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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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3:9. A Crossroads
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A SECOND funeral was held three weeks later.
It was a small thing. The remaining Konoha 11, the Hokage, and a handful of Yamanaka Clan members, all gathered around Ino's quiet grave.
Held up by Temari, Shikamaru stood across from her, watery eyes staring vacantly at the headstone. He heard the news while still in Suna, she'd learned. Sakura hadn't asked what kept him from the first funeral.
She didn't need to. With the shadows on his face and the shake in his knees—the fear etched onto Temari's face—Sakura could've guessed.
Temari ported them in that morning with plans to port back when the ceremony ended. No one knew when Shikamaru would return to Konoha. If he'd ever stay for good. Some assumed, eventually, he might; he had yet relinquished his title as Head of the Nara Clan. But an Elder was filling the position in his absence, and no one spoke openly about what that might mean.
It had always been Shikamaru who remained strong at the end of battle. Now, on the opposite side of an almost three-month-old grave, she couldn't feel any strength left in him.
Beyond the sad shell that was the last member of Team Ten, Sakura barely took in the ceremony. Eulogies the holy man spoke drummed in her ears as she focused on the tiny blades of grass already poking through the dirt, six feet above Ino's casket.
Nature was resilient and cruel in these ways. Always pushing new life atop the old, making memories of moments people were still living in. By fall, Ino's twenty-third birthday would pass as she laid below a plush skirt of green, 22 and smiling in a store full of flowers.
Or maybe she was still 21, chained and screaming in an underground dungeon.
Or 20 and on her knees, fingers digging into the earth. Gazing out into a quiet, bloodied battlefield.
Maybe Ino never left that corpse pile; maybe she'd always be 17, turning over Choji's body, so shell-shocked she hadn't cried at first.
Sakura had spent the last few weeks trying to pinpoint the moment Ino was lost to them. But the more she thought, the less clear it became. After all—after all of it, she'd find Ino by her side, laughing and consoling her like always…until she wasn't anymore.
Maybe from the moment the war broke out, Ino was already gone. A fate preordained by the very Gods she'd begged for mercy.
All she really knew was that Ino wasn't here anymore, and the hole she'd left would remain in those gathered around her grave until the day they joined her.
Finally, the man asked if anyone wished to share their final goodbyes. Biting her lip, she glanced at Shikamaru again—but he looked like he hadn't heard a word, and only apologies would leak out if she were to try. Apologies that would've given more away to this small group than Ino would want them to hear.
…Would've wanted them to hear.
Then it was over. She placed a bouquet and let Naruto gently pull her back up so others could do the same.
And that was that. The second funeral that wasn't really a funeral, a parting that came both too late and too early, ended as quietly as it began.
Sakura would remember it like this—
Eleven months after they'd won the war, on a warm June afternoon under a painfully beautiful clear sky, who was left said goodbye to Ino Yamanaka.
Her first and very best friend.
And life resumed, pushing her forward, even as her feet dragged beneath.
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Kakashi sent a summons to the hospital early that morning, his crisp handwriting requesting that she come to the Hokage Tower on her lunch break for a meeting. Sasuke was already sitting in one of the chairs when Sakura arrived. His guard, masked and muted in a corner behind the Hokage's desk.
She spent a few seconds studying Sasuke as she took the seat beside him. The metal chakra suppressors on his wrist shone beneath the fluorescent ceiling lights. His hair was choppy with the signs of a recent cut.
Controlled as ever, he gave nothing but a slight nod in greeting.
It was hard to see or talk to him these days. Both because he'd closed the seal, and the Council's meddling.
For his safety—or rather, for the sake of the Council and the citizens—Kakashi relegated him to an overly strict house arrest in the days after his release. Without a house he was comfortable returning to, however, there hadn't been anywhere for him to stay. Naruto and Hinata tried suggesting their place; unsurprisingly, the Hyuuga Clan quickly shot their offer down.
Instead, Sakura had offered her own apartment. She'd thought they could stay there together, giving Sasuke the freedom of being without an overnight guard while she was with him. Kakashi foiled that, accepting her apartment but forbidding her from staying there.
The optics won't do either of you any good, he'd reasoned. That seemed to always be the reason.
And though she didn't like it, she hadn't put up a fight.
Sensei was probably right. Public sentiment hadn't improved in the weeks since Sasuke's release, and shacking up together so soon might make the whispers that Team Seven pulled strings for their former teammate even louder.
