Her heart was tearing itself apart. This place, this smell, these memories held her in their grip and wouldn't let her move on.

This house was overwhelming.

Tears slowly ran down her cheeks, smudging mascara and creating black streaks. She would rather never come back here again - to the holes in the walls, the mould on the ceiling, the three broken boards sticking out of the floor, the dampness and the darkness.

Silence was her companion. It was always there; lurking in the corners, coming to the surface at the worst of times. Silence was her friend; it allowed the black corners of her mind to take over, to dominate, to attach, to pin her to the wall.

Silence… that damn silence.


Breakfast once again stood in her throat and burned. Her stomach twisted every which way, refusing to eat another piece of egg. Sakura placed her hand over her mouth, forcing herself to swallow her meal. They had so much to do before noon, and she couldn't even finish the stupid scrambled eggs.

It's back again, she thought, at a terrible time.

Unable to look at the plate still full of yellow smear with tomatoes any longer, she set it aside, walking quickly away from the table and heading towards the bathroom. She bypassed the corridor and Sasuke's office, hearing noises coming from it, and entered the bright room.

In the mirror (a new one, as the last one had been destroyed), her tired face was reflected. The bruises under her eyes marked her pale skin, and her chapped lips begged to be rescued. Sakura washed her face with cold water, unexpectedly feeling the pressure in her stomach again. With her eyes, she found the toilet.

She shouldn't have to do that. She never had to.

But the feeling was eating her up from the inside, making it impossible to function normally. If she was going to be able to show up at Sasuke's family's house and return to her home village, she had no other choice.

Gathering the last remnants of courage within her, she bent over the toilet and returned her breakfast. The disgusting taste in her mouth made her wince. She drained the water and brushed her teeth, ridding herself of any evidence of her weakness.

The knock on the door came at the perfect time. Sakura opened it, smiling softly at Sasuke. He, however, did not start a conversation, eyeing her suspiciously. Anxiety welled up in her heart. What if he knows? Then she would break down. That was why she couldn't show from herself that something else was wrong with her. Yesterday she had given vent to her emotions too much anyway.

"Hi."

She put her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest so as not to betray anything with her expression. Sasuke put his hand on Sakura's head, giving her a sense of security.

"Did you sleep well?"

"I used to sleep better before." she replied honestly "But since you've been next to me I usually sleep well." she laughed, taking a step away and dodging him "How about you?"

"Sometimes I think about going back to the sofa because you wriggle terribly and always steal the covers, but yeah it's not too bad." he joked, something he rarely does, probably sensing that Sakura wasn't in the best mood this morning, and not just because of yesterday's events "We have to leave soon." he informed only, walking to the kitchen.

"I know, I know, I'll be ready soon!" she exclaimed, entering the room.

From the wardrobe she pulled out a long green skirt and a thin floral blouse and changed. She didn't feel a bit of a mental need to leave home - she'd preferably stay here with Sasuke by her side, but she couldn't think only of herself and her feelings. She had to do this for her parents, even if she got nothing in return (neither love nor care).

Sakura came out, packing a litter tray, cat food and a few toys into her bag.

"Nori!" she called out, and the cat appeared under her feet "Good kitty, come on."

She put him in the carrier.

"Do you think giving him to my parents to look after is a good idea?" Sasuke appeared from the living room.

"Your mother will certainly take good care of him." She assured, closing the carrier.

Sasuke didn't answer, walking up to her and placing a hand on her back "Ready?" he asked, and in that one short question contained more concern than she had ever received.

"No," she replied honestly, "but let's go."

They left the house, following the same paths strewn with sand and sweat.

They arrived quickly and were immediately greeted by Mikoto.

"How happy I am to see you again,"

"We're happy to see you too, Mom."

Mikoto grabbed her son's hand, leading them inside.

"Just what are you two doing here," she looked quizzically at the thing held by Sakura, "with the cat?"

"Plans have changed a bit." Sasuke began.

"My grandmother has died and I'm obliged to go to the family home for a fortnight. Sasuke wants to attend the funeral ceremony with me." Sakura added.

"So we're leaving today." he finished.

"Oh, that's too bad."

"I understand that this is not the best time. I'm extremely sorry that we've probably messed up your plans and may put ourselves in more danger that we don't yet know," she felt Sasuke's gaze on her, telling her to stop apologizing for situations that weren't her fault; Sakura, however, couldn't do anything about it, "but it's important to me."

"And I have no intention of leaving Sakura alone, Mom,"

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, darling." At the entrance, they took off their shoes "It's your father you'll have to talk to."

As if on cue, Fugaku appeared in the doorway. He ran his eyes over his son and then over Sakura. A shiver went through her from that. Sasuke's father was terrifying, in every sense of the word.

"Why did you bring her?" he turned on his heel, heading for the dining room. Sitting at the table were Itachi, Shisui and a couple of other people Sakura didn't know "You were supposed to show up alone."

"I didn't get that information."

