasn't sure how. The easiest way to be through his actions (he liked to believe that they spoke louder than his limited words ever could). But he had tried to tell her. It wasn't his fault that she was so dense.
Despite the near silence in the room, his voice still sounded like a whisper, "Usuratonkachi." Fortunately, she squeezed him once to show that she'd heard him. He wasn't sure that they could hold each other any closer. So, with her head tucked under his chin and his cheeks burning a soft pink, he murmured his quiet confession. It took a little over a second for the words to register with her, but he could feel the exact moment that they did. Her entire body froze on the spot before she suddenly tried to pull away and look up at him. Cheeks burning red now, Sasuke tightened his embrace. She eventually gave up trying; wordlessly accepting and returning his affection.
"I love you too, 'ttebayo," she muttered into his collar, sounding more bashful than she ever had when she spoke to him.
~:~
True to his word, Sasuke spent the next few days at the Hokage Residence as he waited for Sakura to let him know when she was ready to proceed. He wasn't sure what more she had to work through, but she'd threatened to literally throw him from her office the last time he'd asked. Sakura had looked almost manic surrounded by texts and loose scribbles on scrolls that he'd quickly let her be. He still woke up early to visit his father, Shisui, and Itachi but the rest of his days were monopolized by Naruko.
They tried to slip back into old habits, but even a simple trip to Ichiraku Ramen was complicated by villagers' sneers or mistrustful glances. Naruko had wanted to defend him loudly and vehemently, but he hadn't seen the point. The court of public opinion was ruled by fickle notions. He'd gotten almost endless praise and thanks from random villagers after fighting Pain, but they'd been just as quick to shun him now that his clan had torn itself apart.
The Hokage had already imprisoned and publicly condemned the traitors, while simultaneously clearing some clan members from suspicion. But the damage was done. The Uchiha were so close to the Hokage and his family. Could an Uchiha be trusted? Should an Uchiha become Hokage?
But Sasuke found that he had more important concerns than the opinions of civilians.
Despite having her face pressed into his neck, Sasuke clearly heard Naruko ask, "It's safe right? I know that it's Sakura-chan doing the operation, so there's no need to worry."
"She didn't want to do it at first. It's only been done once as far as we know. My ancestor, Uchiha Madara, implanted his dead brother's eyes into himself after he succumbed to grief and madness," Sasuke honestly replied as he shifted in place beneath her. He had almost forgotten how clingy she got whenever they shared a bed. He had one arm wrapped around her loosely, but she'd fully intertwined her legs with his own while wrapping him in a firm embrace.
She didn't reply immediately to that, but eventually she managed, "Remember your promise, 'ttebayo. Old and wrinkly."
"It's not like you'd let me forget it," Sasuke scoffed.
"Of course not! I think it's clear by now that we're stuck together, 'ttebayo. It's a good thing that you're becoming less of a bastard," Naruko said.
"It's a shame that you're still a loser," he couldn't help but tease.
As he predicted, she quickly took the bait. She pulled away just so that she could look him in the eye and confidently proclaim, "I'd kick your ass again if we sparred and you know it."
"Again?" Sasuke scoffed.
Her twin bed may not have been the appropriate choice of setting to start an argument, but that fact didn't set in until Sasuke was staring up at Naruko's fiery expression as she straddled him. "I could kick your ass any day of the week and I wouldn't even need sage chakra, dattebayo!"
His heart skipped a few beats before starting an elevated rhythm. Whatever half-formed comeback that he'd had quickly left his mind as he stared up at her. He lost track of time, so he wasn't sure how long he spent quietly observing her, but it was long enough to cause her face to flush. He wasn't sure what about his expression made her so embarrassed, but he didn't stop to consider it.
Sasuke found himself reacting purely on instinct more and more lately. His instincts hadn't led him wrong yet, so he didn't hesitate to lift his head from her pillow and kiss her suddenly. He had been taking more liberties with her and their relationship, growing bolder as time passed. But it still felt like he was following her lead. For every hug or kiss he initiated, she was quick to take control and ramp up his slow exploration into overdrive. Without warning, she broke off the kiss to nibble lightly on his ear. Sasuke had felt the rush of arousal flowing down his body and centering in his crotch, causing him to tense and quickly clamp his hands on her hips. His already heated face flushed even darker when he heard her gleeful snicker. "Usuratonkachi-" he started but she cut him off with a quick kiss. Once his grip on her hips had relaxed, she pulled away from the kiss and shot him a knowing smirk.