She didn't want to make Sasuke's life any more difficult than it already was. So she remained in Hinata's spare bedroom, and the Hokage secretly moved Sasuke into her apartment. Since she wasn't close with any of her neighbors and Sasuke's ANBU guard made arrangements whenever he needed to leave, it wasn't difficult to pull off.
What was difficult were the clearances needed to make contact with him.
No one was permitted to see him without the Hokage's and a Council Member's approval. Not even Sakura or Naruto, though they got around it often enough by sending their requests to the acting Nara Elder. But even then, they could only visit at certain times of the day, and only when certain guards were on duty. The guards were ones picked by the Council, which meant even when they did meet, they had to be careful what they talked about.
It was a deal Kakashi struck to quiet the Council down. The last Uchiha might've been freed by the Hokage's power, but they were only willing to let the matter go if he offered them a little more in exchange.
Their motive was obvious. If no one could see Sasuke, and he couldn't leave the house without an invitation, how would he ever complete the community service Kakashi ordered as a condition of his pardon?
If she had any bandwidth left, Sakura would've used the last few weeks to rally against the Council's underhanded scheming.
But she'd spent the first week in misery, weaning off the calmative, and the next week in misery at Ino's grave every day. And when Naruto finally convinced her to get out of bed when she wasn't doing that, the only thing left for her to do was what she'd always done—
Throw herself into work and the needs of everyone but herself. At the hospital, there was always something that needed her attention.
At the hospital, even the fact that she and Sasuke were barely talking again fell by the wayside. Between work, and Ino's absence, and the weight of living in this so-called peace—little energy remained to fret over Sasuke's stubbornness.
She loved him. She wished he'd reopen the seal and provide her his warmth. She didn't want him in this position, set up for failure at the whims of an angry Council.
But she had nothing left to give. If she fought, she'd lose; if she did nothing, she'd lose.
What was the point?
And lately, she didn't feel much like doing anything. Getting out of bed, going to work, leaving work, getting back in bed—just doing that most days was almost too much. Even visiting Sasuke for an approved half-hour forced her to summon more will than existed.
"Thanks for making time, Sakura," said Kakashi.
She drew her attention back to the Hokage. "Of course."
"Let's get right into it, then. Sasuke's informed me that you two need to get your seals removed sooner than later."
Surprised, she peeked back at Sasuke. Their seal didn't bother her. He kept his side closed most of the time, anyway; and when it wasn't, she enjoyed the connection it brought them. She liked feeling the emotions he never showed. Hearing the thoughts he'd never say aloud.
Without it, she worried he'd disappear from her life again. Just like when they were 12.
She worried the only thing tying her to Sasuke anymore was their seal.
"...That's right," she muttered, since she couldn't well tell Kakashi any of that. Not when Sasuke had already decided for her.
"I've combed through our archives, but it seems all the scrolls on the technique are missing." The Hokage rubbed his temple. "The Elders who know of the seal don't know how to remove it. It wasn't something designed to be removed, apparently."
Remembering the log, she confirmed, "I was told undoing it could be harmful." Perhaps with this, sensei would be convinced to let it stay.
"By whom?"
Her sights slid sideways, away from Kakashi's prying gaze. It wasn't a secret that Orochimaru placed it on her, but for some reason, she felt uncomfortable disclosing him as the informant.
"Orochimaru," Sasuke answered in her stead. "Which is why I told you we need someone with the Cursed Seal. If no one here knows the release, we need him to do it… He's probably the reason your archives are missing in the first place."
Inwardly, Sakura could only agree. That sounded exactly like something the snake would do—use a seal no one had in generations, and destroy all its recorded knowledge before anyone could do a thing about it.
"What you're asking for is a huge risk, Sasuke." Sighing, Kakashi pulled out three scrolls from under his desk. "Not only to your probationary status, but to Konoha itself."
"He won't stand against Konoha anymore," said Sasuke.
"How can you be sure?"
"He'll do as I say." With a shrug, Sasuke leaned back in his chair. "So long as I'm faithful to Konoha, he won't bother the village."
The Hokage glanced at her. "...What do you think, Sakura?"
"About what?"
"Reviving Orochimaru to remove that seal of yours. Sasuke claims to know how to do it without Reanimation."
So long ago now that she'd nearly forgotten it, the promise she made to the snake wafted up in her memory. Nothing bound her to it. If she left him dead, no consequences would find her. And without him, she'd stay sealed to Sasuke. Linked together in an unchangeable way…forever chaining him to herself and Konoha…
Her profile burned under Sasuke's stare.
