Chapter 12
"You look like you're feeling better, princess. Still want to kick my ass?" Suigetsu teased, handing her a steaming cup of tea.
She took a sip, letting the warmth envelop her, using the rising steam as a shield against his playful scrutiny. Yes, she had definitely felt better. Now, the weight of her teammates' concerned gazes felt like a boulder pressing down on her chest. "I hope I wasn't too much trouble," she replied softly, her eyes darting away, betraying a hint of vulnerability beneath her facade.
"You were incredible!" Naruto groaned as he flopped down next to her, his arm slinging around her shoulders. The sudden movement sent her tea splashing onto her lap, the warmth stinging her skin, but the chill that followed made her grateful for the brief heat.
"Watch it, Naruto," Sasuke called out, his voice steady as he strode past them. He shot Naruto a disapproving look, a habitual annoyance etched on his features. With a sigh, he set his empty cup beside the kettle and approached Sakura, offering her a bundle of cloth.
The cloak was heavy with a cozy weight, its hide lining promising warmth that no government-issued jacket could match. She ran her fingers along the meticulously stitched seams, feeling the care woven into every thread.
"How pretty! What is this?" she exclaimed, her curiosity piqued.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, his tone dry. "A coat. Wear it."
Sakura's brows knitted together in confusion. "Your coat? I can't—"
"You can. Yours is in the middle of the field, frozen solid. This one is too short for me now," he replied, a hint of exasperation in his voice, yet a subtle warmth lingered in his visible eye.
Sakura stared at him, her heart racing like a trapped bird in her chest. His face was a mask of indifference that left her questioning everything. Was kissing him a fleeting secret shared between them, or was it a casual act he handed out like breath, devoid of meaning? He appeared utterly unfazed, as if the moment had been as inconsequential as passing the time.
After they'd pulled away, he'd guided her back to his deerskin, suggesting she might need rest, even though her mind was racing with thoughts. It felt strange, almost too intimate, and she couldn't shake the feeling of being out of her depth. Her heart hammered in her chest.
"I can thaw mine by the fire. You'll get sick wearing that."
Sasuke towered over her, his threadbare poncho adorned with the mismatched patches she had clumsily stitched on. Without a word, he reached down and grabbed Sakura's wrist, yanking her toward the underside of his clothing.
"Woah?" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes widening comically as he watched Sakura recoil in surprise.
But Sasuke was relentless, until Sakura's palm finally pressed against the thin fabric of his faded undershirt. Heat was radiating from him, and her mind raced.
"You're… hot." Was he running a fever or something?
"WOAH?!" Naruto squeaked again, his eyebrows nearly flying off his forehead. But Sakura wasn't even blushing; she was too busy pushing against Sasuke's solid abdomen, her fingers spreading out, her pinky brushing against his navel. It felt like touching a furnace.
"How are you—" she began, genuinely puzzled.
"I'm an Uchiha," he stated matter-of-factly.
Sakura furrowed her brows, crinkling her nose in confusion.
"Uchiwa, the fan. My blood fans the flames within me."
"Lit-literal flames?" she stammered. She had thought his clan insignia was just a cool symbol, not an actual heat source.
Sasuke shook his head, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes. "My chakra."
Sakura nodded, pressing her fingertips into the four quadrants of his lower torso. Liver and gallbladder, upper right…appendix, lower right. Then to the left, she added pressure to his lower intestine and finally above it, the spleen. Everywhere is warm—almost unbearably so. She does not notice Sasuke has long since released her.
No wonder she'd not been uncomfortable in his tent the night before, even without the extra layers of blankets.
"Need your stethoscope, Doc?" A bitter voice cut through the air. Karin stood beside her disassembled tent, a wadded up pile cradled in her forearm. The woman tossed it her way.
"I don't need this. Pretend you packed a spare."
Naruto burst into laughter, talking over his red headed cousin. "So, you're telling me your secret power is being a walking heater? Man, I guess Karin and I are both jealous that Sakura got to bunk with you last night!"
"I'm not jealous!" Karin shot back, her cheeks flushing.
