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Covenant
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Synopsis: In a harmonious world, who takes the blame?
What sins are punished and who decides?
Does vengeance leave with the last of its enemies?
As society rebuilds itself, Sakura learns some things can't be restored.
Not all beginnings start anew—not every ending brings closure.
And sometimes, peace isn't always that peaceful.
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3:11. A Resurrection
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SASUKE WAS already waiting when she ported back that evening. He sat on the ground at the edge of the small clearing, eyes closed and palms up in a meditation pose.
The sight was unexpected. Sakura couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him regenerating chakra. If she ever had, for that matter.
He didn't appear to notice her arrival.
As the mission lead, she had a responsibility to reprimand him for it. For sitting in the open, mask off, nothing but a simple chakra concealment to hide. Seemingly so unaware of his surroundings that she could materialize before him without startling him at all.
Anyone might have stumbled upon this place and found him—the last Uchiha, a whole continent away from the village he was supposedly confined to.
She didn't know if Kakashi had informed the other villages that Sasuke was traveling. He'd probably given some sort of warning to be safe, at least to the other Kage. For both their sakes, she hoped as much. Either way, however, she was confident the Mizukage wouldn't take kindly to Sasuke's presence this close to Kiri's gates.
But she merely mused, Nighttime suits him, and silently watched his shoulders rise and fall at a steady pace from her spot by the port tag.
That no one had found him was the important thing. There was no reason in interrupting his peace to badger him with unrealised possibilities.
The waxing moon filtered through leaves, alighting his form in uncanny patterns. A soft breeze swished the dark strands against his forehead. His black cape seemed to morph his body into the night around them, bringing the strong columns running down his neck and the sharp cut of his jaw into focus. The settled line of his lips. The stern set of his brow. A drizzle was rustling the leaves above them, lightly dripping down—glistening his pale skin.
Sometimes, when she looked at him, so ethereal and austere, she didn't know whether the burn in her throat was laughter or tears.
How was it that after everything, somehow, he was the one left beside her? Of everyone she loved, it was Sasuke in the end. The same cold boy who'd betrayed her at 12 was the quiet man holding her at 23. Comforting her through the very pain he'd inflicted, pouring himself into the chasm his hands had carved out of her chest.
Such a hauntingly beautiful and cruel twist of fate.
Sometimes, she even wondered whether all her emptiness was a punishment from the Gods for coveting one of their own.
"You're late."
Sakura blinked, mind stalling back into the forest. Purple cut through the night as he stared at her.
"A medic I know came to see me as I was leaving," she explained. "I'm sorry."
"I wasn't looking for an apology."
They regarded one another with raised brows. His legs unwound and stretched before him as his vision darted down her figure.
Then why point it out? she thought. For all their new understanding, so many things about Sasuke remained lost on her.
Saying so would've only brought another round of victorless disagreement, though.
"I brought some soldier pills if you need them," she said instead, making her way over.
"It's fine."
Settling onto the damp ground in front of him, she pulled off her pack, offering it forward. "It'll be faster than meditating."
"I don't like using them."
"Why not?"
"...They bring bad memories."
Nodding, she tossed the pack aside and leaned back on her arms. "Ah… You mean, from the war?"
"How'd the meetings go?" he asked, adjusting to mimic her pose.
Sakura had to quell the urge to roll her eyes at his blatant disregard for her question. "They were fine. Their hospital's understaffed, but they're managing well enough. Kiri's got good talent."
Sasuke hummed.
"And the head medic seemed open to my suggestions, so that's good… There's no real training regime here—it's crazy. They sort of just throw the genin in a room and let them learn through trial and error. All things considered, they aren't doing bad. The trainees in Konoha would've drowned if I'd done the same."
"Kiri shinobi adapt well," he agreed.
"True. If they had more staff, their medical squads could probably rival Kumo's… But I don't think they have the numbers to pull from even if they wanted to. And in their current state, they can't implement most of my suggestions. I told the Mizukage I'd send him outlines more in line with their capabilities once I get home and have time to think about it." She frowned. "I wish I'd known how short they are beforehand."
