Chapter 5

There were so many rooms in this place. No one had to share. Sakura was grateful. She couldn't even meet Hinata's eyes—the thought of having to sleep next to or see anyone else for the rest of her life seemed unbearable.

Sakura's mother had given her plenty of warnings throughout her childhood. Never go to bed with a sink full of dishes. Always wear clean underwear. But the most frequent admonition was simply, "Stop talking."

Knowledge was an insatiable hunger for Sakura; she couldn't fathom keeping it all to herself. Didn't others yearn to hear about cellular division, the history of Konohagakure, the intricacies of past participles?

No, they didn't.

Sakura had learned how to control herself at an early age. Many years of uninterested looks or snide comments had taught her to shut up. Eventually she'd turned into an unblossomed bud, curled into herself, hiding under hair.

Ino had cultivated Sakura, coaxed her to open, but she was not the same.

Pressing her cheek to her knee, Sakura distinctly remembered one late evening in summer, when she'd successfully memorized all of the ninja-rules. Naming them, in correct order, over dinner had sent her mother into a rampage.

"I love you, Sakura," She had said. "But I cannot go another day listening to you regurgitate the words on a page!"

Perhaps it wasn't the kindest way to put Sakura in her place, but she understood nonetheless. Some things cannot be said with a pretty ribbon.

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut and shimmied into her bedroll. She'd placed it upon a moth-eaten bed, not accepting the new linen Naruto had left outside her door. He was so sweet, bragging about the verbal pummeling he'd given everyone for looking at her.

It wasn't their fault. Sakura had been the one who…

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, seeking refuge from the tormenting images that plagued her mind. In the darkness, Sasuke's face materialized, his mismatched eyes, one violet, the other a blazing cherry red, boring into her soul. The swirling tomoe, spinning in a mesmerizing dance, seemed to mock her, accusing her of deception, of attempting to ensnare him with her feminine wiles like Karin often did.

Did he truly believe her capable of such treachery? Did he see her as nothing more than a cunning seductress, a threat to his carefully constructed emotional barriers?


If anyone had anything to say about the bathing incident, they'd shown Sakura enough respect to keep it to 's talk-no-jutsu was almost as formidable as his rasengan.

After the bathing incident, Sakura retreated until morning, while the others planned their next move. They would journey together to Konoha, where Karin, Sakura, and Hinata would remain. Naruto and Sasuke, meanwhile, would investigate the ancient chakra reports and fulfill their duties.

Orochimaru, as a gesture of submission to Konoha, had tasked Suigetsu and Jugo with inspecting his abandoned hideouts, ensuring no remnants of his sinister experiments remained. Sakura was ignorant to the experiments he'd conducted, but rumor was said to be more tame than truth, in his case.

As the team prepared to disperse, a sense of finality hung heavy in the air. Each member had their designated role, their path diverging from the weight of their impending separation settled upon Sakura, a silent acknowledgment of the inevitable end to their shared journey.

Sakura led the group, only far enough ahead to see the blur of their bodies. Hinata would catch up to her from time to time—which is how she'd known about their plans in the first place. Hinata was thoughtful and understanding.

Towering trees made a canopy above her, defending against the sun. It rained in Fire Country, but not nearly as much as it did in Tea and not with such severity. Somehow, these stubborn oaks thrived. She ran her hand across the bark, savoring the texture.

"No one is talking about you."

Sakura looked behind her, startled to see Naruto there with his hands folded behind his head. For such a boisterous, brightly dressed man, he was surprisingly quiet. He hadn't always been.

"Honestly. Not one single person has said anything about—about what happened. Not even Karin, and that's saying something because she takes every chance she can get to make people miserable."

Sakura crossed her arms, moving away from the trunk and back up the pathway.

"If anything, we were all shocked about Sasuke way more than seeing your tits."

Balking, the kunoichi resists the urge to pound her friend for his crude terminology. Curiosity over Sasuke took precedence.

"What, did he throw up or something?" She eyes him from her peripherals.

Naruto laughs. Not a chuckle, or a polite "heh", but a full on guffaw to the point he'd started to wheeze. Feeling embarrassed all over again, Sakura covers his mouth with her hands. The others could surely hear him.