Deep down, she understood removing it was best for the both of them. She knew it wasn't something they'd asked for, nor necessary any longer—wasn't so broken to keep him trapped in this situation against his will, even if she didn't mind it.
And she had made a promise, binding or not.
Once more, Sakura wondered just how far Orochimaru's foresight had reached.
"If that's the only way to remove it, then we have no other choice," she answered quietly, frowning as the words came out.
"What about Orochimaru's loyalty? Did you see anything in your time as the contact to corroborate Sasuke's assertion?"
"I think he'll do what Sasuke orders. He got himself killed when Sasuke told him to, after all… But he may use semantics to move beyond the constraints of those orders when he wants. It's risky, as you said, though I doubt he'll come for Konoha… That doesn't mean he'll follow the rule of order."
"That's true," Sasuke agreed.
Sakura continued—"So if we do revive him, it'd be better to keep him under guard than let him roam free. Just because he's loyal to Sasuke doesn't mean he holds any affection for the village. Or other villages, for that matter. If we revive him just to let him go, it would anger the other Kage."
"His confinement in the village would definitely be a condition," the Hokage mumbled, scribbling something down on a piece of paper. "The other issue is—we've got no one in Konoha with a Cursed Seal."
"Anko?" Sakura hadn't seen the woman since coming home, but they held vastly different positions. If they weren't working in the hospital, she rarely saw anyone but Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke.
She assumed Anko was working with ANBU, either masked or out on missions.
"Killed while we were in hiding."
"...Oh," was all she could say.
The brisk way Kakashi delivered it made Sakura's stomach turn. Although not in the painful, unbearable way it used to. After Ino, news of new death only hurt like an old fracture that never healed right. A soft pang in her chest, a small lump in her throat.
Just another name she'd missed in the long list carved into the Memorial Stone.
"But Sasuke's told me he knows where you two could find someone," said Kakashi.
"If Kiri hasn't executed them," Sasuke amended.
"Who is it?" she asked.
"One of Madara's followers that chose to rejoin the Allies after learning of his death. I sent him back to Kiri when I raided his base."
Mention of Kiri piqued her interest. "Is it Suigetsu?"
"No… Suigetsu doesn't have a seal."
Strangely, that made her a bit disappointed.
It wasn't like they were friends, but she still wondered how the Kiri nukenin was doing. Seeing him again would've been sort of nice—if only to ensure he was alive and well. When Sasuke wasn't around, it'd been Suigetsu protecting her on Madara's bases. Even if that protection only came by Sasuke's command.
She might not have been sitting in the Hokage Tower right now had Suigetsu not been with Sasuke. Admitting such a thing wasn't hard; though, the look Sasuke shot her as soon as she spoke his name made her scowl.
Weren't they supposed to be allies?
"So are we summoning this person to Konoha?" Looking away from Sasuke and his steely gaze, she directed the question at Kakashi. "Would the Mizukage allow it?"
"Not exactly." Kakashi pushed the three scrolls towards her. "What do you think about going on an extended mission, Sakura?"
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She and Sasuke set out three days later.
It'd been a heated discussion, but Kakashi eventually convinced the Council to allow them to travel without any additional guards. As a jonin, Sakura was qualified to supervise Sasuke; and the Council hoped, in the event Sasuke tried to run, they could use it as leverage against both of them. To end Sasuke's pardon, and sanction her for mishandling of a probationer.
Their wishes were more bothersome than concerning. He obviously wasn't going rogue—if Sasuke wanted to leave Konoha, he would've done so already. The fact the Council couldn't ease up on their blatant discrimination, even as he was leaving the village under the Hokage's orders, and just as they'd hoped from the start, was vexing, however.
Outside the gates, they checked their scrolls and bags as Naruto watched, sighing loudly every few seconds.
"It makes no sense why I can't go with you guys," he whined.
Straightening, she tied her Konoha headband on and rolled her eyes. "Take it up with Kakashi. You know this wasn't my idea."
"Yeah, but if you told him to send me, too, he would."
"We've already talked about this. You need to stay in the village and keep the Council placated."
"I don't even know what that means. I'd rather join you two. We're supposed to be a team."
Further down the path, Sasuke scoffed.
