Hoo boy, did I take forever to come back to this story. Your unyielding love has helped tonnes to motivate me. You're all gorgeous :D

Thoughts and helpful criticism is always welcomed.

- ; -

Kakashi struck.

Sakura and Sasuke were taking refuge behind a rock when he did. Kakashi came with such power and speed, Sasuke hadn't realized their location was discovered before the blur of his masked face came into direct view. Gloved fist raised with Sasuke's face printed out in smiley faces on it.

Well shit.

Counterattack was laughable. All he could do was steer out of the way and grab Sakura by the elbow to get the heck out of dodge.

Behind them rock shatters.

"Naruto!" Sakura shrieks. Cranking up the speed as they weaved through trees. "Do it!"

In unison they drop face down onto grass, hands entwined behind their heads.

"Oho?" a twig snaps near to them. "Now why – "

From somewhere distant, a slightly manic Naruto screams; "BOOYAH!"

Around them a hundred paper bombs explode.

Detonation roars across the forest in terrifying power.

Sasuke's ears throb and ring, turning Sakura's shocked scream and thunderous explosions into something tiny and buzzing.

Behind closed eyelids, reflections of past and present mix like ink and water. Suddenly Quin is besides him instead of Sakura and he's lying behind their police car, they're under fire assault.

'ETA on backup!'

'Five minutes'

'Goddamn - '

Now Sakura's Mickey from a seperate division and he's propped up against the trash. Staring stupidly at his leaking intestines that were blown open by a kid too scared with a shotgun. All Godfrey could think was.

'I shot a kid.'

Smoke of burnt wood floods around his head, stinging his nostrils and Gofrey-Sasuke-whoamI feels dizzy. His eyes begin to water when opening and looking up. Trying to follow what was happing instead of the hazing memories. Ruins and fiery debris fly down onto patched ground. Sasuke can barely see through grey mounds of clouds and ash. Pulling up the collar of his shirt to keep himself from inhaling too much smoke, he startles at Sakura's talon-like grip demanding him to keep moving.

They end up meeting a grinning Naruto in the clearing of where they began. Untouched by fire but snowing with ash.

Sakura giggles slightly. Eyeing the place with caution.

"Man, this was a piece of cake."

A chill goes down Sasuke's spine. Intuition jolts him into ducking an overhead swipe.

Holy shit.

"Plan B! Plan B!" Sakura shoves herself across the clearing in haste. Leaving Sasuke to receive a follow up punch to the side of the ribs. A crack, vision spotting. Momentum carries him straight into Naruto's awaiting sternum. The kid breaks his landing but somehow in the all the tumbling ends up on top.

"Oh my God," the blonde tears up in pain. "This is so not cool."

Sasuke blacks out then.

- ; -

He wakes to Rin's light scolding, Naruto's pissed look and Sakura looming in the background. He's lying in a hospital room on a bed with taped ribs, and an IV tube wedged in his arm. Propped up on pillows and pain meds he reminds himself to swipe later on.

All in all, the situation had much to be desire for.

"We failed, like, badly."

"Go in Kashi-chan they won't bite~"

Sasuke stares at the ceiling where the hollowed voice comes from.

Apparently, storyline was still kicking.

Sasuke wished his ribs punctured a lung yesterday.

Fucking Plot.

"Oi, asshole are you listening?" Naruto snaps his fingers in his face. Scowling. "After you fainted on us which, thanks for that by the way, you were a real trooper. We got our ass handed to us sideways with a shitty side dish of misery. Sakura got hit by a genjutsu so royally messed up she vomited. Sakura." He emphasises to Sasuke's 'why should I give a crap' look. "For the love of – can you at least care about her? Blink, sigh, anything you bastard. She spends all her time loving you instead of me which I don't even understand you're an empty sack of - "

"What happened to you to make you so pissy?" He sighs. Head falling back to stare at the part of the ceiling he could hear Rin sing a nursery rhyme about various ways to stab a man.

She was very creative.

"We lost to him," Naruto says. Face flat in defeat. "Because of you."

There wasn't a lot Sasuke could bring himself hate, being dead and all really puts things into perspective, but denial was something that he just couldn't tolerate.

"Do yourself a favour, Naruto," he meets the kid's accusatory stare. "Don't get into the habit of dropping responsibility of your actions onto other people to make yourself feel better. You'll look like a coward."

Sakura clears the distance between herself and Naruto the moment the blonde brat goes to take a swing at him. Throat tearing out a furious, broken roar.

"Enough." She sighs, giving him an apologetic look while restraining the kid. "I'm sorry I left you to Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke-kun."

"What?!" Naruto shrieks. "Don't apologise to that bastard. He doesn't even like you! He deserves nothing."

"I went back on my code, Naruto-kun. Liking him has nothing to do with it." Sakura placates, dropping his arm. Sasuke cocks his head in question the same time Naruto goes silent. "I left a teammate behind because of my eagerness to win. I saw Sasuke's potential to ruin the mission and escaped. I am…" she bows her head, pink hair shadowing her face. "Ashamed of myself."

"It's alright," Sasuke shrugs on his good side. "We would have lost anyway. The man's a Jōnin, we're a piece of piss for him."

"Why. How elegantly put, Sasuke-chan." Kakashi drops from the ceiling and lands seated on the foot of Sasuke's bed. Both Sakura and Naruto practically dent the wall they fling themselves at. Already armed and looking murderous.

"You!" Naruto raises his kunai. Looking for all the world the monster people tell him he is. "Give me your balls!"

"Oh my. I try to be understanding about other people's kinks, but that's overstepping." Kakashi's hands cover his lower parts. Appearing flushed.

Sakura places a hand on Naruto's trembling shoulder, snorting. "What do you want? Surely you're not here to visit Sasuke-kun out of guilt."

"Only partly, pink heroine." Rin drops to also sit on the bed. Sasuke curls his legs up underneath him. Trying to stop the shudder at how cold he felt beneath the blankets.

And the itch to just burn her to smithereens already.

"Hmm? Guilt?" Kakashi casually scratches the side of his chest, "why should I feel that?"

"Oh dude," Naruto shakes his head. "I know he's an ass but that's just cold. You smashed his ribs like thin crisps."

"Thanks," Sasuke mutters.

"Just sayin'."

"Nope, I'm not here to apologize. Sorry, Sasuke-chan."

Everyone consecutively blinks at that.

"I'm here to remind you to turn up at Training Ground Three tomorrow at four for team assignments."

"Uhh, what?" Naruto speaks Sakura's gobsmacked expression. "But we're – "

"Nuh uh." Kakashi cheerfully soaks in the confusion. Oblivious to Rin leaning on him and painting his green vest red.

"But you said – "

"Had a change of heart."

"What?"

"Thoughts, Sasuke-chan?" Kakashi eyesmiles at him. Sasuke hides a startle, not expecting the attention. At his dumb silence he goes, "You don't seem surprised."

"Uchihas don't get surprised," he repeats the vague memory of his father's abusive teachings in a detached, second-person type of way.

"You didn't seem very Uchiha-like when I smashed your ribs like thin crisps." Kakashi says in a gentle tone. As though being an Uchiha was a career choice he should reconsider.

Sasuke hums politely. "I'll take it into consideration."

"Good! See you lot tomorrow at eight!"

"I thought you said four." Sakura frowns.

In a poof of leaves Kakashi's gone with Rin. Sasuke kicks out at his bed sheet to get rid of them.

"What a weirdo," Naruto says.

- ; -