"They told you their numbers?"
"No, but I got a sense from briefings I attended over the years, and it doesn't look like anything's changed, unfortunately. I doubt the Mizukage has enough fighters left to field an attack on his own, let alone to reallocate to the hospital. I thought their ranks would grow after the war…"
"They should have. Quite a few shinobi I found on Madara's bases chose to return here," he remarked.
"How many?"
"Fifty or so, maybe. I wasn't keeping track."
The chuckle slipping out was cut short as she shivered. "They need triple that amount of medics."
"Cold?"
"A bit," she admitted. "The rain's picking up. Let's head back and set up camp. We should get a fire going while it isn't pouring."
"I told Suigetsu this location. He'll make an excuse not to come if we move somewhere else…" A moment later, Sasuke lifted his arm out, holding the edge of his cloak. "For now, come here."
Her heart jumped into her throat before she swallowed it down. Sharing warmth with teammates wasn't uncommon—she'd done so with Naruto and Kakashi countless times. Shinobi she only knew in name had given her their side during a storm, even some she couldn't name.
It wasn't anything to feel butterflies about. This wasn't the first time Sasuke offered comfort, she scolded herself.
Not every little decency deserved her praise or expectation.
Gingerly, Sakura crawled over and huddled in the small opening beside him. Arm wrapping around her head, he pulled her to him as the cloak fell over her, shielding her from the rain. His heartbeat was gentle and steady in her ear as his elbow propped itself on her shoulder. His hand balanced the fabric above her hair, its heat radiating into the top of her scalp.
"How long were you waiting for me?" she muttered, thankful he couldn't see the red dusting her cheeks. That so little from him still made her blush was ludicrous.
"Not too long."
"Why didn't Suigetsu come with you?"
"The man we're looking for was out on a scouting mission all day," he answered. "Suigetsu's waiting for him to return."
Curling her legs up, she tugged the bottom of his cloak around them. "You should've gone with him. What if he doesn't come?"
"Despite his childishness, Suigetsu's surprisingly good at following orders. Besides," his hand dipped down and grasped her jaw, lifting her to face him, "you wanted me here by eight, didn't you?"
Sasuke's expression was flat as a windless meadow. How he could do and say such things without so much as blinking amazed her. Made her want to appear just as unaffected as he did—it wasn't fair at all.
So she trained her own expression to stone and nodded. "...Yes."
"Let's give him an hour. We'll make camp if he's not here by then."
She nodded again, not trusting her voice a second time; nerves spinning under his impassive study. In times like these, Sakura never knew what Sasuke expected of her.
Was he even aware of how intimate his actions were? Did he intend for her to take them as such? Did any of it mean anything more than comfortable companionship?
What was she to read into when his face was empty parchment while his body was warm as a summer afternoon? When he'd surely slither out of it if she were to ask for a straight answer?
As if sensing her wandering thoughts, his knuckle nudged the soft spot under her chin. "Did the Kiri shinobi treat you well?" he murmured.
A string tightened and snapped in her mind. To hell with it.
Even if he wouldn't answer, it wasn't like he'd push her away. Even if they weren't something, this obviously wasn't nothing. Even if it might hurt in the morning—
She'd never been good at hiding her emotions in the first place.
Spurred on by the low timbre of his voice and the concern in his words, Sakura leaned forward and kissed him. She closed her eyes and lifted her hands to cup his cheeks. Ran her tongue across his bottom lip like he liked to do before slipping it between his teeth.
He tasted of tea.
Frowning, she pulled back. "Did you go to a tea sho—"
His mouth was on hers before she could finish the question. Sentence lost, she responded, fingers reaching to grip his hair. The hand on her jaw fell to her lower back and tugged her towards him. Lightning sparked to life on her neck and branched up, making her dizzy enough she could've sworn she saw stars.