It was embarrassing to have such an exploitable vulnerability. Sasuke glared up her in warning, but he could tell that it had no effect. He supposed that it wasn't horrible to have her know something so intimate about him. But now he could feel the competitiveness with her that he was used to start to rear its head. Once again, instinct and his own pride demanded that he match her efforts. With a challenging gaze, Sasuke reached around her to tug her blonde hair loose from its pigtails. He got rush of triumph at seeing her lips part and head tilt back. When she looked at him again, he could see a frustrated and lustful glint in her darkening, blue eyes. "Bastard," she said without heat, her hips starting a slow grind over his.
Sex had never been something that Sasuke cared about or gave any consideration to. The act always felt too vulnerable, too intimate, and too much of a distraction for him to pursue. He'd never felt any inclination to experiment until now. It was a curious thing to feel- absolute trust- in another person. But now that he did, he found himself frequently distracted by thoughts and fantasies that he'd never had before- all of them involving his best friend. Sasuke bit back a groan.
"I hope you have clothes on!" a singsong voice called out from the other side of the bedroom door just seconds before the door was roughly slammed open.
Naruko released a loud shriek while simultaneously scooting off his lap. She even tried to pull the blankets over herself, despite still having all her clothes on. But once she spotted Karin's amused face, Naruko quickly became enraged. "Karin! That's not funny! Don't you know how to knock!?" Naruko shouted. Sasuke couldn't help but silently agree.
"I gave you plenty of warning," Karin said with a shrug and readjusted her glasses. "Sakura is here to see you, Sasuke-kun."
Just like that, Naruko's anger dissipated and was immediately replaced with muted worry. Sasuke moved to get up, but he was suddenly grabbed by the arm and pulled to his feet. "Sasuke-kun, I figured it out! Hurry up! I need to talk to Yondaime-sama first, but I did it!" Sakura was excitedly ranting. He hadn't even noticed her enter the room.
"It's done?" Sasuke asked in confusion. Sasuke had never seen Sakura look so unkept. Sakura had bags under her eyes, her hair was up in a messy bun with numerous loose strands, and she reeked of coffee. She looked far more manic than he remembered seeing just a few days ago.
"What? No. I didn't do want to anything until the Yondaime looked over everything to make sure that it'd work. But I really think that it will!" Sakura rushed with an excited grin. Just how much coffee had she drank?
"Sakura-chan?" Naruko questioned, also doubting Sakura's well-being.
"I figured it out. I figured out a cure!" Sakura shouted while brimming with confidence. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock.
~:~
A seal.
The idea wasn't entirely novel given that Sakura had been inspired by the Byakugo no In. But she had spent the last few days pouring over fuuinjutsu scroll after scroll to try to master the basics before delving into building a seal from scratch. From what Sasuke had gathered from listening to Sakura's quick words and only slightly jumbled thought process, the seal should act as both a storage seal as well as monitor the physical state of the sealed person.
Sasuke's understanding of fuuinjutsu was elementary at best, but he had been able to understand the basics of what the seal would do for his brother. The seal would both store a vast amount of chakra and constantly monitor Itachi's physical health for drastic changes to his chakra and blood cell count. Any drastic changes would cause some of the stored chakra to be pushed through a simple healing jutsu. The seal's chakra stores needed to be maintained regularly, but that was more than manageable.
The Yondaime had been impressed by her ingenuity and had quickly delved into examining her seal design from all angles. He'd pointed out a few areas for improvement and some suggestions for finetuning. Sasuke had watched from the outside as Sakura's caffeinated energy matched the eager Hokage's. After about an hour, the Yondaime had sat back at his desk with a stunned smile on his face.
"I'm very impressed, Sakura-chan. You've grasped the fundamentals rather quickly and you've managed to create something unheard of before," Minato praised.
Sakura flushed a bit at the praise before bowing once, "Thank you, Hokage-sama."
"If it's alright with you, I'd like to have Kushina look over your designs as well. They do look viable now, but I'm sure that Kushina would be able to provide some insight that would further improve the seal matrix," Minato said and stared down at the papers on his desk thoughtfully.
"Of course! I'd be honored to have another fuuinjutsu master look over my work," Sakura preened.