Rubbing her forehead, she tried to find an excuse that would quiet him. He'd been at this from the moment he heard she and Sasuke were going on a mission without him—at first, it was almost cute, the way he sulked. But after three days of it, her nerves were wearing thin.
It was true that Kakahshi might let Naruto tag along if she mentioned it… But she didn't want to mention it.
"Hinata would be lonely if you left," she finally settled on. "You know she's having a hard time right now."
Naruto sighed again. "Yeah, yeah… Fine. I get it." Reaching out, he handed her a packed lunch she'd watched Hinata make that morning. "Travel safe. Don't take too long coming home. I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you, too." Sealing scrolls already full, she stuffed it into her small travel bag and hiked it back on. "We shouldn't be more than a month."
"I'll hold you to that."
She chuckled. "Please do. I can't be away from the hospital too long, anyway."
Peering around her, Naruto pointed at Sasuke. "And you, bastard. None of your funny business. You'll get Sakura in trouble if you do anything."
"You're an idiot," Sasuke intoned, unimpressed.
"No, you're an idiot!"
She stepped between them, narrowing her sights at Naruto. "Quit it. You're always at each other's throats for no reason. You won't see one another for a while, so why don't you try being nice?"
"He started it," whined Naruto.
"You called me a bastard."
"I always call you that, because you usually are one!"
"Naruto, stop it," she reprimanded, turning to push Sasuke down the dirt path. "Everything will be fine. I'll write to you tomorrow once I finish the first mission."
"Watch him closely, Sakura. He's acting fishy," he yelled.
"How do you deal with him all the time?" Sasuke asked under his breath.
Chuckling, she fell into step beside him. "I think it's kind of endearing…most of the time."
"It's annoying. All of the time."
The morning sun beamed down on them, hot against the black cloak she wore. Leaves rustled in the breeze. It'd been years since she traveled down this path—longer since she'd walked it with Sasuke.
The nostalgia was so strong, she could've closed her eyes and believed the last eleven years was all a horrible dream.
"You think everything's annoying," she pointed out, letting the thought slip away.
"...Are you on my side or his?"
"Neither. I love you both equally."
"Equally, huh?" He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, then jumped into a tree before she could answer. "Where are we headed first?"
She could tell he was excited, even as he gazed down with that blank expression of his.
Grinning as her mind fell into mission mode, Sakura unsealed the first of the three scrolls Kakashi had given her, skimming it for the coordinates.
"A little ways to the southeast. We should get there before midnight if we make good time." She resealed it and lept to the branch next to his. "Since most of your chakra's sealed, you wanna set the pace?"
He raised a brow. "You're planning to keep me suppressed?"
It wasn't that she wanted to, but—"Sensei said so."
"The guard was in the room then." That was true. "Kakashi doesn't care." That probably was, too.
Still. The whole world knew Konoha had Sasuke on probation—and there wasn't a soul alive who didn't know what the last Uchiha looked like. If anyone had a doubt, the Rinnegan would surely give him away.
Should they stumble upon a squad of shinobi, it'd cause trouble if they saw him without suppressors on. Whether she agreed with it or not. But saying as much would've only made him surly, and they had too long of a journey planned to start off with a sour-mood Sasuke.
Cocking a hand on her hip, she teased, "What if you make a break for it? I'm not fast enough to catch you," hoping he'd get the hint and drop it.
"I'm not going to run, Sakura." He swung the pack strapped on his back around and pulled out an ANBU mask. "And I've got this. No one will know any better."
As soon as he slid it on, her heart dropped.
"Where'd you get that?" she asked, staring at the owl face carved into it.
"Kakashi."
"What of the ANBU it belongs to?"
"It's just a copy. Kakashi said some of the higher ranking shinobi in the other villages are familiar with the detail you had during the war. They'll think nothing of him accompanying you on a mission outside the border."
"Where is he?" she pressed.
"Relax. He just guarded me the other day, nothing's happened." He held his wrists out. "So?"
Hesitating for a moment more, she hopped beside him and clicked off the bracelets. It wasn't like she wanted to keep him suppressed. So long as no one knew, she supposed it didn't matter.
"Seriously, though. I'll really get in trouble if the Council finds out, so try not to draw attention to yourself," she warned, just in case.
He flared his chakra once, wild and strong enough to make her flinch—just like when he'd first exited the dungeons. Then he gathered it back and concealed it, hiding away behind the owl mask and the black hood he pulled over his head.
"I've no reason to put you in a bad position."