The rain—his cloak—the cold, forest ground—what else could she call this feeling but heaven?
If love existed, she was certain this was it: Sasuke wrapped around her and pressing against her like she was the only real and true thing left.
Surely, he wouldn't deny it if she were to ask now. Surely he, too, understood that his tomoe were spinning behind hooded lids as he watched her, and the world was dissolving into a universe of two, and no one kissed someone like this if they didn't love them.
It was so slow Sakura thought she might melt. Deep enough that he might've been trying to drown her. The kind of kiss that all of Water Country could've sunk into the ocean and the Gods could've struck down the earth without her even noticing.
For this infinitesimal span of time, she forgot she was sad and empty. Forgot they were two people bound by shackles they could never escape. Forgot the date, and the time, and the place. And when he nipped her lip between his teeth, she forgot everything else along with it.
A man who didn't love her couldn't do this to her. She was certain of it. In this moment, at least, she was certain.
His head moved below her ear as he licked a spot he had to know she liked. "I can't remember the last time you kissed me."
One of her hands fell into his lap as her blood pounded under his mouth. She slid it up his thigh slowly, waiting for him to tell her to stop.
"We kiss all the time," she countered, breathless, fingers dancing by his groin. Waiting.
"I kiss you all the time." Then his face was right in front of hers, red and purple trapping her like prey. "Right?"
Her hand pushed another inch forward. "...Sure."
Was he not going to stop her?
When her fingertip touched the edge of his hardness, he closed his eyes and kissed her again. She felt his leg shift against hers, widening.
Making it easier for her to access him.
Emboldened, Sakura enfolded his length in her palm and tilted her head, falling into the kiss. Sasuke groaned as she squeezed and tugged up on him and she knew right then—
He wasn't going to stop her.
Finally.
Finally.
If all they'd needed to get here was her to initiate, he should've said so weeks ago.
She wanted to skate under his slacks and touch him. Wanted to shove her pants down and straddle him in the middle of this forest. Wanted to hear him moan in her ear as he slipped inside her, wanted his hands on her hips, wanted him to fill her up until she couldn't remember—
Suddenly, he was yanking her head down and hiding her under his cloak. Off-balance, she fell onto the front of his chest, hand trapped between them. His arm caged around her, holding her in place.
Someone was laughing from a treetop.
The words Sakura had ready faltered in her lungs. Her fingers flinched into him, his cock twitching in her hold. She'd been so caught up that she hadn't noticed another presence.
Maybe she was the one who needed reprimanding.
"Am I interrupting?"
Her nerves unwound at the voice. When she tried to move away, Sasuke's clutch tightened.
"Yes," Sasuke growled. "So fuck off."
"You told me to meet you here!"
"And now I'm telling you to fuck off for a bit."
Laughter ricocheted off the trees around them once more. "Who've you got there anyway, Sasuke?"
"Don't make me repeat myself a third time."
"Who am I kidding? Who else would I find you like this with?" Yards away, feet lightly hit the ground. "Long time no see, kid."
"Suigetsu."
"Let me say hi, at least! You're so damn touchy."
"It's okay." Sliding her hand out from between them, she blindly tapped his chest. "Let go, Sasuke."
Their seal warmed as he invaded her mind. Really? Reluctance seeped through her, followed by a feeling that sunk under her navel hot enough to make her hesitate.
…Yes, really. The affirmation lacked conviction. We're only here because we were waiting for him…
She wasn't that embarrassed at having been caught. Suigetsu had camped with them enough times to know they'd done more than kiss. But sending him away after being caught—so they could finish—was too mortifying an idea to overcome the obvious desire to do so.
Huffing, Sasuke closed the seal and dropped his arm. A glare awaited her when she peeked up at him.
"Always the obedient dog, eh?" Suigetsu chimed from behind.
A shuriken was popping out of a scroll on Sasuke's wrist and flying past her faster than Sakura could process. Jumping to her feet, she spun around in time to see it pass through a grinning, watery face.
