Chapter 19

Sasuke

Sasuke had the escaped cat wrapped underneath his arm in less than half an hour of locating her as it tried to wriggle and scratch itself free, and Tenten had him go deliver it to the owner personally. He did not care about the very obvious delegation of himself. After all, he needed the money, and the more tasks he got done, the more he'd be paid.

Madam Shijimi pulled his cheek so hard that a prominent beet red mark was left on his cheek before she proceeded to ruffle his hair. He was still holding the cat under his only arm, so he couldn't even protect himself from this assault. Sasuke remained expressionless, just grunting when a reply from him was expected. If she wasn't a political figure…

He took out the mission report from his pack and handed it to her for her signature and remarks and his face was contorting as he tried to place a smile. He needed to collect reviews to rise up the ranks and based on those the Hokage would be making decisions on his missions.

Trudging back to Tenten for his next mission, he passed by Karin furiously raking the leaves as some kids dashed past and made short work of the pile she had already collected. He looked up at the Hokage Mountain, deciding on a quick detour just to steady his nerves and if Karin lashed out at the kids with the rake, he wouldn't be a susceptible witness. He was being particularly testy today but the darkness was at bay. He had also finally decided to move back to his own quarters.

Did he think Karin had a hand in it? He couldn't be sure. Shikamaru had signed her in, she had told them, and she had walked along the length of the entire village without even being told where Naruto's house was and had located it very easily. Her Mind's Eye had just carried her along and she hadn't even needed to be told that he was nowhere near the Uchiha quarters. She shared his passion for adventure and lovemaking just as well as him, and had been more than eager to spark things up.

He had decided to start a family with Karin, a part of the reason he had decided to move back here. She was pretty, she was powerful, and she belonged to a clan which combined with his would definitely ensure strong heirs, possibly even awakening their own Rinnegan in the future through their combined bloodline. They had both, however, agreed not to be restrained by one another when it came to their individual goals. In the future, Karin intended to continue as a researcher on cursed seals, which was where her detour had taken her. She had completed her side mission with Suigetsu on the outskirts of the Land of Waves as he had called in a favor. But for now, as they reared a family, she had agreed to work on her favourite hobby; collecting perfumes and perhaps starting a business.

He sat on top of Hiruzen Sarutobi's head and looked down at the familiar yet still unfamiliar village. He could see the tori of the Naka shrine in the former Uchiha family district, but the Uchiha flag no longer soared above it. The upper level of the shrine had been rebuilt, but he doubted anyone ever visited. He stuck out his hand and made an L shape, picturing the former Police Force where it had stood. All those times he had passed by it in awe and Itachi had just smiled at his excitement.

He knew he should stop acting like a boy and more like a man. He knew he should get serious about his goals and ambitions and start working his way toward them instead of procrastinating. But his past outweighed him and the darkness threatened to consume him and the only out he had discovered was to get drunk and fuck around enough to be exhausted into slumber.

Karin had confronted him on his excuses to not permanently settle in Konoha and the purpose of his walk of redemption, and he had agreed with her that it was because of his eyes that he refused to stay in one place, that he did not want enemies seeking him out and targeting Konoha in the process, but that wasn't all there was to the story. His brother had thrown away his life for this village, and he still harboured somewhat of a grudge against it, especially its system, but he did not want his sacrifice to be in vain. He did not want his family to ever go through the same feat again.

He'd start working on the proposal for a Police Force, he thought, finally determined. He'd ensure no one had to go through what his brother had went through, even if it meant continuing to aid this village he had loved, and he'd learn to love it too. He'd protect others like him and he'd protect Naruto. This was the most he could do as he couldn't give him his heart's desire to be with him as it'd not help anyone's legacies. Naruto would not want to share him in the longer run and he just wasn't ready to commit not just because of his desire for a family, but also because Naruto had goals before he had ever gotten involved with him. He cared about him too much, he knew, not that he'd ever admit it to the idiot. But he was his idiot. He'd be his shadow and would ensure the fool made Hokage.

He stood up just a bird flew by close enough that he could tell the exact shape and size of the creature. The wind was stronger up here as well and his poncho threatened to fly away with it. Ironically again, as he stood atop Hiruzen Sarutobi, he felt a lot like Danzō Shimura, staying underground and working behind the scenes, though he'd rather kill himself or anyone for making that comparison.

He decided he'd continue completing all the D-rank missions Kakashi assigned him quietly. It would give him time to work on a business proposal which could ensure Kakashi and the councillors find hard to refuse. He would even take another one of Madam Shijimi's pinches if it meant she'd put in a good word for him in the Fire Daimyo's ear.

