He counts the weeks by how many weekly visits Sakura has made to his cell. If he's counted correctly, he's been at the bottom of Konoha prison for three weeks, 21 days. They had put a chakra blocking blindfold on him and Tsunade had sealed his chakra temporarily before being taken away in shackles from the hospital.

Sasuke recounts hearing Naruto barking at Kakashi from the village streets the whole journey over from the hospital to the prison. Sasuke remained silent on the walk, understanding there was a crowd of villagers watching his walk of shame. Insults, unsavory words, and curses had been shouted at him as he trudged through the village streets. He had tried to pay no mind to them, instead opting for the lesser of the two evils and paid attention to Naruto's statements in his defense. Sasuke has made the walk before, years ago when he was a genin of the leaf. The walk had taken over half an hour, he remembers it only taking ten minutes.

Kakashi goes with him into the prison and remains by his side until he is situated in his single person cell. The guards remove his shackles once he's in the cell, switching them out for a straight jacket.

"Is this necessary? He only has the one arm." Kakashi asks.

"We have our orders, and you have yours." The prison guard answers brusquely to his former sensei, all while securing Sasuke's arms within the jacket. Sasuke wonders how this guard has the confidence to speak to the acting Hokage in such a tone. Just how far underground were they?

The guard stops fiddling with his jacket and double checks to make sure his blindfold is secure. He goes into a speech of what a typical day in his cell will look like.

"A guard will bring you a meal in the morning and evening. You are allowed three daytime bathroom breaks, one you may opt to shower during as well. A guard will remove your jacket for meals and bathroom breaks but the blindfold remains on. It states on your information sheet that you have a scheduled medical care appointment once a week, day pending. Any questions?"

Sasuke has heard all he needs to hear and wishes to be left alone now. He shakes his head side to side, assuring he has no questions.

"Sasuke, I'll keep you posted as often as I can when I hear of any updates on your proceedings." Kakashi informs him. The guard guides Kakashi out of the cell, and finally leaves Sasuke alone.

He uses his legs and feet to feel around to get a sense of his new surroundings. He hits one stone wall fairly easily, followed by a bucket he guesses, and a makeshift flat slab that must be his bed. Attached to the bed slab is another wall and kicking out another ninety degrees he hits metal bars.

After his day, and his chakra as good as depleted, he opts to lay down. He's tired from staying up the night prior, and from walking through the loud Konoha streets. Sasuke begins to spiral as he lays uncomfortably upon the hard mattress. What would his father think? His mother? Their son, the last Uchiha, laid up in a Konoha prison cell alone and straightjacketed. What a disappointment he must be. His route of thinking continues down the same path when he starts to think of Team 7 and how he has let each of them down in his own way. He's about to fall asleep, with a pit in his stomach, disgust coursing through his bloodstream when a memory filters in. The memory of Sakura from that morning, seen in vivid colors behind his closed lids.

–

Sasuke is nudged aggressively awake by one of the prison guards. He's unsure how long he's been asleep, but judging from the pain in his stub it must have been a while. At some point he had rolled onto his bad side and most likely remained there for a while.

"Wake up Uchiha, eat and piss then I put the jacket back on."

Sitting up from his position, blood rushes uncomfortably to his head, the guard aggressively undoes a clasp and a lock mechanism is heard shifting, followed by the fabric of his jacket loosening and falling off his torso. Stretching his good arm he then uses it to leverage his stub to give it a stretch. Using his hand he applies pressure to a few specific places that Sakura had shown him a few weeks ago in the hospital. The brief pressure point massage helps but it was nothing like her healing touch.

He's aggressively shoved a tray of food into his lap, he suspects at least, judging from the feel and off putting smell.