Naruto rolled his eyes, dismissing her retort as he turned his attention to Sakura, who appeared uncertain. She glanced between the two items in her hands, her lips pursed in contemplation.
Scooting closer, Naruto fixed his clear blue eyes on her, his mind racing with ideas. "Can I have that?"
"Huh?" Sakura replied, momentarily confused.
"The one Karin just gave you," he clarified, nodding toward the cloak.
Skeptically, Sakura handed it over. Naruto stood up and discarded his own covering, which was faded and less vibrant than the one she had gifted to Karin.
With a playful flourish, he draped the cloak over his shoulders and fastened it around his neck, twirling like a child with a new outfit. "Ah, this is much warmer! I've been meaning to retire my old one. Thanks, Sakura-chan!"
A small smile crept onto her lips as she tucked herself into the comforting embrace of the Sasuke-scented cape, feeling a sense of warmth and connection.
Leading the team towards the presumed final fissure, Sasuke leapt from piles of snow that parted under his wake. It was slow moving on the ground, but the trees were more and more sparse as they continued onward.
Only the squeaking crunch of their footfalls cut through the silence.
It had been ages since Sasuke wandered this far from Konoha's embrace. His lungs ached, each breath a fiery whisper.
"How much longer?" Suigetsu asked, breaking the silence. He did not fare well in such weather. Taking up the rear, the pale-skinned man wrapped his cloak tighter around his body.
"A few more hours." Karin had fallen back, taking up a pace that kept herself within her teammates' view. "The distance between the anomalies is only a handful of miles, but we're battling the elements."
Naruto shivered as a vicious wind snarled through the valley, too cold to talk.
Second in line, the pink-haired kunoichi exhaled. Thanks to her cloak, she's not nearly as affected by the chill as her peers. "There should be a village nearby."
"A village?" Jugo noticed there were no wagon trails to suggest such, and very little signs of life. Who could possibly live in such conditions?
"The nomads," she responded, as if reading the group's mind. "They live in the ice caverns, and are self-sufficient. I studied about the location the night before my journey. Legend says—"
"Are they friendly?"
Sakura stares at Naruto. "Well, it depends…if we offer—"
"We will make them friendly." Suigetsu insists, cracking his knuckles.
Letting out an annoyed huff, Sasuke watched as Sakura paused to remove the fluffy hood of his brother's traveling cover. The hem brushed just inches from the ground, a reminder of her petite frame against the cloak's ample length. For Itachi, the material had been perfectly crafted to reach ankle-length, a testament to the effort and care he poured into every piece he wore, tanned from the very brains of the animals he had hunted.
Itachi had left behind only a few cherished items: a ring from the Akatsuki, a deer pelt, and his old winter gear. He had favored darker colors, a ninja adhering to the art of stealth, knowing that blending into the shadows was essential. Ironically, the contrasting all-white shroud would have allowed Sakura to disappear into their surroundings—if only her vibrant hair hadn't betrayed her presence. The cloak, a lingering echo of Itachi's legacy, now draped over Sakura. Her graceful, pastel strands shifted with the caress of the air. Her chapped cheeks nearly matched the pink that surrounded her, but a light spray of vanilla freckles softened the hue.
Taking notice of her moving lips, Sasuke zoned out. He does hear the questions that came his way.
"…ke…oi! Sasuke!" Naruto waves his hand in front of his friend, snapping him back from his daze. "Do you sense something?"
Sasuke squints, feeling the chords of his eye relax with the release of his sharingan. Once more, it had a mind of its own.
"He's not a dog," Karin clicks her tongue in annoyance. "He was just memorizing the novel your teammate was spewing."
At that, Sakura crossed her arms, her expression inscrutable. It bore no trace of frustration or anger; instead, there was an emotion that eluded Sasuke's understanding. As she adjusted Itachi's hood, she enveloped herself in its warmth, camouflaging her presence once more, both physically and emotionally.
"So basically, we get the root that grows under the snow and give it to the villagers. That will make 'em happy?"
