Chapter: 8 Reunion
In the distance
"Please—no—I have a family!" A man begged, although he couldn't see to whom.
His ragged clothes were drenched in dirty water and sweat. The air around him felt like ice but his skin was hot to the touch, burning with the adrenaline in his veins.
A figure emerged from the shadows, languidly stepping under the moonlight to show off the blade wetted with the same crimson fluid that oozed from the lifeless bodies down the road.
"I-I don't have m-much," he pleaded, desperately throwing his wallet out. "Take it—just take all of it." He tried to back away from the approaching figure with whatever remaining strength he had left. He stopped short of the edge of the lawn where when he felt the muddy run-off.
"I don't want your money," taunted the figure, closing in.
The cowering man shielded himself by throwing his hands up. A smell burned his nostrils—almost like rust, or the fumes of melted iron, even though there was no metal shop nearby.
He realized that it was coming from his hands.
And he realized that it wasn't mud.
He screamed.
There was not a soul that heard his fate that night.
The only thing left on the road was the bloody tracks of a dead body being dragged away.
The past few days were quiet.
The Jinchuriki suddenly stopped popping up everywhere like he usually did. Sakura hadn't seen him since he walked her home a few nights ago.
She didn't like it. Not just because he managed to escape her watch.
Something was in the air.
The rapidly disappearing reddish-orange hints in the sky signaled the arrival of evening, quietly carrying the weight of whatever bothered her with it.
She didn't know when it started. On her way home from her sparring session with Lee, Sakura was spotted by Ino. She was pulled into an impromptu hangout session for hours before she managed to pry herself out of the flower shop and into the grocery store, but that didn't seem to be the cause of her dis-ease.
As Sakura tried to place what she was feeling, the best she could come up with was a combination of jitteriness and nervousness, like she had too much caffeine and it over-flooded her system.
But she didn't usually have such reactions to caffeine. And she didn't have tea today.
She tried to reason with herself. The mid-autumn weather in Fire country meant warm days and cold nights, and some days would seesaw more than others. Today's weather was like a light switch and the chill caught her off guard.
Sure. That had to be it.
... right?
Try as she might, she just couldn't convince herself.
She walked briskly for a few minutes longer, eager to be with the warmth of the indoors.
It was fully dark when she approached her apartment. One arm balanced her brown paper bag filled with groceries while her other hand sloppily fumbled with the keys to her front door.
Wrong key.
She flipped the keychain in her hand and tried another.
Not this one either.
This next one would be it. It had to be the third.
Sakura paused.
A feeling that someone might be watching her creeped into awareness.
Except it was more than just a feeling. She was definitely being watched.
But who was it?
It wasn't Akatsuki. If they came, it wouldn't be quiet.
It wasn't the Jinchuriki, Copy Ninja, or anyone else from Konoha. They wouldn't have a reason to hide their chakras.
It had to be someone else.
But she wasn't scared. Let them attack. Whoever was stupid enough to try.
Sakura continued to move naturally so that whoever was watching her wouldn't be spooked. She'd be sure to kick her stalker in the face as soon as she could unlock the front door and set her groceries down.
She just had to open her door and—
Thump.
She froze. Goosebumps erupted over the back of her exposed forearms, prickling her with what felt like tiny electric pins and needles.
Thump
Thump
Her bag dropped to the floor with a dull thud. It pushed the door open as its contents spilled onto the floor of her apartment, swallowed by the hallway's darkness as they rolled and disappeared from view.
She didn't care about the mess.
Because she knew that chakra.
It'd been years, but she could recognize it anywhere.
Thump
Thump
Thump
"Sakura…" a male voice drawled. "What did Kakashi say about letting your guard down?"
She turned her neck slowly, emerald eyes searching through the dark for something to lock onto. He stood a few feet behind her, the meager streetlamp not doing enough to illuminate his face.
Why was he here?
He should be eliminated.
She prepared herself to fight, but her body had completely detached itself from her mind. It disobeyed her every intent.
She told her stomach to quit the butterflies.
No response.
She commanded her body to move.
It didn't.
If he was there to kill her, she'd be dead at this rate.