"Sakura, when you came up out of that water…it was like—"

Before he could finish, Hinata caught up to them. Her normally passive face was pinched. Wide, pearlescent eyes squinted closed and her full lips pursed, as if she were in pain. Naruto seemed to notice too, as he dipped down low to her face and studied her intently.

"Are you alright?"

Instantly a smile stretched across her face. If it was fake, she was much better at masking her feelings than Sakura.

"Oh, yes, I just needed some air." Hinata inhaled dramatically.

"…We're outside though."

The woman glanced back. "Yes, but it seems less…humid up this way; easier to breathe."


By late afternoon, the group had grown hungry enough to stop for a meal. They would be spending another night out in the wilderness. The branches creaked and swayed as the breeze of twilight rolled in. It smelled sweet.

"I wish we didn't have to stop in Konoha," Karin said, groaning as she plopped down on a smooth boulder. "It would be easier to split up now. I can't stand these woods."

When no one responds the woman continues. "Do you girls really need us to take you all the way back home?"

Naruto sneered from his seated position. "What, you're not coming with us to Frost, are you?"

"You need a healer," the woman states matter-of-factly.

Sakura and Hinata stopped, passing a knowing glance to each other. Hinata mumbles, but it is loud enough to be heard by the others. "I can heal," She says.

"You too?" Sakura replied with a teasing wink.

"I don't need healing," Naruto put his arm around his wife and pressed his lips to the side of her hip. It was the most intimate Sakura had seen of the couple, and she turned her head quickly, uncomfortable with the display. "I'm an Uzumaki too, Karin. It may take Sasuke a few days but he's got…some sort of healing factor. So I'd say we're good."

"Well, yeah," Karin stammered. "But what if you come across someone else who needs healing? Someone you need to interrogate?"

"So it needs to be you?" Naruto asked.

"You're joking. Of course. Pinky wasn't even supposed to go to Tea with Sasuke, and your lady hasn't been granted any kind of mission. She's off duty. I'm the easiest choice!"

"Easy, eh?" Suigetsu spoke under his breath. He was much quieter than Hinata was.

Naruto scrunched his nose, a clear indication of disgust.

In the midst of the talking, Suigetsu had gathered kindling and Jugo prepared places for everyone to sit, dragging up two fallen logs to the clearing. Sakura squatted low, readjusting some of the twigs so that the larger ones were on bottom.

"Let me start the fire," Naruto said, hoping to end the conversation. "You always do it."

Sakura doesn't even look up. It was true, she'd usually defaulted the task. Feeling bold, she shrugged her shoulders. "Remember when Sasuke used to? All he had to do was breathe."

She tilted her face towards the man, but kept her eyes on her hands. "Why don't you start it?"

Sasuke's most recent ex-teammates glance between one-another. They'd made the mistake of assuming Sasuke would start the fire once before. He'd refused to waste chakra on something so trivial.

Suigetsu thought he just wanted to be an asshole. Waste chakra? He's got it leaking off of him in waves!

"If you're having trouble, just say that." Karin jabbed.

Sakura stood, dusting off her knees. For the first time since the bathing incident, she looked at Sasuke, and found that his gaze had already been on her.

Very few could look at him so fully, so intensely as her. She was unafraid of his prowess—not because he wouldn't use his ocular-jutsu on her, but because it was futile.

If that was his wish, she couldn't stop him give him the privilege of avoidance?

Today, though, she refused to linger longer than necessary. An awkward stillness draped over the group. No one moved to ignite the dry bundle beneath Sakura. Slowly the woman lifted her hand, forming seals that captivated her audience.

Horse—Serpent—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger

It was not unheard of for someone without an affinity for fire to conjure a Dragon Flame Jutsu. It was, however, unusual for someone to use the Uchiha technique. Sakura could feel everyone's eyes on her, much like at the hot spring.

Raising her thumb to her mouth and extending her pinky finger, Sakura blew sharply. With a tantalizing slowness, her middle finger rose as if being inflated. She directed the vulgar gesture to Sasuke.

Laughter filled the air, a welcome release of tension. Naruto, doubled over, gasped for breath between chuckles as Hinata, her face flushed with mirth, hid her giggles behind her hands. Even Karin, a reluctant smile gracing her lips, couldn't deny the absurdity of the situation. Suigetsu, unable to contain his amusement, playfully nudged Jugo, who stood bewildered by the sudden outburst of joy.