"I may not be very knowledgeable on medical ninjutsu, but even I can tell that you've created something game changing. Tsunade-sama would be proud. Hopefully, you'll be able to show her your accomplishment soon," Minato said with a nod and proud smile.
Sasuke had left the Hokage's office with a much less energetic Sakura shortly after that. Her excess energy seemed to have been fully spent and now the girl was practically dragging her feet on the way out of the Tower. She still had enough energy to grin proudly, however. "I thought I was going crazy for a second there. I didn't think that my design would actually work," Sakura said.
"Sakura, thank you," Sasuke said wholeheartedly.
Sakura glanced at him from the corner of her eyes before waving him off. "It's the least that I could do. Itachi-san is my patient, but he's also your brother," Sakura said and stretched her arms above her head. "As soon as Kushina-san approves of the seal, we can start the operation. But until then, I think I'm going to head home and finally get some sleep," Sakura said with a wide yawn.
Sasuke smirked and raised a brow. "Are you sure you'll make it all the way?"
Again, Sakura waved him off as she slowly started shuffling away. "I'll be fine. I've pulled all-nighters at the hospital before. This is nothing," Sakura said in a sleepy drawl. Sasuke had his doubts, but he decided to trust her judgement. (He'd just send a clone by her house later to check in on her.)
~:~
Sasuke knew from their days in the Academy and their time on Team 7 that Sakura was considered very intelligent. He'd never given too much credence to this fact until the moment that he was sitting on a hospital bed as her patient. Sakura was currently explaining the ins and outs of the upcoming procedure to both him and Itachi, looking completely different from the walking zombie he'd seen her as just two days ago.
"Shizune-san will be assisting me in treating you, Itachi-san. But I'll be performing your eye transplant by myself," Sakura explained as she flipped through some papers on her clipboard.
Itachi hummed once in acceptance. "Clan secrets," he acknowledged.
Sakura nodded and said, "On the bright side, this means that I'll be considered the primary physician for the Uchiha clan."
"Naturally. We wouldn't want anything less than the best," Sasuke scoffed.
"I'll take that as a compliment, Sasuke-kun," Sakura grinned. Sasuke smirked in amusement as he waited for Sakura to continue. "The transplant shouldn't take long. You'll both be put under for the procedure, so it'll feel like no time has passed for you. The recovery process should take a few days, but I don't expect any side effects or complications," Sakura said.
Sasuke could feel his excitement slowly build as he let Sakura's words wash over him. His brother was going to be alright. It had only been a few weeks of torture hanging over them, but the threat of death had made the time feel like a lifetime. Sasuke looked to his brother, but Itachi was totally focused on Sakura's speech. As Sasuke stared, he sent up a silent prayer of thanks. When Itachi finally met his gaze, his brother gave him another serene smile that was loaded with his own gratitude.
"Alright. If neither of you have any questions, we can begin," Sakura said and slipped on a pair of rubber gloves.
~Omake 1~
Despite the glaring differences between their families, Sasuke found it relatively easy to slip into the Uzumaki family routine. Like his own family, everyone was up relatively early (mostly to make Kushina's morning mealtime call), but mealtimes were chock full of animated discussion, vibrant energy, and the occasional shouting. Minato was easily the most even-tempered in the home, but he spent the entire day away. Kushina frequently stole his mother away in her never-ending attempts to get Mikoto to relax and lift her spirits. Unfortunately, this left Sasuke alone with Naruko and Karin who seemed to be trying their utmost hardest to annoy the living daylights out of each other. Even more unfortunate was that he'd somehow been unwittingly pulled into their squabbling.
"I knew it! You are following him, dattebayo!"
A loud and drawn out shush had Sasuke rolling his eyes. He had been content to ignore Karin's troubling tendency to follow him nearly everywhere he went. (Fortunately, she hadn't tried to follow him into the bathroom). She was mostly quiet when she stalked him aside from the occasional, muffled squeal. "I already knew you were there," he pointed out. So much for a moment of solitude and quiet...
Karin took that as her invitation to move in closer, a grin on her face. She took a seat next to him at the table and shamelessly stated, "Sasuke-kun, I'm glad that you're staying with us. Finally, Naruko's chakra can stop looming over the whole house."
Sasuke raised a brow at the same time that Naruko shouted, "My chakra doesn't loom!"
"All she did was mope around the house for days. It was cute at first how much she missed you, but then it got-" Karin started to say but was suddenly cut off my Naruko tackling her to the floor and wrestling her hands over Karin's mouth.