"It's not that easy, Suigetsu. Sakura said it's hard to find, and it's not even in season." Naruto rubbed the whiskers on his face with the back of his hand.
"Right, so we just wasted ten minutes in the snow listening to information that's not even valuable."
"Sakura," Sasuke's voice pierced the tense silence.
She turned to him at once, the shift of her headgear revealing that he had captured her attention, even as shadows cloaked the upper half of her face.
"Yes?" she replied, voice thick with emotion. She cleared her throat.
"What should we do?"
Everyone turned to her at once, each with varying degrees of respect—ranging from upmost to none at all.
Sakura wrung her hands together, though it was not to warm them from the cold. Tension was swirling within her. Before she could gather her thoughts, Sasuke stepped closer. He reached out, adjusting the tilt of her hood, ensuring that her stern expression was visible to the others. They needed to see her resolve, her determination. For just a fleeting moment, her endless green eyes locked onto his in a brief exchange.
"Sasuke…I'm sorry, but as Karin mentioned earlier, I'm afraid I'm not of much help," she began, her voice wavering. "Searching for that plant could take hours, and we don't have that time. I think we should set up camp near the next presumed location—"
"We'd have to split up," Suigetsu interjected, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "That means three separate fires, and we can hardly find fuel for one with all these trees gone."
"No, but we can—"
Karin cut in sharply, her tone dripping with exasperation. "So we'll just die out here, then? Can't use the nomads without the root, can't find fuel for fire… what does that leave us with?"
Naruto rolled his eyes, his bravado unwavering. "If you think this is going to end me, you're nuts."
As the three of them debated, Jugo stood at the edge of the group, gazing up at the cloudy sky. Sakura watched them with a distant expression, her bottom lip gently caught between her teeth in a thoughtful bite.
Then, breaking through the noise, Sasuke's voice emerged again. "So, tell me what to do."
Sakura startled slightly, noticing how close he was, the scent of fresh firewood from her borrowed cloak bringing her back to the present. "I'm sorry?"
"Don't apologize," he replied firmly. "What's the plan?" He waited patiently as she opened and closed her mouth, searching for the right words amidst the chaos.
She had spent the morning considering their options. Finding the root needed for the nearby village would be challenging, but with six people searching, it might go faster. Splitting up was a possibility as well. While fuel was scarce, two people could share a tent for warmth through the night. There was also the option of using Sasuke's amaterasu for fire, though it carried risks if he couldn't manage three fires at once. Still, she believed he could handle it, especially if he took the first watch.
None of her ideas would matter if she couldn't steer the conversation. Sakura found herself cut off or spoken over at every turn. Though she initially blamed the strange feeling in her chest on the cold, she couldn't shake it off. Part of her wondered if there was lingering chakra within her, waiting to surface, or if Sasuke's probing in her mind had left some effects.
Sakura simply didn't have the mental strength to lead a group of ex-criminals and a teammate who rarely listened. Pulling out the map from her thigh pouch, she gave it a quick once-over.
"We could split into thirds? One group nearer the village, one group at the farthest edge of the flatlands, and one group here."
Sasuke's gaze was locked onto Sakura, ignoring the map entirely. "So, tell them what you want them to do."
"Me? You tell them! They listen to you better anyway."
"You're the jonin,"
"But you're someone they all respect," she insisted, frustration simmering just below the surface.
He towered over her, blocking her view of the others in their party. Sakura felt his warmth contrast sharply with the biting cold surrounding them, a reminder of fire in his voice was rough, carrying an edge. "Earn their respect."
Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, memories of feeling small and unnoticed flooding back—a little girl hiding behind her bangs. "They won't listen."
"Make them."
"I can't."
His fingers commanded her chin upward, urging her to meet his gaze. As Sakura opened her eyes, she found herself caught in the intensity of his mismatched stare. He leaned in closer, and she realized that if she straightened her back, their lips would almost touch.
"You can," he said quietly, his voice steady amidst the uncertainty.
Just as quickly as it began, he pulled away, moving past her without another word. Naruto stood off to the side and regarded Sasuke with a flinty look. They were due another conversation.