"I'll be back in twenty. There's a bucket in the corner." The guard's footsteps are heard opening and shutting the barred door and he walks back down the stone corridor from whence he came. He feels around his tray blindly for a utensil and fails to find any, instead dipping his hand into some lukewarm mush. After eating a few bites off the different areas of his tray which he discerns had been some green vegetable mush and questionable chicken he uses his bucket then sits back down. He places his tray down onto the stone floor closest to the barred door and in the remaining minutes he has without his straight jacket he messes around with his arms, moving them in circles, stretching, performing up and down motions because he knows he needs to keep the blood flow moving. Sakura had told him to keep his arms moving as much as possible so the blood could keep flowing which in turn would help his overall comfort.

"This isn't yoga practice, arms down." The same voice from the guard who brought his meal speaks out into his cell. Sasuke puts his arms down and is guided into the jacket once more.

–

This routine continues for a week before he has a medical visit. The guards hadn't told him when his scheduled visit would be so he had assumed it was no longer happening. Shortly after his breakfast on the seventh day he hears her familiar heels striding down the hall and he straightens himself up a bit from his slouched position on the slab. He's not sure why. He's pretty sure he looks and smells like shit. He's only opted to shower once since his time here. It had proved more difficult than he had imagined, especially without the use of sight.

Sasuke had given the showers an honest attempt. He had been bathing at the hospital with ease after the first week. Of course it wouldn't have been as easy without the use of his sight, but he's been through worse scenarios. The day he had attempted to shower himself he had bumped into enough stone walls with the directions the guard had given him that he gave up before even making it to the showers.

Her footsteps are heard closer than ever and he's suddenly aware of how pungent he is. The thing with Sakura was she had seen him in far worse states. Yet time and time again she still accepted and helped him. He very suddenly feels undeserving of her attention and is nervous to interact with her.

"I need his jacket off." Sakura is talking to his now familiar daytime guard outside of his cell. Hearing her voice after the week he's spent in prison is providing a comfort he had not realized he had needed. His anxiety about being unworthy slowly melts away as he hears her step closer to his cell.

"You get one hour, Doctor Haruno."

"Thank you Tatsu. I trust your wife's knee isn't troubling her anymore."

"You're a miracle worker…" The man praises and hushed whispers are exchanged that Sasuke can't quite make out. He finally hears the guard speak up again. "…one hour."

The cell door closes and he feels Sakura's warmth near him very suddenly.

"I was able to get the key to get this damn jacket off." She fiddles with his jacket and unlocks the small padlock on the front next to the fasteners. He hasn't seen the jacket but he's been fastened in and out of it enough times to know what's involved in the process.

Sakura removes his stump arm and he takes his good arm out and together they get it up and off his head. Here he gets a whiff of himself from his arms being raised and once again he's self conscious.

"How's your arm? Are you allowed enough time to do any of the stretches we went over?"

"Ah." He stretches each time they remove his jacket. Sasuke suddenly feels her soothing chakra working into his stump and he cringes in pain momentarily. It's the type of pain before you start to feel alright again. Similar to putting a aloe vera on a sunburn, it hurts before it subdues.

"I hate that they put you here. You weren't healed enough to be put into a jacket for this long." Sakura starts whispering underneath her breath about how angry she is with the village and the elders. He can feel her chakra ebb and flow into his healing arm and his clenched muscles slowly relax. The sensitive pins and needles begin to fade away leaving the warmth of her hands on him in their wake. She starts talking to him while she heals.

"Are they giving you enough water? Are they allowing you time to bathe?"

"Yes and yes." He pauses and continues, opting to confide in her. "It's difficult to get in the showers here."

"Did you need help?" She asks. He knows it's an innocent question and she must be able to see how oily and grimy his skin and hair are because he can feel it. The simple question still makes his face heat all the same.

She must sense his apprehension.

"Oh, uh, I meant I could walk you over and get you set up. That way there wouldn't be so much guess work."

Sasuke remains silent, his pride trying to stop him from accepting. The warmth from her hands on him parts, and his arm suddenly feels a draft of air. Shortly after he feels her yanking up on his good arm.

"Come on. I won't look. This is a matter of your health anyway. If you aren't staying clean then you are more prone to illness. I had to go through a lot of hoops to even get down here. If you were to get sick down here, who knows when I would be able to tend to you."