Her gaze fell back to Sasuke's scowl. "That was uncalled for," she hissed.
Sucking his teeth, he pulled one of his legs up and glanced away.
And childish, she added, though the thought bounced against the walls he'd already re-erected. If Suigetsu weren't here, she might've told him how irritated his opening and closing the connection as he pleased made her, when he was the one demanding to get rid of it.
"Don't worry. I'm used to it. He's mostly all bark and no bite." Strolling to her side, Suigetsu patted her shoulder. "Glad to see you looking good again, kid."
"Keep talking, Suigetsu," warned Sasuke.
Ignoring the threat, she turned to the Kiri shinobi, sights roving over a man she hadn't seen for almost a year. Long white hair. Amethyst eyes. A pointy tooth poking out through a devious grin. He seemed to have filled out in the peacetime months, with shoulders a bit broader than she remembered and cheeks that weren't half-sunken by a lack of sleep or meals.
"It's nice to see you, too, Suigetsu," she said with a smile. "I've been wondering how you were doing."
"You thought about me?" His smirk grew. "In what contexts?"
She batted away his hand. "The general kinds."
"So Konoha of you."
"Where's Wataru?" Sasuke barked. "You had one job. If you didn't bring him, then leave."
She peered at Sasuke's lax frame, covertly assessing which spot she could kick that would hurt the most. Suigetsu had always been loyal to Sasuke. Annoying as he could be, he still deserved better treatment than these curses and cold commands, especially since they hadn't seen each other in months. She, more than anyone, knew how sharp Sasuke's words could land.
The hostility oozing from him annoyed her in ways that made her want to swat his head like her mother used to. If he couldn't be nice, he could at least be cordial.
"Don't get all scary. I brought him. Left him in a tree half a mile that way." He pointed towards the village walls. "Thought it'd be easier to knock him out. Not like he'd come willingly."
"...Aa. Good."
"Didn't he agree to help?" she puzzled.
Suigetsu scoffed. "You'd have to be crazy to let that snake take over your body. Or suicidal."
Flinching, Sakura closed her eyes and reigned in her heartbeat. "...So he hasn't agreed?" she managed to get out.
"That guy was so scared to face Sasuke that he came back to this hellhole. Ain't no way he'd agree to die for Orochimaru's sake."
"Die?" Sakura stared down at Sasuke again. "But you said he would help."
"I said I knew someone still alive with a Cursed Seal," he clarified, gaze landing somewhere over her shoulder.
Things were starting to make sense. Even though the Sannin had told her long ago he'd killed Kabuto, she hadn't considered the methods on their way here.
"So you planned to kill him all along…?"
Sasuke's countenance slacked as he shrugged.
After a breath, Suigetsu answered, "How else would Orochimaru return? He needs a body. Can't have two people sharing the same one." He made a disgusted noise. "And I think I'd rather die than share one with him."
"I see." No matter how hard she glared, Sasuke refused to meet her eye.
"What? Does that offend your grand savior sensibilities, medic?" Suigetsu teased.
In the past, it would have. Only seven or eight years ago, she would've ended this mission right here. A medic's job was to save lives, not take them; certainly not trade one life for another.
But that oath existed purely in fantasy. Once faced with the choice, one's perspective quickly and inevitably changed. After choosing a few times, it hardly took any thought at all. Now, hundreds of choices later—Sakura couldn't feel anything for a stranger who'd once served Madara.
She didn't care whether or not he died. It was the fact that Sasuke hid it that bothered her.
"Not really," she intoned, sighing. "We could still get a corpse from the hospital, though."
"Defiling a corpse and burglary from the village? Wow, I didn't think you had it in you, Sakura!" She grimaced at Suigetsu's twisted expression. "I'm down."
Standing up, Sasuke shook out his cloak. "The transfer only works if the person's alive."
"Damn. Bummer."