"Dobe," Sasuke said with another roll of his eyes. He got a small glimpse at the embarrassment that she felt when she risked a glance back at him from over her shoulder. She was so red in the face that he wondered if she'd ever recover. He rose to leave them to their bickering but moved to poke Naruko's forehead as he passed. She half-heartedly protested the abuse as her cheeks burned even brighter.
Karin's must have taken advantage of Naruko's lapse in attention because Sasuke could hear her say, "What was that? I've never seen you blush so red!" as he left the room.
"S-shut up, dattebayo!"
~Omake 2~
Since becoming a cat summoner, Sasuke noticed some small changes to his life. Small, innocuous changes, but still noticeable to a shinobi of his caliber. He sometimes finds fur of all different colors on his clothes, but he's never seen the cats that leave their traces behind. He's come home to find small, dead animals left on the floor in his room. (He learned that this was both a gift and an insult on his capabilities as a hunter.) Additionally, he constantly smells like cats. Sasuke hadn't noticed any changes in his scent, but both Kakashi and Naruko have confirmed that he smells different. Kakashi was the only one to take offense to the change in his scent, however.
"What do you know? You live with eight dogs," Sasuke pointed out with a scoff. He'd been curious as to what Kakashi had found while he'd been searching outside the village. But he was now regretting tracking the man down. He'd barely approached where his sensei was standing before the Memorial Stone before Kakashi had loudly sneezed and demanded that he maintain his distance.
Kakashi only pinched his masked nose with two fingers. "Yet, I've never once been told that I reek of dog," Kakashi replied.
"You have a subtle canine smell, Boss. It's comforting," Pakuun said, a smirk barely showing on his wrinkled face. Sasuke raised a brow at Kakashi.
"You smell like strawberries on most days. Are you sure that your sense of smell is still as sharp as you remember?" Kakashi mused down at Pakuun.
The small smirk fell off Pakuun's face as the small pug glared grumpily up at Kakashi. "My sense of smell is the best it's ever been!" Pakuun argued.
"I don't know if that's better or worse," a voice rumbled from the shadows between the nearby trees. Sasuke wasn't surprised to see Inei's eyes shining in the shade. He'd quickly learned that his summons came and went as they pleased, but rarely made an effort to interact with him- the epitome of aloof independence.
Pakuun's mood soured even more at the sight of Inei slinking through the trees. "Inei. I'm surprised you managed to find a summoner. I thought you were too difficult and stubborn for anyone to work with."
Inei scoffed. "I'm surprised as well. I was beginning to think I'd never find a summoner that met my standards, but even miracles can happen. Thank goodness I didn't settle for any old summoner," Inei smirked as he slowly prowled around the group.
"Settle?" Kakashi parroted, his low drawl managing to sound offended.
"You should know that it was the Boss that taught your summoner. So, I wouldn't consider it settling," Pakuun huffed. "Maybe you could learn something from me as well."
A loud snarl was all the warning Inei gave before he attempted to grab Pakuun up in his jaws. Kakashi's quick reflexes let him snatch Pakuun up and out of the way, but he refused to put the pug down. Kakashi shot Sasuke an expectant look, but Sasuke shrugged once in a "what do you expect me to do?" sort of way. Inei purred almost contentedly at Sasuke's feet, not fooling anyone with his attempt at innocence.
~:~
Moi-Moi: Soooo I know that it was never expanded upon in the anime or manga (I don't think), so I came up with my own theory as to why Uchiha go blind.
They stated in the anime that when the Sharingan is awakened, a special kind of chakra is released in the Uchiha's brain. I think that this chakra is unique to each Uchiha. No two eyes and no two chakra signatures are the same. The Mangekyo requires a lot of this chakra to function but the overload of chakra is what damages the nerves, chakra pathways, and retinas of the eyes and makes the Uchiha go blind. Almost like too much of the chakra isn't good/ideal for them. (Maybe to keep the amount of power in one person in check. Similar to going blind after being able to LITERALLY REWRITE TIME.) But swapping eyes fixes that because they're now pairing another Uchiha's eyes with their unique chakra. Instead of not being compatible at all, it completely avoids the problem of their own chakra damaging their eyes. What's harmful to my eyes is innocuous to yours.
I dunno man. That's the best I got *shrugs*