"I'm sorry you had to do that." He offers apologetically as she stands him up and feels her guide him through his cell out into the corridor and down the hall. It's the same route he had taken last week when he initially attempted to bathe himself.

"I want to be here. Now stay put for a moment while I get some supplies."

She hands him a 3-in-1 bar of soap along with a small bottle of mouthwash followed by a dry terry cloth towel.

"The cap is off and the bar of soap is out of the wrapper. You have about twenty more minutes before you have to be back in your cell."

Sasuke stands at the door to the showers where she places her hand over his and opens the door for him. He uses his feet like he has been doing in his cell to guide around the stalls. The showers, thankfully, sound empty at this hour. He undresses himself, which is still very much a learning process, leaving his clothing in a messy pile on the tiled floor. Then feels the bathroom wall and finds a dial to turn on a spout for water. Freezing water abruptly splashes his forehead, and he turns the knob the opposite direction in search of a hot water setting but finds none, no matter how many times he turns and waits. He opts for the freezing water to not waste anymore time.

He clenches his teeth after he tosses back the mouth wash and swashes it around his mouth before going fully underneath the stream of water. Sasuke grasps the soap bar and uses his hand to lather the bar under the water stream then rubs the soap everywhere. He lathers from the top of his head and everywhere he can reach as fast as he can. As he scrubs his face he feels stubble along his jawline and realizes he hasn't shaved in a week– so of course that would happen, but the sensation still feels strange and unfamiliar.

So much had changed over the course of a couple months and as the cold water starts prickling his skin giving him goosebumps, he remains still under the stream thinking of all the ways his life has changed for worse and for better in only nine weeks time. The center of all the 'better' thoughts are Sakura and Naruto. While his time in the hospital had been filled with challenges and pain it was pleasant to be with them everyday. The 'worse' thoughts he thinks of more often than the positive. He's in prison, he's seen as a criminal, and the Konoha council which had ordered his elder brother to massacre his clan–holds Sasuke's life in the palm of their hands.

He starts shaking and his teeth chatter.

Sasuke finishes out the rest of his bathing and washing, fumbling around on the tiled wall trying to find the handle to shut the water off. He eventually finds it and feels around for his towel nearby. He dries off his body the best he can and searches for his clothing. In his haste to get his shower over with, he had left his clothes in the spot where the water drained. His clothes are completely soaked.

Sasuke finds himself in a tough position. One option is to put his drenched clothing back on his body. Option two involves him swallowing his pride and calling out to Sakura to help him acquire dry prison clothes. His stubborn nature has him seriously considering putting on the cold wet clothes, but then thinks about Sakura chastising him for putting wet clothes on and possibly sick from the chill.

Reluctantly, he calls out to her. Using his hand to keep the towel at his hips covering his manhood. He guides his feet to feel for the part of the shower room where the entrance is. He finally finds it and fumbles between keeping his towel in place and opening the door a crack to call out to her.

"...Sakura?"

Within seconds she responds to his call. "Sasuke? Everything ok?"

"I need clothes."

"Oh! There is a rack of extra clothes here. Give me a moment to find your size."

Sasuke waits and shortly after hears her footsteps approach the open door he is leaning partially out of.

"I'm handing you clothes. Underwear on top, pants, and a shirt. Call out if you need any help."

"...thanks." He feels all too embarrassed as he closes the door behind himself and stumbles with the clothes she's handed him. He eventually gets them all on, hopefully correctly, then finally steps out.

"Oh! Your shirt is on backwards. Let me help." Without argument, Sakura steps close to him and pulls on one of the sleeves, followed by the other. He tucks his arms close to his torso as she shifts the fabric around his body.

"Alright you can put your arms back through the sleeves." He does as she says. "Do you want me to ask a guard if they can help you next time?"

"No." He answers easily. This ordeal has been embarrassing enough and he would prefer to not have some stranger who is probably wishing for his demise to help him bathe.

"I don't want to leave without knowing if you will take care of yourself and bathe again when I'm gone."