"And if a body disappears the same day you arrive, who do you think the Mizukage would blame?" Sasuke directed at her.
She lifted her chin in defiance. "Between the three of us, we can figure out a way to switch it with a copy."
"No." Sasuke's sights shifted back to Suigetsu. "Go bring him here."
"You got it, bossman."
As soon as Suigetsu leaped into the trees, she rounded on Sasuke and snapped, "You should've told me."
"I thought you knew," he said lowly, finally looking at her. The rain plastered his hair to his face, his cloak clung to his chest.
"How would I know about Orochimaru's seal, Sasuke? I hate being kept in the dark."
"I know. I didn't keep it from you intentionally."
"Really?"
A second passed before he chuckled. "Really, Sakura. And you should go make camp while we do this. I'll come once the jutsu's complete."
"Someone'll notice he's gone missing, you know. It'll be worse losing a shinobi than if a body disappears."
"One of Suigetsu's informants will tell the Mizukage that Wataru went rogue when they realize. He's got no family and already deserted once. It won't be hard to pass off."
"...Suigetsu has informants?"
Sasuke grinned again. "He's got his uses." Kneeling down, he pulled his pack out from under some brush.
"I can't really picture it," she mumbled. "Anyway. I'll stay and help."
"If we're caught, I don't want you with us." He held the pack out for her. "Take this so it doesn't get soaked. Suigetsu and I will head east and find a place with better coverage to do it."
She stepped closer, disregarding the bag. "If you're caught, you'll need me there to explain."
"I need you not to get swept up in an even bigger scandal."
"It doesn't bother me."
"But it bothers me," he said, lightly pressing the bag into her stomach. "Please."
From his lips, that word worked miracles on her resolve. His mouth twitched as she took his pack, and she wondered if he knew it.
"Fine, then. Regardless, I'll go find you if you aren't back by six tomorrow."
Sasuke nodded and tugged on his hood. "It shouldn't take more than three hours. You can come if I'm not at camp by then."
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She lay in the tent, counting the minutes as they dragged on. Being alone felt bizarre after spending weeks with Sasuke constantly around. Even in Konoha, Hinata or Naruto were nearly always home with her.
At least the tent was small.
It'd been almost a year, but she still wasn't confident her mind could handle the vast, open, foreign forest on her own. Just the idea of it had the tendrils of a panic weaving through her veins. When she tried setting her thoughts to something else, however, something more pleasant—she came up blank.
But blank was better than a battlefield. That she could lay in silence without immediately hearing the clang of metal and the thumping of bodies was a sort of progress, she supposed.
When she tired of staring blankly at the burlap walls, she searched her bag for the sealing scroll she'd stowed a red ribbon away in. Naruto had gotten it for her a week after leaving the hospital, from the top shelf of a bedroom dresser.
Right where Ino said it would be.
Thinking back now, it was only cowardice that kept her from venturing into the Yamanaka Compound herself.
Like her shishou, Ino listed two people as her next of kin. And except for Naruto's brief visit, just like her shishou's apartment, she and Shikamaru had left Ino's locked and untouched. An undisturbed shrine to the last hours of her life.
Both keys were tucked in a safe in her office at the hospital, kept hidden so she wouldn't ever see them.
One day, she knew she'd have to face it. Knew she'd have to clear out those homes of belongings their owners would never come to claim. Box up the lives of the two women she'd loved most and pack them into storage somewhere to collect dust. So the homes could be used by some stranger who'd never know how many times she and Ino had laughed in their kitchen together, or how many hours she'd spent in their living room, pouring over Tsunade's books.
One day, long after they were gone, she'd have to open that safe like an autopsy.
Death was a strange and numerous thing, she'd come to realize. It didn't end with their passing. Learning a loved one was gone was just the first death; grieving was another.
And every day in-between and after that brought countless, smaller deaths. Kakashi switching out Tsunade's chair in his office. Finding a shirt Ino had lent her buried in a drawer. Passing by a dango stand in town for the first time. Swatting a new bug off her leg. The empty seat beside Naruto when Team Seven was called for meetings and they'd set one too many out of habit.