"Good," she murmured, stretching out her legs. It'd been ages since she'd gone on an extended travel—at least, one she wasn't blindfolded and on someone else's back. "Should I set the pace, then?"
"Aa."
Sakura looked once more at the faded gates of Konoha and the rooftops jutting over it. Hokage Tower perched on its small hill. Hokage Rock, where her shishou's face always bore down upon her on every road in the village. The corner where the memorial hid away behind the walls and trees.
When she was younger, before the war—she'd miss home the moment she started down this dirt path into the forest…
She turned back to the branches ahead. "Let's head out."
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With Sasuke no longer suppressed, they arrived at the town earlier than anticipated. Stopping an older woman near the front gate, Sakura got directions to the town leader's home. The lady gave the hooded figures a wary once-over, eyes quickly flitting away from Sasuke's ANBU mask, then barked an answer as she shooed them away.
"Behave yourselves. We're a peaceful town," she muttered before turning in the opposite direction and scurrying off.
Sakura kept her hood up while they walked through the main streets. Civilians maintained their distance, vigilant of the strangers pacing so confidently past them. Some men and women shot glares at their back. Mothers shuffled their children behind them, pivoting down hidden paths as they approached.
Such blatant distrust would've irked her as a genin. Now, the cautious behavior only brought a small smile.
When the people in her hometown always seemed to want more from her, the difference in space between her and these strangers felt like weight falling off her shoulders.
If she wanted to help, she could. If she wanted to leave, no one would stop her.
Beyond the constraints of the hospital, and Kakashi, and the Council—she could do anything she wanted, and none would think any less or more of her for it.
And unlike Konoha, this town was built around the woods, sprawling out into the forest. Winding between trees with no particular plan. They'd picked a spot with more clearing than not, but the paths still twisted and turned; its quaint houses popped up at random intervals. Vendors set up right outside their homes, stalls less flashy than in her own village but filled with merchandise she'd never seen.
By its size, there couldn't be more than 500 people living here. Probably far less than that. Maybe more. The woods hiding it made it difficult to guess its size.
Somehow, though—surrounded by nature and buildings all freshly built and painted, all different shapes and sizes; the slower pace of its citizens as they strolled down the streets, no one hurrying off on a mission or masked and sliding through the crowd—this town felt so much more alive than Konoha did, lately.
Places like these had sprung up all over the continent at the end of the war.
No longer in fear of attack or the need to stay mobile should battle find them, refugee camps settled in and built up into small groups of civilians who couldn't find it in themselves to return to the villages that'd abandoned them for six years. Shinobi who weren't quite rogue but wouldn't commit under a Kage filtered through them, offering protection and services.
But after Madara's targeting of medics in the later years, those who could heal proficiently were hard to come by. Finding a medic outside the main villages was near impossible.
Many of the towns in Fire sent requests to the Hokage for assistance, though this was the first time Kakashi had asked her to answer them. Missions like these were easily fulfilled by chunin. Sensei had likely thought, since she was headed this direction, anyway, it was easier just to send her.
And this way, Sasuke could use the missions for his community service. If the Hokage managed to convince the Council to let him in their absence, that is.
On the next turn, a blue house with a stone chimney popped up in the distance. Just like the old woman had said.
"Stay behind me," she ordered as they neared, tightening the string under her neck. "Since we weren't scheduled to arrive until the morning, I'll get us a room for the night."
"Aa." Sasuke fell back, keeping five paces behind.
She knocked on the door and waited. The sun was only starting to set—there was time to work if she wanted. But they weren't in a rush, and the town's summons hadn't been urgent. Better that she start fresh and early than stop halfway finished and drained.
The wooden door inched apart a minute later. Shadowed eyes peeked out of the slim opening.
"Who is it?" a man asked.
"We've come from Konoha," she answered, holding out a scroll sealed with the Hokage's stamp. "You asked for some medical assistance. Are you this town's leader?"
"Konoha, you say?" A hand darted out and snatched her offering.
Then the door closed in her face. Sakura stared wide-eyed at it, briefly frozen in surprise.
Sasuke stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Insolent fool."
"...It's fine. He's just being careful," she corrected.
"He's being rude."
"You're one to talk." Chuckling, she waved him back. "Don't worry, I got it."
She knocked a second time, a bit harder than the first. The door creaked open again, wide enough for her to make out the man on the other side.