"Haruno-san! Time's up!" The guard from earlier calls out from down the way. His footsteps get louder as he stomps closer to Sasuke's cell.

"I will. Thanks for your help."

"Of course. I'll be back next week." She promises softly. Her voice sounds far and he realizes she's walking away.

Sasuke wishes he could have seen her. Could have talked to her more. Now he's left to sit here for another seven days and stew over all his failures and faults.

—

Sakura visits two more times. Three days after her most recent visit he has an unexpected visitor.

"Sasuke."

Kakashi. Hadn't he promised to come back before then?

"I apologize I haven't been in sooner. With post war efforts and becoming the acting Hokage it has been rather busy work." Sasuke feels his straightjacket loosen and Kakashi unfastening the straps.

"I have both good and bad news. Your trial starts in one hour, but as long as everything goes according to plan you will be free to traverse the village for a set amount of time before you are allowed to take on missions."

Another prison sentence.

"I need you to stand up for a moment." Kakashi commands after freeing his arms. Sasuke does as he's told and waits. Kakashi steps around and gets behind him, he feels the seals on the back of his blindfold releasing. His former teacher fiddles around with the fabric and light erupts into his vision.

His hand reaches out to clutch his head. The light is overwhelming while dim to most, having a blindfold on for three weeks has affected how he currently sees.

"Why don't you sit for a moment." Kakashi grasps onto his bad arm and guides Sasuke back to his slab of a bed. He gathers himself and tentatively after a couple minutes opens his eyes once more. He's finally able to look around his cell. After seeing it versus feeling it he deems his touch had been accurate in the portrayal of how it actually appears.

"I can't say the beard fits you." Sasuke finds himself squinting at the razor Kakashi is holding out. "Why don't you go get cleaned up. I'll wait here."

Sasuke treks to the communal shower room and finally looks at himself in one of the mirrors on the wall. Feeling the handle of the sharp razor within his palm Sasuke is transported to a memory from five years prior when he was just on the cusp of thirteen.

Before the final rounds of the chunin exams Kakashi and Sasuke had been out training and sculpting Sasuke's chidori jutsu. During one of their many 'reading' breaks, Kakashi had pulled a razor out and tossed it to Sasuke.

"You should learn how to shave. You'll want to make a good impression on the examiners next week."

Kakashi guided the two to a nearby stream.

"I'm giving you the shinobis guide to shaving. Splash some water on your face, have a sharp blade and shave in the direction of the hair."

Kakashi takes the blade from Sasuke's hand and fluidly splashes his face with a handful of water.

"Here," Kakashi tosses him a kunai with a reflective surface. "…pay attention to how I do it."

Sasuke feels the sharp cool blade run against his upper lip and short dark hairs fall into his lap. Kakashi stops and hands him the razor back.

"Much like your tools, if you don't take care of your razor it will begin to rust and corrode. You take care of the rest."

He hadn't had the time to reject the help, or suggestions. Kakashi had given him no room to object.

Sasuke does not recognize the man before him. His face is oily, skin pale, and he has a short beard. A vague memory of his father with five o'clock shadow filters into his mind back from when he was a child. Sasuke quickly removes the thought from his mind and gets to work on grooming himself. He starts with shaving his facial hair, followed by taking a quick shower. With his vision restored the whole process is that much easier to complete by himself.

Once he deems himself acceptable he treks back to his open prison cell where Kakashi waits reading one of his books to pass time.

"Ah! Much better! How do you feel?" Kakashi closes his book and tucks it away.

"Fine."

"Great, now let's get you to T&I for your trial. I will be personally escorting you."

Sasuke nods and follows Kakashi through the prison. They walk through two sets of guarded doors before arriving at the door to the outside. Once the great metal door opens and the two are given clearance to pass Sasuke nearly runs into Kakashi's back from the glaring sunlight. His vision is having a hard time adjusting to the different light changes and right now he almost wishes the blindfold was back on. The light is burning his retinas and he desperately is trying to spot any shade as he hobbles behind Kakashi's quick pace.