"I actually thought—" Naruto had said, his voice choking with laughter, but before he could finish his sentence, a chilling silence descended upon them.

"Amaterasu,"

The fun died out like coal plunged into water. The playful atmosphere evaporated, replaced by a tense silence. Fearing the proximity of the fire, Sakura instinctively recoiled, scrambling away from the potential danger. However, to her surprise, the anticipated black flames never materialized. Her gaze, filled with a mixture of relief and confusion, locked onto Sasuke's face, where a cocky grin tugged at his lips. His head tilted to the side, a smug expression painting his features as he reveled in the moment.

"That wasn't funny."

The satisfaction remains on his face. "I'm not laughing."

Sakura huffed in annoyance and stood, fixing her skirt with exaggerated slaps. "I flipped you off. That's a lot more tame than an eternal flame. I could have gotten burned by your fire—"

Sasuke's playful facade vanished, replaced by a stern intensity that held Sakura captive. The sudden shift in his demeanor was dizzying, leaving her breathless. As the sun dipped below the horizon, painting her eyes with hues of amber and rose, he leaned closer, his gaze searching hers.

"My fire wouldn't dare," he whispered, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers down her spine.

Without a sign or a summon, black sparks flared to life. It was an oil-slick color, rainbows of blues and greens and reds.

Thawing out of her frozen state, Sakura stepped nearer as the others scramble back. She reached out. Sasuke saw the scab of her previous burn on the palm of her hand, her bandage having fallen off sometime between then and now. That wild heat had marred her.

His flame is living, just as its master. It parts and the woman reaches low to pick up a piece of hot kindling. The charred stick beneath is warm as it crumbles in her hand.

Susanoo's arm manifested over Sasuke's cloak and with it, a brilliant purple hunting bow. The whisps mimicked intricately carved wood, tendrils curling at the ends. He turned away.

"Naruto, Suigetsu, push some game towards us." Then, after taking a few steps, Sasuke looks back at the group. "Jugo, come."


"No news on the Spider Lilies?" Hinata asked, sorting through the mushrooms they'd just gathered. She threw the damaged ones into the fire and rinsed the others in a small pot of pre-boiled water.

"No, though I don't expect to hear anything. It's not our territory. We don't have anyone stationed in Tea, apparently, so it may just be a coincidence. Perhaps it was a memorial of some sort."

"At least we reported it," Hinata mumbles.

Sakura scraped a kunai along her whetstone, preparing the blades for whatever catch the others might bring. She eyed the black flame by her feet, watching as it reacted to her every movement, as if it had eyes…as if it knew her.

It was quite pretty.

Wanting to be polite, Sakura tried to communicate with Karin. "Jugo seems to be close with Sasuke. He prefers to stay around him."

Karin had also been watching the blaze. She looked weary of it–fearful. "Yeah, bipolar no Jugo needs his cage to keep him in place. Sasuke's not doing it because he likes the guy."

Sakura perked up at this. "What do you mean?"

Karin yawned. "The freak's crazy. Like, proper crazy. Destroyed a whole village once. Hates when people hurt animals. Sasuke's probably keeping balance on the scale right now–he's a much more humane hunter than Suigetsu is."

"Is that why Sasuke stayed behind when you went fishing with the others…when we were cleaning?" Hinata surmised. "He did look agitated when he saw Sakura on his shoulders. I assumed it was because–"

"Yep," Karin cut her off. "Last thing he needed was for the guy to flip out and wreck everything. Maybe you should be more considerate, Pinky."

"I will be," Sakura huffed. "I hope you will be, too. Saying things like freak and crazy to someone who struggles mentally is horrible."

Karin didn't have a chance to retort, as the men returned with several speared rabbits and a few decent sized birds. Naruto had the deceased animals slung over his shoulder and a bundle of wildflowers in his other hand. They do not look meticulously picked—many still had scraggly roots connected to clumps of dirt. His smile was so bright, so pure, full of excitement for his wife to receive her gift.

"Tell me what they mean, tell me what they mean!"

Hinata moved the mushrooms away from her lap and happily accepted her arrangement. She picked up a purple iris and perked up its petals. "This is shobu, meaning good news." Then, she untangled a bright pink carnation. "Kaneshon, love," and finally, two big sunflowers as yellow as her lover's hair—her fingers trail along the spiked petals. "Himawari, adoration and loyalty,"

Naruto was more prideful of the flowers than the meat.