Sakura wasn't sure if she'd accepted it or was simply living with it. She wasn't sure if there was a difference between the two, or if it mattered. Either way, this was life in peacetime—no matter how many tears she shed or screams she let loose in a pillow at night.
Peace was merely an endless feeling of loss, compounding in number yet diminishing with time. She wouldn't necessarily describe it as painful anymore, even though it hurt. Not thousands of miles away from the worst of it, as she was now, at least.
The ribbon snaked between four fingers above her head. It was such a silly item to have kept this long.
"We're resurrecting Orochimaru tonight," she said to no one, staring up at the red silk. "You probably think we're crazy for it."
More than crazy—certifiably insane! she imagined Ino shouting.
She could've almost pictured Ino beside her, scowling and waving her arms around. Could've almost painted the tint of her platinum hair in this low light and the clothes she might've worn on a mission like this.
Aching as it was, Sakura still managed to smile at the image, sights watering. "I'd resurrect you if I could."
You better not.
What would Sasuke think if he found her talking to herself again, she pondered. Was there anyone he spoke to when he was all alone? Down in the dungeons or in the quiet of her bedroom—had he ever imagined his brother beside him? His parents?
How did Sasuke stay so composed all the time?
"You know… Sometimes, I wonder if things would've gone better had Tsunade sent you as the contact instead. You would've known how to act. You wouldn't have gotten so involved, or taken this seal. You were right—I had no clue what I was doing, Ino." She ran her thumb over the fabric. "...I think I messed it all up."
Damn right, I was right, and I told her she'd regret it. Now look at us.
"That's not funny," Sakura scolded, though she chuckled. "I hope you two are finally getting along."
To that, Tsunade probably would've grumbled something like: She's as insubordinate as ever.
She waited for the words. Closed her eyes and tried to think of her shishou's voice and honey gaze. But save for the rain tapping outside, the tent remained mute.
This aspect of death, too, was strange. How their ghosts only came to her when she least expected it. In the middle of the day, in a random restaurant in town, Choji would breeze past her and disappear into another stall. On her way home, Lee would shout a greeting from a nearby tree.
In these moments, however, when she desperately longed for their company—they were gone.
Maybe that was just another small death that came with healing.
"Sakura."
Lurching from her prone position, she shoved the ribbon in her pack, stuttering out a quick, "I-I'm in here."
The flap opened and Sasuke bent halfway into the tent, searching for her. His brow creased as he looked between her and the bag she was pushing into the corner.
"Everything okay?" he asked.
"Yes. Just...organizing."
"Mm. Come outside. We've finished."
Fixing her hair, she followed him out. He draped his cape over her shoulders when she stepped beside him, too soaked through to be of much use.
Observing the clearing, she frowned. "Where is he?"
Sasuke nodded towards a branch to their left. Gaze following the direction, her vision lifted to the treetops. A middle-aged Orochimaru smiled down at her through the raindrops, shoulder resting on the trunk and arms crossed.
"Hello again, Sakura Haruno."
After all this time, the voice still made her skin crawl. "So you're finally back."
"Finally is right. And it's all thanks to you. You've done everything you promised, little medic." He jumped to the ground and bowed, sneaking a glance at the man beside her. "I was right to trust you."
"This was Sasuke's idea," she corrected. "Not mine."
"Is that so, Sasuke?"
"Were you the one who stole from Konoha's archives?" he challenged, expression twisting as if smelling something putrid.
"Me? Steal? Why would I do such a thing?" Straightening, Orochimaru shook his head. "I only borrowed a few items. I always planned to return them."
Sasuke scoffed. "Then you do know how to remove this seal." He held out his wrist.
"You look much better than the last time I saw you, Sakura Haruno," said Orochimaru, ignoring Sasuke completely. "That pleases me."