"...wait." Sasuke says all too quietly as he tries to gather himself. He can't see where he's walking with the sun shining down on them.

"Hm?" Kakashi turns and gets closer to Sasuke, he must understand what Sasuke is going through. His teacher pulls something out of his pouch.

"I don't have any sunglasses but this will have to do." Kakashi hands him the very book of his nightmares.

"You're kidding."

"Let's keep moving. The faster we get through this the faster a certain kunoichi can heal those fried retinas."

Sasuke shuts his eyes briefly then opens the book and holds it at his brow line so he has some sun cover to at least see where he's walking.

They arrive at Hokage tower a few minutes later, confirming his suspicion that they had paraded him around the village before initially dropping him at the prison. Kakashi very suddenly pushes Sasuke against the nearest exterior wall then separates from him. Leaving him looking at his ex-sensei with alarm.

"They will push you over the edge in there. You need to remain steady. Do not give them the satisfaction. Understood?" Kakashi had saved this 'pep talk' for the very last minute for a reason it seems.

"Tch."

"I mean it. Don't let Naruto and Sakura down. They went out on a few limbs for you."

Sasuke wants to inquire more into what that means but an anbu flashes in front of them, informing of his hearing and that the elders are ready for them. Kakashi acknowledges and waves off the tiger masked anbu.

"We'll take the back way." Kakashi walks on and instead of the main hallway that Sasuke had walked time and time again as a genin, Kakashi takes a turn, performs a sign, and a hidden door appears. Kakashi enters and Sasuke follows, they climb a dark flight of stairs and a lit doorway comes into view just down the way. A hidden area of Hokage tower makes itself known after passing through the doorway. Another door presents itself in front of them.

"After you." Kakashi urges. Sasuke steps ahead and turns the handle of the great red door before him. Upon entry two elders, Ibiki Morino from T&I, and he guesses one of the Yamanka clan sit around a large table. Kakashi walks over to join them on their half of the large table. Sasuke remains standing before these people who want nothing but his downfall. Well, all except Kakashi, he hopes at least.

"Uchiha Sasuke. You are on trial for your crimes against Konoha…"

—

Sasuke stands the whole time the elders read off the list of all the crimes he has committed against Konoha. He half pays attention trying to keep himself present. But most of the time all he can hear is the sound of the lights above him, making a terrible muted hissing sound. Plus a few of the bulbs in the room are flickering which is irritating his eyes and making his headache more pronounced.

He recounts his admission of the crimes and goes along with what they are trying to accomplish. He looks at Kakashi every so often to make sure he is behaving properly. Kakashi's face remains neutral so he knows he's in the clear. That is until the very end of his trial. The only female elder, Koharu Utatane gives her thoughts on the last Uchiha before her. This is where Sasuke feels like he might break.

"The Uchiha clan have always tested the patience of the village. Itachi Uchiha was probably the only loyal one to come from your wretched clan." Sasuke bites down, he can feel his molars crunch against each other.

"Lady Utatane, shall we wrap this up?" Kakashi interjects.

She simply holds her hand up to silence him. "I am not finished, Kakashi."

"You are just as foul and deplorable as your former clan. I want it known that if you were not the last Uchiha, and not had a hand in ending the tsukuyomi- you would be marching to your execution right now." Sasuke can see white spots building behind his eyes, his temper internally flaring. He feels a mix between rage and agreement with this old hag. He was a sorry excuse for an Uchiha. If he had not had Sakura and Naruto waiting for him after his final battle with Naruto, he's fairly certain he would have off'ed himself. Yet, he knows deep down that Naruto saved him. Now he gets a chance to repair his family name. To bring honor back to the Uchiha name.

He stands and takes this woman's verbal lashing and when she's finally finished her sour thoughts Ibiki Morino stands and reads off a scroll.