Oh god, fine. Just say something at least, she told herself.
Her lips parted.
With every fiber in her being, she mustered up the strength to assert a confident tone to acknowledge his presence.
Instead came a whimper.
x
Sasuke couldn't help but observe her every detail as he teased his former teammate.
He'd seen Naruto sporadically throughout the years, but he hadn't seen Sakura since they were fifteen.
She was much taller, as if she'd had a late growth spurt. The top of her head went just past his shoulders on his six-foot frame. She still had that short hair. Pink strands fell loosely around her face, just reaching below her jawline.
And her more womanly features did not escape his keen eye.
The sight lived up to the mental image he'd conjured up in his imagination, exceeded even.
He waited with amusement. Whether it was going to be tears or the puppy dog look of hurt in her eyes, he didn't know what to expect. She could just as well turn around and try to punch him for leaving so many years ago. That would be cute—she wouldn't be too unlike an angry little kitten.
Whatever it was going to be, it wouldn't be boring.
He watched her rigid back as she turned her neck to face him like a deer in headlights. Though she was among the elite now, it seemed like his plan to sneak up on her worked.
"Sasuke…?" she whispered.
He barely heard his name before Sakura's eyes rolled to the back of her head.
"Sakura!" Naruto appeared and rushed forward to catch their fainting teammate.
Could their food come any slower?
Naruto sat across from Sasuke with Sakura on his right. What could he say to relieve the table of the suffocating awkwardness that somehow overtook the night? This was just painful.
Sneaking up on Sakura was not a good idea. He was lucky that she fainted because otherwise he would've been pummeled.
And Sasuke. Outside of getting a nod in agreement to visit Sakura, he hadn't gotten much else from the man. Not that he should be surprised.
Naruto always thought the only joy that could ever come close to being named Hokage would be seeing Team 7 together again. He and Sakura talked at length about their hopes and dreams for the future, including all the times they told Sai about their Sasuke and how his return would complete their family. How the world would be whole again.
This was not that.
It's like his two teammates didn't even want to be here. And for the first time in his life, Naruto could think of zero things to say that would put everyone at ease before their reunion dinner was ruined.
First of all, Sakura ordered ramen instead of her usual BBQ pork over rice. What the hell was that all about? Who was this person sitting next to him and what had she done with the real Sakura?
Secondly, Sasuke was watching Sakura like he'd never seen someone with pink hair before, when all Naruto could remember was him going out of his way to not notice her when they were kids.
Last, where was that damned Kakashi-sensei?
"Your order sir," a waitress said as she placed a hot steaming bowl of ramen in front of him.
Phew. Now the pressure was off him—they could all just use the food as a distraction until this whole thing was over with.
"Before we eat, let me just say a few words of gratitude," Naruto said in a last-ditch effort. He looked up to his dearest teammates with sparkling eyes.
Sakura did not make eye contact with him.
Sasuke watched him blankly.
"…I guess I'll go first. I want to say thanks for being able to eat ramen with my teammates. Your turn," he said, looking at Sakura.
It was like she hadn't even heard.
He glanced over at Sasuke, who had his lips pressed in a thin line.
Naruto slumped in his seat. It was going to be a long meal…
Later that night, Sasuke walked alone under the full moon, pondering along the wooden fence that separated the civilian neighborhoods from most of the shinobi quarters tucked along the edges of Konoha.
His new apartment wasn't just in Naruto's building.
It was literally next door.
He wasn't used to it—how his apartment was small and simple yet felt so big now that he slept by himself at night.
Sasuke thought about Karin. It was for the best, the way things turned out. Not because he didn't miss her, but because he knew he had to be pragmatic about things that he had no control over. He just hoped that she was okay, wherever she was.
He wasn't used to Konoha either. How some of the roads and buildings had been refurbished and he could now notice subtle things that he hadn't seen from a kid's perspective. Like how it was so normal for civilian kids to stand so casually next to cold blooded killers the same age.
Naturally, his thoughts wandered back to his new life and what he could do from here.