The way he regarded her like a specimen in a petri dish had her stomach turning. "Somehow, I find that hard to believe."
"Have I ever lied to you?"
"Yes," she asserted. "Plenty."
The Sannin laughed. "That may be so, but I assure you, I mean it."
Sasuke was suddenly gripping the man's collar, a snarl on his lips. "Answer my question."
"Dearest student, you didn't ask a question," Orochimaru responded calmly.
"Do you know how to remove the seal or not?!"
His voice rang through the forest, loud enough to make her jump. Red bled in as he glared at his shishou. While she hadn't anticipated a happy reunion, she hadn't thought Sasuke would lose it this fast.
If it turned to a fight, Kiri would undoubtedly find them. And the only thing worse than the last Uchiha five miles from the city gates was the last Uchiha and his presumed-dead teacher in the same place they'd once used as headquarters for the enemy. Battling it out as a Konoha commander tried to stop them.
Placing a hand on his outstretched arm, she sunk warm chakra into his channels. "Sasuke, relax…"
"Don't let him start with his games, Sakura. He's the reason we're even in this mess. Answer me, snake! Can you remove it?"
"Perhaps." Orochimaru tugged his shirt free and moved back. "But the body you've given me is older than I'd like, and seems rather drained of chakra. I think I'll need some rest before performing any jutsu."
Sasuke took a deep breath. "Sakura's brought soldier pills."
"I'm tired, as well." Orochimaru yawned too wide to trust.
"I have no problem sending you back to the grave, Orochimaru," said Sasuke. His chakra seeped out, menacing and cold—so concentrated that she had to hold her breath to keep her instincts from spiraling. "My patience is running out."
"Ah, you hear that?" Grinning, the Sannin stared down at her. "And you truly believe he brought me back on his own accord?"
Sakura stepped between them, rolling her eyes. These two together again was like watching vipers circle each other. It hadn't taken more than five minutes and they were already in a pissing match.
"We've waited this long, Sasuke. Another night won't hurt."
"That's right, Sasuke. One more night won't hurt," Orochimaru repeated.
Before Sasuke could snap anything nasty back, Sakura turned to him. "Where's Suigetsu?"
"Stop asking after him," he seethed. "I'm not waiting any longer. You'll take these damned seals off us tonight or I'll return you to the hell you crawled out of."
Tutting, Orochimaru looked at his nails. "Always so violent and in a rush. You never learn. Very well… But we'll need your pet for the jutsu. Where's he run off to?"
"His pet?" She peeked at Sasuke.
"The boy you just mentioned. Suigetsu, I think it was," the Sannin replied, smirking. "A witness to the seal must be present at its removal or it won't work. The one who cast it, too. So I'd save the murdering for later if I were you, Sasuke."
It was impossible to know if Orochimaru was being honest.
That was the problem with someone like him—he held too much information, and was smart enough to use it in ways no one could disprove. If the jutsu needed someone to cast and someone to witness, it made sense it might require the same to undo.
He could've been telling the truth. She and Sasuke had no way to know.
But if he wasn't, it was a sly way to make Sasuke back down, she thought.
"...He'll be here in an hour." Sasuke's frigid tone told her he'd come to the same conclusion. "Go get the soldier pills, Sakura." Hesitating, he added, "If you want."
Although she didn't like his haughtiness, she slipped back into the tent and did as he requested. He was clearly too riled up to nag him for the order. And he'd withdrawn it quickly, anyway.
Digging through her pack, Sakura snagged the clear bag of pills at the bottom. She'd only brought a handful for the trip, and already used half her supply. Hopefully what she had left was enough.
Supposing the Sannin even truly needed them, that was.
When she exited the tent, pills in hand, the two men were whispering at each other. Sasuke scowled as Orochimaru stared back, pleased and seemingly without care. The wave of nostalgia that washed over her wasn't half as unpleasant as she would've expected.
…Though it was uncomfortable to think about why she'd feel such a thing at this scene.
They quieted as she neared.