"Uchiha Sasuke. You are hereby sentenced to two months of probation within Konoha limits. During this time you will be assigned daily community service. After the two months have been completed you will have an audience with Lord Sixth, Hatake Kakashi, to sort out ways in which you can be of use to the village of Konohagakure." Sasuke nods and agrees to the terms. "With that the trial of Uchiha Sasuke is complete." Ibiki speaks and the group of individuals disperse out of the grand red door Kakashi and Sasuke had entered from.

"Sasuke. Follow me, I'll take you to your probation officers. You may remember them."

His headache is quickly becoming unbearable but he keeps up his demeanor, hoping today will be over soon and he can sleep on anything other than cold concrete. Sasuke once again follows behind Kakashi as he leads him to the Hokage's office. Kakashi takes a seat behind his desk which somehow looks the same since the last time he was here as a genin. It's still piled up with papers and scrolls.

"Does any paperwork get done around here?" Sasuke asks Kakashi.

"It does." A third voice interjects.

Sasuke looks towards the door where Shikamaru and his replacement for Team 7, Sai, enter.

"Though it's a drag." Shikamaru adds.

"Shikamaru, Sai you have been tasked with making sure Sasuke here gets to his daily community service over the next two months." Kakashi stands behind the cluttered desk and instructs the two newcomers.

"Probation starts in two days. Meet here for further instruction then. You three are dismissed." Shikamaru and Sai depart leaving Sasuke standing around in the Hokage's office. Kakashi sits in his chair with a heavy sigh.

"I'm sure you can sense him. He'll be here any sec–" Sasuke and Kakashi both look towards the door where Naruto has very loudly entered. Today just seemed to never want to end.

"Want to head back to my place, roomie?" Naruto asks wrapping an arm around Sasuke's neck. One of his annoying forms of affection. Sasuke opens his eyes wide and he looks to Kakashi for any consolation, receiving none.

"Naruto, don't scare him like that!" Sakura rounds the corner into the doorway. It's the first time he has been able to see her since the rooftop of the hospital. She looks beautiful, just like she had then. She stutters in her movements slightly. It's hard to tell for sure but it seemed like she was about to embrace him but instead opted for a small wave. He gives her a thoughtful glance in return, which has her face reddening and he can't help but feel a small amount of pride eliciting this expression of hers.

"Oi! My place is…nice."

Sasuke watches as Kakashi and Sakura both shoot Naruto a glare that says it is not as he says.

"You're staying in my spare room, don't worry. I need to keep an eye on you. I'm worried about how your eyes are doing after being blindfolded for so long." Sakura shoots Kakashi a side eye and he thinks he's missing something but nothing feels as important as getting his head on a pillow right now.

His vision goes wavy and he sways.

"Woah, you ok?" Naruto's hold around his neck becomes supportive rather than annoying.

One of his eyes shuts and he squints over at Sakura before his legs go slack and the world goes dark.

—

'You awake, bastard?'

He's face down on something soft. His body doesn't hurt like it did on the slab. The pain behind his eyes still aches but it isn't piercing like it had been before he blacked out.

That's right. He passed out.

Sasuke quickly uses his arm for support to push himself up and look around frantically. He hasn't been here before.

"You're awake! You were out for five hours, teme!"

Five hours?

He really opens his eyes and jerks his head to get some of the dark hairs out of his face that he has been growing out. He's still getting used to using only one of his eyes on a day to day basis, let alone after being blindfolded for 21 days.

Sasuke looks down and notices he's laying on a plush green sofa in what he guesses is Sakura's main living space. His body is too long and his feet dangle over the edge.

"Where's Sakura?"

"They needed her at the hospital. I'm here too, thankyouverymuch."

"I can see and hear that…what time is it?" Sasuke asks as he readjusts to a sitting position, stretching his body in the process.

"I actually do not know. Hang on." Naruto stands up and walks over to the kitchen. Sasuke observes a mess of scrolls and books on politics and Konoha law sprawled around where Naruto has been sitting. Naruto ventures into the kitchen and looks at the stove.

"A little after midnight. You hungry?"

"I could eat." He's starving.