Fugaku exchanged glances with his older son, to which Itachi shrugged his shoulders. Sighing, the man rubbed his tired face.

"Never mind. Sakura," he turned to her, "can you leave us alone? We'll be having important conversations, not for you. If you want you can go to the garden, my wife has recently changed a bit there."

The tone and gestures irritated her, but she did not possess the firmness to oppose Fugaku. Whatever was said here, Sasuke would tell her. She was already about to agree when her husband spoke:

"Father, Sakura is staying."

"Don't annoy me, Sasuke. She doesn't belong to the clan."

"She is my wife and she belongs here, whether you like it or not." he raised his voice "She will stay here with us and you have no right to object."

The atmosphere thickened. Sakura watched the fierce stares, fighting a quiet, silent battle.

"She's just an ordinary woman who was brought into our clan through marriage. She is not a real Uchiha,"

"Do you also say that about your wife?" he asked sarcastically.

Sakura wanted their argument to end - it was unnecessary and annoying. They had come here to announce their departure and put the cat in their care, not to argue.

"Your mother—" insisted Fugaku, but then Mikoto stood between her husband and son, casting them a stern look.

"Stop it," she furrowed her eyebrows, "Our son, Fugaku, came to see us with his wife, bringing a cat by the way, so you should assume that they want to tell us something important, and you're making trouble and saying very hurtful things. Don't you think there will be a place for Sakura at the table? Especially since the topic also concerns her?"

The man raised his head proudly, but under his wife's watchful gaze he finally relented "You're right. Take your seats, I'll join you soon."

Fugaku headed to the kitchen with his wife, while Sakura and Sasuke headed toward the table. She felt a warm hand on her back the whole way. They took a seat next to Itachi and Shisui - both of them looked as if some words were pressing on their tongues, but neither of them spoke them.

After a while, Sasuke's parents returned, carrying just-brewed tea and cups. They distributed them to everyone, then sat down on chairs.

"Well," Fugaku placed his joined hands on the tabletop, "let's get started. I've gathered you here because the last few days have been quite intense. I learned from letters from Sasuke that it all started again with his wife and the man who approached her in the bar. Maybe I won't go into details about why she was there..."

"It was my idea," interjected Shisui when Fugaku's eyes landed on Sakura, as if he expected an explanation anyway, "she just wanted to get to know me more. After all, I'm her husband's family."

The story was somewhat embellished, but Sakura wasn't going to complain; at least he deflected her from the consequences (for now).

"I could have guessed. Well, going back, after the incident things started to pick up. I said everything in an earlier meeting, so I won't go back to it."

Sakura and Sasuke exchanged glances - they knew perfectly well why his father had chosen to say the first part of his statement.

"I have spent the last week considering various possibilities. The most important question is - who is doing this and what he is capable of."

"And what are his motives." Itachi added.

"The motive is probably obvious," began Shisui, "pure hatred born of jealousy."

"We can't draw such conclusions, it's still too early."

"Too early? It's been going on for twenty-one years, 'Tachi."

"That's right, it's been going on for more than two decades, and we still don't know who's behind it. "

"It's more difficult than you think, son. We can't put innocent people in danger. I am responsible for them, as the head of the clan," He took a sip of tea.

"And in my opinion, we should take matters into our own hands and finally take it seriously. Otherwise, we will all lose our lives."

"Or we should play it out differently," spoke up Sasuke for the first time, "You will accept the Hokage's second proposal and join his Konoha main council. Now you belong to a fifteen-member council with a smaller rank. In order to learn more, you have to get information that is much more secret. Especially since the Hokage certainly knows about new, unknown people coming to his village."

For a moment they pondered Sasuke's words in silence. They fit together and made sense. Sakura thought they even made a lot of sense, although something didn't sit right with her about something important, in a way…

"Unless that person is from here."

"What do you mean?"

"He must be from Konoha. Why wouldn't the Hokage provide more protection if he sensed the presence of a new, strong shinobi? My friend Yamanaka didn't mention anything suspicious to me."

"And why would she?"

The question snapped her out of the flow of her speech. Had she revealed too much? Did she expose a little secret? After all, they couldn't find out she was working. She had to come up with some excuse.

"Because lately—"

"We don't need to go into such minor details." interrupted her Sasuke "We have more important things on our minds."

"I was purely and simply curious. Do you have anything else to say, Sakura?"

"Umm," she hesitated, "I also think that this person is not acting alone, and is more of a pawn. Why would he risk his life if he has the opportunity to use someone else to do the dirty work?"

"Interesting. You know a lot."

"These are just suppositions."

"Suppositions... And don't you find it strange that instead of one of us, more important people from the clan, they attacked you first?"

She got stressed.

"In fact, I wasn't the first. Sasuke thinks—"

"They play dirty. They attack people close to us first."

"It's further concerning that Sakura was their first target years later, and the attacks have intensified. Do you have anything to say, Haruno?"

Such accusations were unthinkable. She placed her hands on the table, leaning forward a bit.