He wasn't much older than her, and with the way his hair darted in different directions, it appeared she'd woken him from a nap. A scar cut down the side of his cheek. He leaned onto his left leg in a way that spoke of poorly-healed injuries.
Scowling, the man shook the now-open scroll in the space between them, startling her out of her scrutiny.
"We asked for help over a month ago. What took so long? What if it'd been an emergency?"
"Then you should've stated it was an emergency in the request," she calmly replied. "Konoha's hospital's been busy lately, so we haven't been able to fulfill these missions until now, though I do apologize for the inconvenience."
Sasuke stiffened behind her and sucked his teeth.
The man shot him a glare before returning it to her. "How busy could it be? The war's over. Your village has plenty of medics, but can't spare one in a timely fashion? Konoha should care for all of Fire, not just itself."
Bothered by his worsening tone, Sakura pushed back her hood and smiled at him. "Is my help no longer required, then? I'll be happy to send word to the Hokage that you're withdrawing the request."
His mouth fell open. "S-Sakura Haruno!" A moment passed as he gaped at her, then he dipped his head and swung his arm around inside in an invitation. "Forgive me! I… I didn't expect them to send you—it's an honor for the town that you've come yourself! Truly! Please, come inside and let me make amends. I was simply angered on behalf of the people who live here and foolishly took it out on you. I'll serve you some tea and dinner, if you're hungry."
"Foolish indeed," Sasuke noted, the breeze carrying his low admonishment towards the house.
"...Your guard is welcome to come in, too," the man ground out, face twitching once.
"No need. Your words didn't bother me," she lied, "so there's no amends to make. But we ate not too long ago and are tired from traveling. I'd prefer to find an inn for the night so I can rest before working tomorrow. Could you point us in the right direction?"
He stepped out, head still bowed. "Ah—then let me escort you and take care of the room."
"That's unnecessary. If you tell me how to get there, we'll be out of your way."
"Please, Haruno-sama, I insist." He pulled the door closed behind him. "I spoke out of line. Allow me to cover your stay. The town is blessed that Konoha sent you, so please… We've got many citizens who need medical attention at the moment, and no medics have come through in months…"
Slowly, he started down a path to their right, motioning for them to follow as if afraid they'd turn and leave. Sakura tugged her hood back on and nodded at Sasuke.
Told you I got it, she said. While the thought didn't bounce back, Sasuke didn't reply.
"My name is Tokiri," the leader rambled as they walked. "Before the war, I lived in Konoha, near the Aburame Compound. My wife was killed in the first year of war…after that, I couldn't bear—"
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Tokiri rented them the best room the inn had to offer.
They didn't have any with two beds, and she hadn't wanted to put the man out of more money than needed. She and Sasuke would just have to share.
That was the only reason, of course. Money and space. As guests here, they needn't burden the leader and this establishment beyond necessity. That was all.
Underwhelming was the kindest adjective she could conjure when she stepped into it. Barely bigger than her room at Hinata's, there was a single table, a single small sofa stuffed up against a single window, and a bed no larger than her own somehow smashed between it all.
But it was a place to sleep, and at least it was clean. She'd stayed in far worse, so she wasn't complaining.
"You can shower first," she offered, slipping her bag onto the table by the door. "I'm sure it was stuffy under that mask."
Sasuke plopped down on the sofa. "I can wait. You go."
"You sure?"
"Mhm."
"Alright. Thanks. I'll be quick."
Gathering a set of clothes from her sealing scroll, she hurried into the bathroom and shut the door, drawing the water as hot as she could handle. Trying not to think about how Sasuke was just outside the door, alone next to a bed they'd soon share.
Since coming home, he'd never once tried to rekindle the relationship they'd built in Madara's bases.
Yes—he held her when she needed it, and spoke more openly than when the agreement first began. But that was it. His hands never dipped too low; his words never edged beyond teasing.
Even if he might've treated her a little better than he treated others, she couldn't let herself overthink it. Every time she'd done so in the past she'd gotten burned. What happened between them during the war was just that—things that happened during the war.
Comfort offered and comfort taken. Two people in an impossible situation, doing their best not to lose their minds.
In peacetime, they didn't need that sort of thing, anymore. He didn't need it anymore.
Don't overthink this, Sakura, she scolded herself, letting the water scald her skin. If he wanted more, he would've done something by now.
Turning the shower off, she dressed quickly and went back into the room, careful not to look his way.
"All yours."
Sasuke breezed past her without a word. As he closed the door, she wrapped her hair in a towel and settled into the bed, eyes closed. Repeated the recipe for soldier pills a few times to quell her bones.