His blonde teammate was always altruistic. After all that happened, Naruto stuck by his word even when it hurt to do it. That was a kind of strength that Sasuke was never capable of, but at least now he gave credit where it was due. And he would have to try it for himself now that he was given a second chance.
Unfortunately, having Naruto on his side was only a small piece of the puzzle.
The biggest puzzle to Sasuke was the pink-haired girl who shed tears and begged him to take her along when he left the village at thirteen. That day, she claimed that she'd do whatever it took so that he wouldn't regret taking her.
He expected her to have some kind of emotional response to his return. Save for fainting, she'd given him nothing. Why was she being so different now? Was his long absence the cause of her looking at him like he was a stranger?
Violence, gore, the hard life of a shinobi—he could handle them all. But this had him stumped.
It was certainly easier to not care. About any of it—complicated emotions, clearing his family name, or even forcing Team 7 to make room for him when he'd been the one to abandon them in the first place.
What had he left behind by coming here? Was it freedom? Maybe.
But he was also selfish and greedy. He wanted forgiveness, support, and he wanted his teammates back and for things to return to how they were when they were just kids.
Just then, a huge beetle whizzed past his head.
"Get it get it get it get it!" A young boy came bouncing down the street with a small toddler padding after him. He pointed at the fleeing insect, yelling for Sasuke to capture it before it got too far.
Without having to activate his Sharingan, he dashed into the air and grabbed it between two fingers gently, landing back on the ground next to the boys without a sound.
Up close, Sasuke realized that the beetle was an unusual one, with a glossy neon yellow husk instead of the plain black or brown ones typically found in the area.
The toddler reached up with two hands and Sasuke released the beetle into his palms. The wings of the beetle vibrated as it tried to escape, tickling the toddler and making him giggle.
"Cool!" The older boy marveled as he tried to sneak a peek through the tiny hole of his little brother's hands.
Amid their fascination, they both looked up and smiled at Sasuke.
He always felt uncomfortable around kids because he could never relate to them, but their innocent captivation with the wonders of nature was worthy of a small grin at least.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" A young woman shouted as she jogged up to them.
The two boys jumped at the shrill voice of their mother, heads snapping up to her as if they'd been caught doing something bad.
"Mom! We were just—"
"You. Come here now!"
The older boy obediently ran to her knowing that he was in big trouble. The toddler followed.
But when they looked up to their mother, she wasn't looking at them.
She's looking at me, Sasuke realized.
"I can't believe they let you out of your chains already. Stay away from my children, Uchiha," she said with a shaky voice. The boys' eyes widened at the mention of the infamous name and inched a little closer to their mom.
Sasuke's face remained unchanged as he studied her. The woman appeared to be around Kakashi's age. She was small framed, but her body was softer and rounder, and Sasuke couldn't sense her chakra.
She was only a civilian.
She picked up the toddler and put her hand behind her older boy, nudging them in the direction of their home, probably, as she sent the occasional glare back at him before disappearing onto another road.
He had no idea who she was or how she recognized him.
Suddenly, he sensed a familiar chakra approach.
"Sasuke! Wait up!"
Naruto jogged up to where he stood still looking in the direction that the woman and her two kids went. "I was called to the Hokage's office. Pervy-sage just got back from a mission. What were you doing just now?"
"Just saying hello to the villagers." Sasuke turned around and started heading in the direction where Naruto just came from. "I'm going home."
"Actually, I have to ask you for a favor." Naruto pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small pouch of herbs. "Baa-chan told me to give this to Sakura and I forgot. She'll get mad if she finds out I didn't, so can you drop this off?"
Sasuke looked at the small pouch dangling from Naruto's hands. He didn't know why the Hokage would make a fuss about it, but it was most likely a medic or women's thing.
Before he had a chance to respond, the pouch was tossed up in the air and Sasuke had to hustle to catch it.
"Thanks bastard. Ja ne!"
Naruto grinned like a fox as he disappeared.
Sakura put her pillow over her face and let out a muffled scream.
There were some events that were just so unlikely that Akatsuki had never once considered factoring them into their plans.