"Great, let's go." Naruto is already walking out of the kitchen, through the living area and putting on his sandals. Sasuke follows after him, finding his shoes waiting by the door as well. It's then he realizes he's in his prison garb still.

"It's fine. We're going to Ichiraku, they don't care." It's a rare occasion where Sasuke does not mind where they are eating, just as long as it's hot and has flavor. He shrugs and the two walk out of Sakura's apartment. Naruto pulls a key from his pocket and locks the front door. Sasuke takes a glance at her door number and general location of the building before following after Naruto who takes to the roof.

"Need to walk?" Naruto asks before hopping onto the roof fully. Sasuke has been itching for movement for weeks, before he even left the hospital.

"Try to keep up, loser." Sasuke tosses before jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He and Naruto take turns trying to get ahead of the other. When Sasuke keeps going and looks back to find Naruto beginning his descent he realizes maybe he doesn't know this Konoha anymore. Pain had demolished the village a few years ago after all. He was silly to assume Ichiraku would be in the same place.

He backtracks and follows after his blonde friend, jumping to the city street from an awning above.

"You remembered where it used to be!" Naruto says and wraps an arm around his shoulders the way Naruto does.

"Been there enough times I could have gotten there from Suna in my sleep." Sasuke shakes his idiot friend's arm off of his back and enters the newly built establishment. It looks much nicer than he remembers. The upholstery on the chairs is fresh, and no longer tearing at the seams. The countertops are dry and the wood looks new.

"Your humor sucks." Naruto chuckles as they take a seat at a newly added section with tables. Ayame drops off some menus and gives Naruto a warning before walking back towards the kitchen.

"We close in 30 minutes, Naruto."

"Don't worry we'll be quick. Oh! Can I get a to-go container of Sakura-chan's order?" Ayame waves an acknowledgement back to Naruto as she walks off.

"How often are you here at this hour?"

"Too much." Naruto replies looking over the menu. Sasuke is surprised he doesn't have it memorized by now.

Ayame comes back out with two water glasses and takes their orders. Their food comes shortly after. Ayame drops the bowls and dinnerware off as well as a small jar of the spicy chili paste. Sasuke used to add spoonfuls to his bowls from back when they were genin.

"...thank you."

It's a kind gesture and one he does not take for granted. He had never really thought people were paying that much attention to him.

"No problem. Now hurry up, father and I want to close for the day!" Ayame tells the two as she goes over and wipes down a nearby countertop.

The two men finish their bowls in record time and Sasuke honestly thinks he could down another two. He doesn't want to overwhelm his stomach with grease and spice after eating bland sludge for almost a month though. Ayame brings over their bill and he realizes he has forgotten money. Sasuke is not even sure where most of his belongings are.

Naruto pulls out a corny and very familiar frog wallet.

"You still have that thing?" Sasuke asks.

"Of course. It's lasted me years, it's really durable! Also, you owe me a meal."

"Sure."

Teuchi comes out instead and collects the payment as well as dropping a take out bag on their table.

"See ya Naruto!"

"Thanks Teuchi, see you tomorrow!"

–

"If you haven't gathered, we're making a stop." Naruto says having opted to walk with the hot contents of the take out bag. Sasuke is grateful to be walking. Their meal is sloshing around his stomach uncomfortably so he adopts a steady pace alongside Naruto.

Luckily they don't have to walk long, the hospital is only a five minute walk from the new Ichiraku location. Naruto knocks on the locked front entrance doors, Sasuke recalls visitor hours end at 9 in the evening. A hospital staff worker happens to be walking past the doors as the two shinobi wait outside. The nurse looks alarmed and then she seems to recognize Naruto as he waves around the bag of food and points up towards where Sakura's office is. The nurse finally opens the door and lets the two in.

"Thanks Shoko-san!" Naruto exclaims, while the older looking nurse shakes her head and rolls her eyes as she walks down a different hallway. Sasuke thinks inwardly how Naruto is able to retain nearly everyone's name he comes into contact with.

"How long ago did she get called away?" Sasuke asks.