He knew his criminal background didn't do any favours for him regardless of the fact that the idiot went around defending him at every corner, which invariably was costing his own reputation in some places. There had been outrage in the village after the Hokage had him officially pardoned and neither had the Allied Shinobi Forces agreed on his roaming free in the world, especially outside the bounds of Konoha. The councillors had also been outraged. Everyone had objected, but the idiot that he was, Naruto had undertaken all responsibility for his actions. He was undeserving of Naruto's love, he felt. He had always felt that way.

He'd never allow him to stay back and not realize his true potential. He would make sure the idiot realized his dreams. His exile had helped the villagers forget about his presence for a while, but they needed to remember him as he was, always a shadow to Naruto's light, aiding him like night aids day, and love him secretly, but he'd not pull him back, never.

And again, he'd crush the organs of anyone who dared compare him with Danzō.

Sakura

Sakura made a precise cut in the body in front of her and pushed back her sleeves. She submerged both hands into the body to remove the large intestine. Kiba stood by her, parchment and quill poised to start noting her findings. So far, the only words between them had been purely professional, and both were intent to keep it that way. The awkwardness was palpable.

She talked to her nurse to hand her the instruments as she moved along, and even he could sense that the tension in the room was not because of the open cadaver in front of them, but the uneasiness between the two individuals who happened to be working together.

Sakura spoke out loud to the room instead of turning towards her partner at all, and sometimes pretended to be talking to the nurse instead, who himself had started to grow extremely uneasy by being stuck between the pair. After about 2 hours, she had sewn the body back up already and moved on to the next one. It was then that Kiba spoke words other than confirmations and double-checks of what he was writing.

"Can I… take a ten minute break?" he asked quietly. Sakura then finally turned to look at him. Her mask covered her expression, and her eyes didn't give much away, but she nodded. The two hours had done little to distil the tension. She looked at her nurse, requesting a glass of water.

As he left, Sakura noticed him looking at her as she pulled down her mask and drank. She felt eyes on the back of her head and turned to look at him, and it appeared he had something to say. His mouth was partly open and he appeared to be sucking in air like a fish. She noticed that he had trimmed his hair and beard finally after his return and speculated it was due to meeting someone new and scheduling a date later that night. His left canine was exposed, and she saw him run a tongue over it as he waited nervously for a response. His appearance was less unkempt and less wild with all his hair in place, and she decided she had liked it better the way it was previously.

"You should hurry back," Sakura said lowly. "We've a lot of work left for today if we don't want to spend the night."

She could've kicked herself for her choices of words when she saw his face turn beet red. She looked away quickly as her face burst with even more sweat. Out of the corner of her eye, she continued looking at him and he shook his head like he always did when he was embarrassed or broke out of his thoughts, like irking away a fly, before leaving the ward.

The awkwardness, if possible, just built further. She wondered what was truly Kakashi's agenda by pairing them up together in this mission. Her skin crawled and she shivered. It was cold in this room. The smell of death and chemicals lingered in the air.

"You belong with Kiba, a boy of your age, who will gladly give you everything I will never be able to," he had said to her. "Go back into that Inuzuka boy's arms, who, as apparent to everyone in the village, loves you with every fibre of his being."

It was a tad too late for that, she thought. She had seen him with that new girl. She had seen him at a loss for words in front of her. She had heard him bragging to that girl, like he used to brag to her about his achievements, and Sakura had laughed heartily back then. When he had looked at her indignantly for not taking him seriously, she had leaned in and kissed him. His expression always changed immediately. Now he'd be doing all this with that new girl. And she'd have to learn to make her peace with it.

She may have been able to before her life completely changed again but felt it was no longer possible. She reached her fingers up to her belly. What had Kakashi meant when he said those words?

"Sakura, it doesn't matter how I feel for you. The time I spent yesterday was certainly... Pleasurable... But between us, it will never work out."

He had apparently considered it. He had considered her. But he had proceeded to turn her down point-blank. He was not willing to take that leap of faith. He had definitely not wanted to risk his reputation.

She had replayed that conversation in her head countless times. And despite the liquor fueling her actions and bravery that day, she had analyzed his words when she was sober.

"My feelings in this don't matter," he had said. "No, Sakura, I do not love you," he had followed up soon after.

Tears stung her eyes. Even if Kakashi was the father, he would want nothing to do with her. He did not feel for her enough even if he ever stuck his neck out and risked his reputation.

And if Kiba was the father, he had moved on from her to a different girl. And only after his attention shifted did she realize she had always needed it.

She was alone.

And it served her right.

She didn't even know why she felt this way. She wasn't even sure if she'd keep this child and common sense dictated that she shouldn't.

She quickly wiped her tears away as Kiba made his way back into the ward, his back to her as he put on his mask, hat and robe again. He had to come towards where she stood to sanitize his hands before he could wear his gloves. She moved away to give him all the room he wanted.