There was no reason to be so anxious. It wasn't like she hadn't been alone in a room with him before—wasn't like anything was going to happen.
With that in mind, she flipped over and let the fatigue take her.
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A rustling roused her. Blinking awake, she turned to investigate.
Sasuke was fluffing a blanket on the floor beside the bed.
"What are you doing?"
"I didn't mean to wake you." He snagged a pillow she wasn't using. "Go back to sleep."
"Why are you on the floor?"
He gave her a pointed look, then went back to arranging the blanket. "I wonder."
"Just sleep up here, Sasuke," she said. "You'll be sore tomorrow if you sleep there."
"I prefer harder bedding."
Her jaw flexed as her chest tightened. Don't overthink it, she repeated, annoyed at how easily his behavior hurt her, even when she'd prepared for it.
She was tired. From the hours-long trip—of this. Whatever this could be called, going on between them.
It would've been better to get separate rooms. She should've known how this would go.
Taking the towel off her head and tossing it beside him, she spat, "Fine. Have it your way."
"What's with the tone…?" He pushed the towel's edge off his sheets.
"Nothing. I'm tired and don't feel like telling you a second time." She turned her back so she wouldn't have to look at him and laid down. "Sleep where you want."
"...Don't test me, Sakura."
Today was the first time in a long time she hadn't felt like a passenger in her own body. Outside Konoha, in this nameless town that was happy to have her, away from the ghosts hiding in every hometown building's shadow.
She finally felt like she could breathe.
And she wasn't going to let Sasuke ruin it.
"I'm not. I said do what you want, I don't care." She closed her eyes again, intent on ignoring him. On not spending any more energy on Sasuke Uchiha and his capricious ways.
"If that's what you want, I will," he said.
"Fine. Good. Night, then."
The bed suddenly dipped as another body fell onto it. Surprised, she whipped around. Sasuke caught her jaw with his hand, tugging her head up towards his.
He leaned over her, half supported by his arm. Water from his hair dripped onto her cheek. The collar of his shirt fell forward as her sights slid down to the top of his chest. All rational thought floated from her body while she mused, for what must've been the hundredth time, that it was a crime for a man to look like he did.
The sharp cut of his stubbled jaw. The curve of his cheek bone. The way his eyes were shadowed beneath his bangs.
"How's your mind lately?" he asked, voice soft as a whisper.
"F-fine…" she stuttered, reeling from his sudden change in demeanor.
"And being away from Konoha?"
"It's—it's not—" His eye bled red as it drifted to her lips. "Bad…"
He smirked. "Nervous?" Fingers hot on her skin, he dug in as if he thought she might try to pull away. As if she were prey he'd cornered.
If she could think straight, she might've found it ironic.
He was the one who jumped up here. He was the one who'd refused her for months. Who'd just been kneeled on the floor, denying her offer to sleep on the bed.
From her position, it felt more like he was the one who got caught.
"No," she got out as steadily as she could manage. After all, nervous couldn't even begin to describe what she was feeling in this moment.
Confused, maybe. Shocked. But nervous?
Nervous was what she felt getting this room. Nervous was watching him sink into the sofa earlier, eyes fluttering closed as he untied his cloak and swept his hair back.
This was something else entirely.
"You know I'm not a very patient man… For your sake, I've been holding back. You shouldn't ask for things you aren't ready for."
It sounded more like a challenge than a confession.
"...Who isn't ready?" she murmured. "I've already handled you before."
"That wasn't the same." His thumb brushed against her bottom lip, then his hand slid down to her neck. "You're free to choose differently, now."
He'd pushed them to the edge of something again. It felt a bit different this time, though… Not teetering on a cliff, ready to plunge into a dark unknown, but standing on a crossroads, both paths winding into a future they couldn't see.
Except she already knew which way she'd go. She'd always known.
"Then and now, my choice is the same."
"Mm…"
She was annoyed with the indecision in his gaze. Annoyed with the space between them he refused to close. If he wasn't going to do anything, he should've stayed on the floor. If he was—he should just do it.
What was he waiting for?
The surge of irritation cut through the nerves enough for her to ask, "Are you going to kiss me or not, Sasuke?"
"I am." Dipping his head, he stopped half an inch away. "Just don't regret it."
I'll be posting every other week for the time being! Thanks for reading!
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and thanks to Leech for beta-reading