In the event that the Uchiha brat decided to get a personality overhaul and return… which, by the way, over six years of active pursuit by Leaf-nin's top shinobi couldn't accomplish… then Akatsuki would what?
He and his stupid chakra-detective girlfriend had been one of the most annoying tails for Akatsuki to deal with—worse than the Copy Ninja's nin-dogs. Up until now, Sakura thought that was the extent of it.
Itachi was a genius. Maybe a little insane too, but that was beside the point. Why didn't he eliminate his pesky little brother when it would only take an easy three or four minutes of his day? The brat had only gotten stronger in the last few years and it would be difficult now.
Itachi's decisions were biting her in the ass. Interfering with her mission.
Curse him. Curse his younger brother. Damn all the Uchihas.
And for god's sake, she fainted.
It was all too infuriating—the way he cockily snuck up on her, pontificating how she'd left her guard down.
What did Kakashi say about letting your guard down? She mimicked him in her head.
Tch. He made her so mad.
Up until now, all she had to do was weave herself into the lives of all her "friends" in Konoha until she had a chance to lure the Jinchuriki outside the village. It'd been smooth sailing so far—victory was just around the corner.
But that all came to a screeching stop when he showed up. Any mission with the Jinchuriki would surely include the three of them. It would be easier to just kill him now.
She wished she could ask Itachi if she could.
Well, there was that thing.
Before she left for Konoha, Itachi'd given it to her for essential communication, like relaying meeting times and locations. He wouldn't be expecting a message from her so soon. But she should probably give him a heads up anyway.
Sakura rolled over and reached onto the floor where she took a plain scroll from her pouch. She sat up and laid it flat on her bed.
Itachi's advanced optics was the only thing that made the inconspicuous thing actually do anything. She summoned the chakra pen hidden inside the scroll and began scribbling.
Partner,
Uchiha Sasuke has returned to Konoha.
Princess has added him to Team 7 with Jinchuriki, Copy Ninja, and myself. Future confrontation will likely include him as well. Be prepared.
-Sakura
The letters vanished as she wrote them. When Itachi opened the partnered scroll, he'd be able to decrypt the message with his advanced optics, but as far as anyone could see, it was still a plain scroll even after she'd written on it.
When she finished, she formed the rapid hand seals Itachi taught her.
Tekisuto no Jutsu.
The chakra pen poofed away, informing her that the message was sent.
Just then, she felt someone appear outside her apartment.
Speak of the devil. She rolled the scroll up, shoved it into her pouch, and got up to open the front door.
Knock
Knock
Knock
"Yeah, I'm coming."
She poked her head out while keeping the lower half of her body concealed behind the door. She was in her usual pajamas—just an oversized tee shirt.
She couldn't think of anything to say, so she just stared at the man at her doorstep. The first thing she noticed was that he'd changed into a loose, long-sleeved black shirt since dinner.
"Am I not allowed to say hello to a comrade?" he asked sarcastically.
She rolled her eyes.
If the Uchiha brat expected her to blush or faint, he should know that it was never going to happen (again). It didn't matter if it was late at night and it was just the two of them.
"I don't recall you ever being talkative," Sakura said.
"I thought you'd be glad to see me."
Ugh—no.
"Spit it out, Uchiha. What do you want?"
"This is for you, from Hokage," he said.
She squinted at what he was holding.
"Shit!" She snatched it out of his hand and ran to the kitchen. How could she have forgotten?
Sakura grabbed a mug from a cabinet frantically, pouring the contents of the pouch into it with some water. She let the herbs sit for a while until they were fully soaked. Then, she mixed the liquid with a spare chopstick.
When she finally took a sip, Sakura noticed that the Uchiha brat had invited himself inside her apartment. Arrogant of him, but she wasn't surprised. Maybe she could use it to her advantage.
He quirked his eyebrow as he rested his sword against a dining room chair.
"It's a med-nin superstition," she explained reluctantly. "After not sleeping in your own bed for an extended period of time, you have to drink a special brew on the next full moon. By 11:11. Hasn't failed me yet," she said as she lifted her mug to the air.
Akatsuki or not, some rules were just not to be messed with.
Why was she even explaining herself to him?