Only three of the seven helped skin the animals. Suigetsu bragged about his knife skills as he split the underbelly of a rabbit. Sakura could admit, he was rather talented. In the time it took her to clean one, he'd already dressed two.

"You Konoha girls have it easy." The man began, talking around his impossibly sharp teeth.

"In what way?" Sakura cleaned her hands of blood after wiping off her blade. Water from her canister splashed beside her feet, frothing at the ground with the rest of the soap residue.

"Your dainty little flower language," He continued as he wiped sweat off his brow. "I ain't never seen nothing like it."

"You aren't supposed to have," Hinata admitted while she stirred the pot–both literally and metaphorically.

"Yeah, we weren't planning on letting you live." Sakura teased and the girls shared a laugh.

"There are many difficult things kunoichi must learn," The princess continued. "Because of my place in my clan, I was not able to participate as much as Sakura, however."

"Oh yeah?" Suigetsu raised his eyebrow, but kept his eye on the carcass in his hands. "Like what?"

"Women have… different survival strategies, compared to men."

Naruto poked at the fire–now a normal red and yellow–joining into the conversation. "That's silly, why would being a woman make any difference?"

Sakura's face turned solemn. No one answered Naruto's question. He seemed to get the hint.

"Well, why can't you participate, Hinata?" Karin asked with accusation. She hadn't been much help the last hour or so, taking to her smooth boulder and throwing a twig into the campfire every so often. The greenery sent a plume of black up into the air.

"It's inappropriate for an heiress to learn the art of seduction." Sakura responded sternly as she sharpened her kunai again. She drug the blade back and forth.

"The art of seduction…." Suigetsu finishes his last animal and borrows Sakura's soap and canister to wash his hands. He shot her a grin. "I bet you couldn't get anything out of me."

"Ouch!"

Everyone looked toward Sakura as a bubble of blood rose from the tip of her finger.

"You good?" Suigetsu asked. Sakura steped closer to him, brushing his arm as she reached for her canister. It was empty.

"It's just a little cut…" She drawed. Sasuke watches her wispy, pink eyelashes dance as she bats them, peering beneath to look up at Suigetsu. Her lower lip jutted out just so. "Suigetsu-kun…you used all my water?"

His old, filthy water bottle had finally broken the previous day, and Sakura's canister was the closest... "I'm sorry, I didn't—"

Sakura looked up, facing him fully, and brought her injured finger into her mouth. Stopping at her middle knuckle, the kunoichi spread her tongue around the digit and let her blood leave a streak across her taste buds.

Suigetsu was utterly entranced.

Yet another fierce ninja has fallen for Sakura's seduction. Konoha and their dainty little flowers…

"Damn!" Naruto belts, completely amused as he skewers the meat onto a sharpened stick. "Not even two seconds."

"Show me more," the pale-skinned man begged as Sakura turned with a satisfied smirk.

Karin threw a larger chunk of greenery into the fire, blasting bitter smoke all over the food. Naruto groaned, increasingly losing his patience with his cousin. The red-head sneers.

"A class on how to be a whore? That's new."

Hinata chirps in surprise at the insult but Sakura doesn't skip a beat. "Not everyone has natural talent, Karin."

Naruto and Suigetsu mewl matching ooooh's, which seems to send Karin over the edge. She hopped up from her spot. "Bitch,"

Sakura raised both of her hands in submission. "I'm just matching your energy."

The woman scoffed. "You couldn't match me if you tried."

"Yeah, okay," Sakura mocked, turning away.

Karin wasn't through, though. She stalked towards the woman with her fists balled, standing taller over Sakura as a means of intimidation. Still, the Konoha kunoichi did not bite the bait, and kept her back turned to diffuse the situation.

That is, until her body gets shoved forwards.

Sakura stumbled, not expecting their argument to turn physical. Karin started belting out curses and Suigetsu approached. Naruto is beside Sakura quickly, glaring at the red-head.

"Try that again and you'll regret it," Sakura warned, stepping closer.

"Oooooh, I'm so scared." Karin mocked, slamming her hand into Suigetsu's chest. Without warning, her Adamantine Chains darted out over Naruto's shoulder, capturing Sakura's throat.