"Mmm…we got you set up on the couch…she healed your eyes and arm and then a hawk came. So…" Naruto does some mental math and grumbles under his breath. "Eight hours ago…ish? I don't know. Math isn't the top requirement for Hokage."

"Thank goodness." Sasuke replies mockingly.

They climb a couple flights of stairs to the floor of doctors offices. Sakura's is at the end, the office with the biggest windows. Sasuke remembers this because she had told him all about it while he had been healing post war. She had animatedly informed him that Tsunade was giving her more responsibility and with that came the better office, which has big windows and a great view of the hospital gardens.

Naruto knocks on her closed door.

Haruno, S. Her name is attached to the front of the door. There is a lamp on inside, at least from what Sasuke can deduce from the blurred window on the side of the door.

Naruto turns the knob and enters quietly. Sasuke follows along. The first thing he sees are two large catty corner windows right behind her desk. Even in the dead of night the street lamps and building lights shine like stars on earth throughout Konoha. He can imagine how amazing it must look during the day time. He's realizing he had only ever gone to her office at night during his hospital stay. Sasuke smirks to himself, feeling a certain pride in her that he can't quite place. It's similar to what he had felt when he first saw the extent of her power during the ten tails attack. Sakura had always been brilliant, her know-how and situational awareness was always the best on their team. It probably still was.

His vision slowly adjusts to the dim lighting. He spots a lump leaning over the desk and realizes it's Sakura asleep on a heap of strewn papers.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto nudges her shoulder. She wakes fairly easily, albeit groggy. Sasuke watches the two of them and feels strange. Unsure how to place the emotion. He sees they are close, the two have really taken care of each other over the years and they still do. He feels a moment of melancholy for all the times he's missed.

Their determination for their goals had saved him after all. His determination for his goals had made him stronger, and in the end had led him back to the people who actually give a damn about him.

'The last Uchiha' doesn't sound so lonely when he knows he has the two of them always looking out for him.

Sakura mumbles something and it makes no sense to either Naruto or Sasuke. Sasuke and Naruto look at each other from across the room with a look of confusion, both trying to decipher what she had muttered. Sasuke ends up taking the initiative. He walks over to her desk chair and nods to Naruto to help him. Sasuke kneels down and Sakura wobbles to stand. Naruto helps guide Sakura to Sasuke's waiting back, so he can carry her back to her apartment–after all he, more than anyone, knows how important it is to have a comfortable sleeping surface.

Sasuke secures her onto his back. Naruto opens one of her large windows.

"Do you remember the way back?"

"Ah. 379?"

"Yeah. I'll close her window and bring her food. Be careful." Naruto hands him the key he had used earlier to lock up her place.

Sasuke hops out of the window with ease onto a nearby ledge and takes to the rooftops in the direction of her apartment.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura's arms are wrapped around his clavicle, she breathes his name against his neck which sends a shiver up the ridges of his spine.

"You fell asleep at your desk."

"I still have some charts…to…to finish up." Sakura yawns in the middle of what she was trying to tell him.

"You need to sleep." He can feel the longer strands of her loose hair tickling his neck and face from the speed at which they are traveling.

"You're bossy." Sakura retorts, her voice still laced with sleep.

She can't see but her remark brings a small smile to his face. He doesn't remember her being so forward with him back when they were kids. Ever since the war he has been getting to know the confident and accomplished Sakura he always knew to be there.

They arrive at her doorstep not long after. Sasuke crouches so she can step off of him, his back suddenly cold from the loss of her plush warmth. He reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out her spare key and turns it in the lock.

The two enter and remove their shoes, Naruto must have taken the long way, there's no sign of him anywhere yet. Sakura stumbles taking off one of her heeled boots. He catches her with his stub arm and she grasps onto him for support.

"Sasuke-kun?" She sounds slightly more awake.

"Hm?" Her face shifts and her tired green eyes, always so bright, look dull under the cover of night. The bags beneath her eyes are dark and pronounced.

"Will you kiss me again?"