Sakura eyed her stoic ex-teammate, who was only just across the room. She looked at his sword, then his neck, then back to the sword again, calculating how fast she could plunge a chakra scalpel into his left carotid artery before he could unsheath the weapon.
When he noticed, she forced a smile and sipped her tea awkwardly.
Would he just get the fuck out of her apartment already? God.
"And what happens if you don't?"
"What happens if I don't...?"
"Drink."
"Oh—this? Uhm, it's just bad luck I guess," she said.
The tension was palpable in the air, at least for her. It didn't matter that they were making small talk—she'd slit the Uchiha brat's throat in an instant if she could.
"I actually have a favor to ask," he said, breaking the silence. "If you don't mind, I'd like you to heal my injury."
Well, that was unfortunate. She wanted him dead. Not more alive.
"You don't like hospitals?"
Most shinobi didn't. She was only delaying the inevitable.
"I'd rather it be you," he said flatly.
Me? What was that supposed to mean? She ignored the fact that her heart tried to skip a beat.
She really didn't want to heal the brat, but it might look suspicious if she refused.
Sakura swiveled out the closest kitchen chair, placing it sideways along the edge of the table so she'd have ample room to stand in front of him. She motioned for him to sit.
He stood there for a second, looking at her with an expression she didn't recognize.
"Well?" She asked impatiently.
He looked almost amused as he did what she commanded, relaxing into the chair with what she interpreted was ease.
She didn't know why, but the fact that he was so comfortable around her made her fume. Here she was, struggling to be calm, bodily awareness on high alert, while he continued to… exist so casually.
She began a standard examination by pulsing her fingers along the left and right sides of his body over his shirt, ignoring his entertained watch.
"Does this hurt?"
"No. I was given an antidote so the wounds healed superficially. But I can't use chakra," he explained.
Sakura stood up and frowned. Healing this kind of injury was more involved.
"Can I see it? You'll have to remove your shirt."
She saw the faintest upward tug of his lip before he stood up to comply. Slowly, he lifted the shirt over his head and placed it on the table without breaking eye contact.
She suppressed the urge to huff.
What was he trying to do, impress her with his muscles?
As if that would work.
He sat down and leaned back again, expectantly waiting for her to continue her procedure.
Upon a closer examination of his abdomen area, Sakura realized that healing him might actually take a while.
She decided to get comfortable, kneeling on the floor in between his legs. Her head was level with his flank and her hands glowed green as she reached up to insert chakra into both sides of his ribs, feeling his injuries with her eyes closed.
…
At first, she couldn't feel much aside from his eyes on her.
Concentrate, damn it.
She'd healed millions of injuries before. This should've been no different.
…
"This was poison," she finally said after a while. "The physical portion of it was removed, probably with an antidote, but there are still lingering chemical effects."
"Something like that," he agreed.
x
Sasuke watched Sakura's face as she bit her lip in concentration.
When did she pick up that habit?
She never used to bite her lip.
Well, maybe she did and he never noticed. She always annoyed him as a kid so he made sure to avoid her wherever possible.
She'd done well for herself these past few years. Actually, he'd heard that she'd become quite the respected medical expert.
So many times before, he and Naruto had to be the ones to protect her. She was always scared, crying, or recklessly getting herself killed by throwing herself into the front lines when she wasn't prepared. Now, he was asking her for help, allowing her to sit so close to him… like that.
She'd also become quite pretty. Objectively, only, of course. Sasuke supposed that Naruto might've been onto something when they were younger. It was no secret that the blonde crushed hard on their teammate, but Sasuke was too self-absorbed to really notice exactly how pretty their teammate could become if she just had a little more time to bloom.
There was just one thing. Over dinner, at first, he thought the old Sakura was gone and replaced with a version that was cold, calculating, distant, detached, and indifferent.
But he saw it now that he'd gotten a closer look—no matter how hard she tried to fake that she wasn't, she was fighting something within herself around him. Like she'd buried the part of her that was clumsy, spastic, and hot-tempered... and caring and warm—the Sakura that he was familiar with.
Sasuke was certain. Sakura was wearing a mask, pretending to be something she wasn't.