Sasuke dropped the half-dressed bird in his lap and wiped his pants with his bloody hands, placing himself between either female.

Beyond angry, Sakura kicked out of Naruto's grasp and wrapped her hand around Karin's chain before it could squeeze, pulling the woman forward. Sakura's fists glew threateningly, ready to, at the very least, break an arm.

"Sakura, don't."

Sasuke's voice halted her movement just enough for Karin to reach out and land a solid smack across Sakura's face. Bubbling over, unbridled rage released in a scream from Sakura's mouth.

"'Sakura, don't'?" She shrieks. "'Sakura?! Me?! What the hell have I done! She came at me!"

Sidestepping Naruto and Karin, the woman made her way to Sasuke and, even from her slight height, pelted him with the heel of her hands.

"Yes," Sasuke replied monotonously. "I expect more from you."

"I'm just supposed to let someone slap my face? To let someone choke me? What, is that like a signature move for Team Taka?" Sakura threw her arms up in the air, preparing her next accusation. "Or maybe she learned that from you?"

"Watch it," he threatened, not appreciating her words.

He knew he deserved it. He would allow her to say whatever she wanted to him, but not now. Not with an audience.

"So was that your plan–drop me off in Konoha and travel around with your girlfriend?"

Sasuke, who had been in control of his emotions for several months, could not be bothered to hide his surprise. He spoke low, so the others did not hear. "What are you getting at?"

Her voice cracked. She does not speak low. "Do you think I'm stupid? I know what I saw in your hotel room–which I am not paying half for, by the way."

"Saku—"

"She can hug you, Sasuke. Karin can walk by your side. But me? You don't trust me! It's like you don't even know me!"

Another chain came right for Sakura. "Keep my name out of your mouth!"

As Sasuke blocked it, the kunoichi took her opportunity to roll under his arm. Sakura was heaved into the air before she could make contact with bewildering abruptness, Sasuke's arm around her hips like a belt.

"Knock it off!" He yelled

He yelled.

Jugo did not like when Sasuke raised his voice. Suigetsu had been on the other end of Sasuke's anger more than once, and each time he bowed like an obedient dog. If he weren't enjoying his former leader's frustration, he might have felt sorry for the sweet little thing…

"Let go!" Hot tears streamed down the side of her face.

"Cool off!" Sasuke responded, squeezing tighter against her prying fingers.

"You don't get to touch me!" She successfully jerked out of his grip and stumbled backwards. "You don't get to touch me when I don't get to touch you!"

"You can touch me whenever you want!"

With eyes like piercing daggers and brows furrowed in unmistakable annoyance, the shadowy ninja lunged forward, gripping Sakura's wrist with a fierce intensity. In one swift motion, he compelled her hand to collide with the steely expanse of his chest, her fingers splayed in reluctant surrender.

Sakura's breath hitched, her eyes widening in shock, and her mouth parted in disbelief as she instinctively attempted to withdraw. Yet, his grip was unyielding, anchoring her in place, and she could feel the tumultuous rhythm of his heartbeat echoing like thunder in the silence between them.

He guided her palm downward to the taut plane of his navel, then back up again, each movement deliberate and charged with unspoken tension. His voice, low and intimate, cut through the air like a whisper of fate, meant solely for her ears. "You can touch me whenever you want."

The weight of his words hung in the air, a promise wrapped in danger. Not Karin, who curled up next to him like a cat, or Naruto who tried to throw his arm around his shoulders every chance he got. Not even Orochimaru could take his body.

Sakura stood there, an unyielding force of possibility. She could, if she dared, shatter the silence that enveloped them. Only she possessed that power, and it gnawed at Sasuke's insides like a ravenous beast. The realization clawed at his conscience, igniting a fierce wave of self-loathing that left him reeling.

In a surge of pent-up frustration, he released her hand as if she burned him, the palpable connection severed in an instant. With a swift, furious kick, he struck the ancient tree beside her, the impact resonating like a thunderclap. The force of his anger carved a deep gouge into the weathered wood, a testament to his inner turmoil—a raw, physical manifestation of the conflict raging within him. The air crackled with agitation, thick with unspoken words as the weight of their emotions hung heavily behind.