"I have nothing to do with this!"

"I'll keep an eye on you."

"You won't have a way, Father, because we're going away for two weeks."

Fugaku tilted his head, smiling practically imperceptibly. He was planning, thinking, having a goal.

"Well, I won't keep you guys. Have fun wherever you are going."

He didn't ask where they were going. Sakura felt like the worst person in the world - she just wanted to help, and was found potentially guilty. She - the most ordinary woman who had practically been shinobi all her life.

"Well, I consider our meeting to be over. I will keep in touch with you, Itachi and Shisui. We will carry out Sasuke's plan."

They got up from the table. The three people unknown to Sakura said goodbye to Fugaku, disappearing into the smoke, and Sasuke's brother and cousin approached them. Her husband ran his eyes from top to bottom over Shisui, then lowered his head to the level of her ear and whispered:

"I'll talk to my father," heading towards the kitchen.

Sakura followed him out with her eyes.

"Sakura," she heard a loud voice.

She turned, staring into the faces of the two men in front of her. It had been a long time since the last time she had seen them. And they already knew the whole story. Was she able to go back and have a conversation with them? Absolutely not.

"It's nice to see you guys again," she replied with a smile, as if she wasn't at all thinking just now about the serious discussion they would have to have at some point, "How are you doing?"

"The last few days have been terribly tiring." said Shisui, putting his hands in his pockets "But we are doing everything we can to prevent a similar situation from happening to you." he lowered his gaze to the ground, biting his cheek "I would like to apologize to you very much, Sakura. I acted idiotically and I regret every decision I made."

Grabbing him by the sleeve of his blouse, she returned his gaze to her again.

"Let's just forget about it."

"It can't be forgotten, Sakura." Itachi interjected.

"Fine, then let's postpone this conversation until another time." they nodded; she lifted the corners of her mouth in a sad smile "I miss you guys."

She expressed more feelings with those three words than she was normally capable of. Because she didn't just miss their presence, but also that carefree feeling associated with not feeling unsafe at every turn.

Unexpectedly, she felt a warm hand on her cheek and noticed the tears in Shisui's eyes.

"We miss you too."

She sank into his touch, smiling tenderly.

"Accept our condolences, Sakura."

She nodded sadly. She grabbed Itachi's wrist, squeezing it gently. If she had been able to, she would have expressed in words right now how much his person meant to her, but she didn't feel she could do that. At the very least, she hoped Itachi knew how much good he had done for her, being the first person to welcome her with open arms into this family.

"Let's get going, Sakura."

Their moment was interrupted by Sasuke, with an ungainly face. The conversation with his father didn't seem to have gone his way.

She glanced at the clock hanging in the corner of the living room, noticing the late hour already. They should speed up if they wanted to make it in time. Sakura joined hands with Sasuke, smiling at him calmly. She needed to reassure him, not let him leave with such a bad mood.

"Of course." She turned to Mikoto "Thank you."

"Come by when you get back."

Sasuke kissed his mother's cheeks and nodded to his brother, then dragged Sakura out of the family home. Stepping out into the open air, she breathed in the fresh air and it made her feel all so much better. She didn't even know it was so stuffy in there.

They walked along in silence. Neither of them knew when or how to break that thick silence. Sakura wished it was Sasuke, but she already knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't speak up in this situation. So she decided to take a chance and ask a rather questioning question, just so she would know how to bring things back to the way they were before.

"And what, did your father change his mind?"

"He didn't tell me anything specific," he clenched his fingers tighter "But it's ridiculous that he thought that at all."

"You can't blame him for trying to protect his family and seeing potential enemies, in every person." she explained briefly "I was also hurt that he said that, but I will try not to hold a grudge and neither should you, he is your father."

"Unfortunately."

"Sasuke..."

He looked at her and his gaze softened. He couldn't be angry when he could see his anger was affecting her.

"Okay." He muttered, "Can we not go back to this subject again?"

"As you wish."

She stood on tiptoe and quickly placed a small kiss on his cheek, eliciting a look of shock on her husband's face. Sasuke's ears turned red, and he himself became more closed. She smiled proudly.

Taking big steps and walking in better moods, she thought nothing would disturb their momentary peace, but she was wrong. At one point, Sakura felt an unexpected cold shiver run down her back.

She turned her head, staring fearfully into the empty space. There was not a single living soul on the streets. Whatever had made her feel this unidentifiable fear had already disappeared.

"Did you see something?"

She jumped all the way up in fear at Sasuke's voice.

"No, I think that's paranoia now."

He squeezed her hand tighter, and Sakura felt safer.

They still had a long way to go.


i know, it's been a while since i've been here and you've been waiting for the next chapter for more than three months, but it's been quite a hard and difficult months for me, so writing has come with difficulty

this chapter is shorter than it was supposed to be at the beginning, but a little bit has changed

however, i hope you enjoyed it and still want to wait for the next one!

i would love to read what you have to say, i look forward to your comments and see you