"Here." She held her fist out. "These are the only ones I have right now, but I could probably get some more tomorrow from Kiri's hospital."
"We're doing this tonight," Sasuke insisted.
Orochimaru inspected them as she dropped the white capsules into his palm. "This should do. Thank you again, little medic."
"You wait out here." Grabbing her arm, Sasuke hauled her towards the tent. "I don't have to warn you what'll happen if you try to run, right?"
Smiling, the Sannin plopped a pill on his tongue. "I wouldn't dream of running from my benefactors."
"We'll be in the tent. Hide somewhere until Suigetsu gets back."
Slitted eyes danced in her direction. "Do play nice in there," he crooned. "Burlap is quite thin."
Once inside, she yanked out of his hold. "What was that, Sasuke?"
"What?" Sighing, he fell onto the sleeping mat.
"You didn't have to act like that."
"He would've strung us along for days if I let him out of it now."
She slid off his cloak and laid it out on the opposite side of the tent. "Even so. You could've gone about it better."
"...Just seeing him makes me angry."
That made her pause.
She studied him in the candlelight as he pulled his wet shirt over his head and tossed it beside him. He'd told her some bits about his relationship with Orochimaru, but she was sure there was more.
They'd spent nearly ten years together, after all. Far longer than she and Sasuke had.
And when he looked back at her, all traces of his previous venom dissipated, she almost felt like crying.
There was still so much she didn't know about him.
Why he couldn't stand his shishou, why he hated Kakashi. Why he treated her so much better than anyone else but wouldn't give her any sort of confirmation or commitment. The things he wanted to do or the dreams he used to have. Who he'd relied on in the time they'd been apart.
He had no real home. No concrete reason for staying in Konoha. He hadn't even wanted to live past the war.
So what did he plan to do when their seal was gone?
If she thought about it too hard, her chest ached. Sasuke knew everything about her.
He knew the people she loved and the places she cherished. What foods she liked to eat and which she merely suffered. The number of people she killed. The number she'd saved. How much she could handle before she broke and what she was willing to die for.
Her aspirations, her terrors, her passions, her downfalls—Sasuke knew them all. He never had to ask what she needed. Never was at a loss for why she acted the way she did.
Sometimes, he felt as fleeting as the ghosts that clung to her in the village streets.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
How did he expect her to answer? Even that, she didn't know.
"Nothing."
"You sure?"
It was too late to stop it now, though. Orochimaru was back and Sasuke was ready. Whether she got sick over it or let it happen, their seal would disappear, regardless. Eventually, everything and everyone came to an end.
That's what winning a war had taught her.
"Yep." Bearing down on the churn in her gut, Sakura plopped next to him.
"Then we could start where we left off, before Suigetsu interrupted us…?" he murmured, laying back and gazing at her, cradling his head in his hands.
Surprised, she flushed and flicked his chest. That was the last thing she'd envisioned hearing from him.
"Stop it. Orochimaru's outside," she reminded.
"The people outside never stopped us before."
"I know you don't mean it."
"Don't I?"
Her brow creased, face hot as flames. "Seriously, Sasuke. Stop teasing me."
"Aa, alright," he said with a smirk. "I'm going to rest a bit. Wake me up when Suigetsu gets here."
Shirtless, without any weapons, chakra settling down to a level he couldn't scan with, he closed his eyes and let his breathing even out. She watched his shoulders rise and fall at the same steady pace they had earlier that evening.
Well… She knew this much, at least—Sasuke Uchiha trusted her enough to sleep completely unguarded beside her. Enough to leave her to watch over him, despite a man he despised and a village who'd kill him just minutes away.
He trusted her with his life.
And she supposed another version of herself would've been content with that.
One of these days, I will get back to weekly updates :)
until then~thank you for continuing to support the story.
Everyone's comments always bring me big smiles, and get me through writing this as work is killing me.
You guys are the best :) Love you all :)
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and thanks to Leech for beta-reading