And it was certainly interesting.
The fact that she rid herself of that ridiculous childish infatuation only made it more so.
Oh, how the tables have turned.
Whatever she was doing…
Whatever game she was playing…
He could play it too.
Winning was just a matter of getting under her skin… making her reach her boiling point... until the mask shattered under the pressure.
If Sasuke wanted Team 7 back to the way things were before, he'd have to get the old Sakura back.
He planned to do exactly that.
Unknown
Unheard. Unseen.
That was how he preferred it, peering into the window of Sakura's apartment from the shadows as she and Sasuke quietly stared at each other under dim kitchen light.
She had no idea that she was being watched.
It was a particularly lewd position that she was in… keeping her head so close to that area of his body as she healed him.
She'd probably be embarrassed if she knew anyone was watching.
In any case, it wasn't the right time for his attack.
I'll wait a little longer... he thought to himself.
When she felt the Uchiha's eyes close, Sakura allowed herself to break concentration from her healing and look up at her patient.
His guard was down. I could stop his heart, she thought.
Itachi, in the back of her mind, prevented her from doing so.
They stayed this way for a few minutes, comfortable in the quiet until she felt the traces of chemical imbalance in his system begin to regulate.
"You should be able to use your chakra in a few days," she said. "That actually wasn't the worst I've seen. The person who made the poison wasn't a pro." Satisfied with her work, she stood up and yawned.
Sasuke nodded his thanks.
"Follow up with me in 3 days." Sakura couldn't help getting into doctor mode no matter who she was treating.
As he got up to put on his shirt again, Sakura saw that he'd glanced in her direction a few times. She restrained herself from screaming at him to just take a god damn picture, because that would've shattered the perfectly-crafted air of indifference she wanted to maintain.
She didn't like the feeling she got when he looked at her. She made a mental note to sort herself out soon otherwise he'd continue to get under her skin. At best, it would infuriate her to madness. At worst, it would complicate her mission with the Jinchuriki.
When the Uchiha brat was done getting dressed, he slid the kitchen chair back to its rightful place and picked up his sword to leave.
Soon, he'd be out of her apartment and she'd have sweet peace and quiet again. She was counting down the seconds.
But just as she thought she'd seen the last of him, he paused with a hand on the doorknob. "Sakura…"
The way he said her name sent another involuntary flutter from within the pit of her stomach.
He did a once-over her body and smirked. "Goodnight," he said as he shut the door behind him.
Feeling like she was on fire, Sakura grabbed her mug and threw her head back as she chugged the last bit of her now-cold tea, hoping that it would metaphorically drown the damn butterflies so they'd all die and never return again. And what the hell was that tone he used?
She shook her head. No—she wouldn't care. She wouldn't get sucked into whatever stupid game he was playing.
Forcing herself away from thoughts about him, Sakura looked at the clock. It was late.
She put the empty mug in her sink and told herself she'd clean it up in the morning. With a last check to make sure her front door was locked, she went back to her bedroom and crawled under her comforter, strategizing the her next steps now that the Uchiha brat variable had been added to her equation. Sleep would not overcome her until she figured it out.
If she tried to kill him via a direct attack, he might kill her instead. She wasn't stupid—he was physically stronger and Akatsuki's trump card would go to waste.
She'd have a better chance with a covert approach. Her "friendship" with that pineapple-headed Shikamaru had only sharpened her analytical abilities over the years. Sakura smiled as she daydreamed what it would be like to outsmart the Uchiha and kill him.
A thought crossed her mind. If she succeeded, Itachi might kill her for overstepping boundaries.
She frowned. Either way, it wouldn't be good for her. She might just have to learn to live with hi—
A thought jolted her entire body awake.
She realized why the Uchiha brat had kept looking at her.
Why he gave her that once over when he left, smirking with his stupid lips on his stupid face.
It was because she got distracted when he held up that tea-bag, and she forgot keeping her body behind the door.
That son of a bitch.
He knew it too.
She.
Wasn't.
Wearing.
Pants.
Sakura smothered her face with her pillow and let out a muffled scream.
To be continued…