workaround

They reach the first hideout half past noon. It's a solid wall of brown rock, but upon closer inspection, there's a entrance formed by the appearance of cracked, darker sediment. Sakura's fist blasts open the door without a second thought, and Sasuke's eyes spin red and purple, scanning for any further dangers.

The pink-haired teen looks to the Uchiha, who nods and ventures further in. Ultimately, there is little more here than a small weapons cache, a week's worth of rations, and emergency medical supplies.

"Take whatever you need," says Sasuke quietly. Sakura picks out a handful of sharp kunai and surprisingly high-quality bandages before taking a step back. Sasuke decides to pick out several shuriken, sealing them into a scroll. He tucks the scroll underneath his cloak before turning to Sakura.

"I'm burning the rest," he says, and she nods.

The heat of Amaterasu is sudden, black flames licking ravenously under Sasuke's close eye. It takes only a few moments for the dōjutsu to burn through everything, leaving nothing behind. The flame itself dissipates shortly after, and Sasuke winces briefly. The Uchiha takes a careful breath while closing his left eye. The pink-haired teen takes notice.

"Sit down," says Sakura instinctively, medical training kicking in.

"It's nothing," he says, but her jade eyes are uncompromising. He complies, while she kneels next to him, cool hand brushing the bangs aside from his closed left eye.

"Open," she commands. The concentric circles contract into one onyx pupil. She frowns, noting the slightly bloodshot and swollen appearance of his left eye, no longer concealed by his bloodline limit.

"You winced. On a scale of one to ten, how bad was the pain just then?"

"Maybe a five or six."

Sasuke lets out a thin stream of air as she presses her hand to his face, applying a warm glow of green chakra. He leans into her briefly before pulling back sharply, but Sakura only murmurs for him to relax. The Uchiha leans back into her hand, both eyes closed in clear relief.

"There isn't much physical damage to heal," she notes, letting the green glow fade out. "It's a chakra-based issue. Specifically, too much chakra has been flowing through it."

Sasuke doesn't say anything, though his expression tells her he's not at all surprised by the diagnosis.

"Now that I think about it, doesn't your Rinnegan usually have tomoe?" she frowns, as Sasuke stands back up.

"Yes," he says, blinking his left eye experimentally. "I've been practicing a teleportation jutsu similar to Obito's Kamui. I must've overused my Rinnegan, so now all of my dōjutsu..."

He trails off, frowning.

Sakura doesn't ask why he would need such a jutsu, but nods along. Sasuke changes the subject quickly, explaining their route to the next hideout. She nods along, though her attention is focused on his left eye, obscured once more by his bangs.

Before long, they both move to the mouth of the cave, getting ready to leave. Sasuke pauses to stare at her for a moment too long, and Sakura can only smile awkwardly, feeling heat spread across her cheeks. She's still not used to his presence, let alone his stare.

"Thank you," he finally murmurs, before moving forward.

"Don't use your dōjutsu," warns Sakura, hopping from branch to branch. She traces Sasuke's steps, the Uchiha about two paces away. He doesn't give any reaction to her statement, moving forward silently.

"Your condition won't improve if you do," she continues, increasing her pace to speak to him in parallel. "And it might even get worse," Sakura adds, trying to gauge any reaction.

Sasuke's visage remains as impassive as ever, but his eyebrows furrow slightly.

"We can't just leave the hideouts untouched," he says after a few moments.

She frowns. "The rations and medical supplies should be okay to leave. We'll inspect them carefully and report them to the village for documentation."

But as for the weapons...

There have been reports of roaming bandits recently, and leaving open caches of weaponry was a poor idea to ensure future peace. They wouldn't be able to carry all of the weapons on their journey, so some of them would eventually have to be destroyed.

"Can any of your jutsu function similarly to Amaterasu?" she asks, trying to think of alternatives.

Sasuke shakes his head.

"My sealing jutsu can put away a significant number of shuriken. But I only have so many scrolls, and we'll be on the road for a while. My fire jutsu, if given some time, could potentially melt them down," he says thoughtfully.

"But Obito always designed the weapons to be used in conjunction with elemental jutsu, so it might take too long, if it works at all."

Sakura curses her uselessness once more. She had few offensive jutsu, and using her prodigious strength to pummel kunai and shuriken into tiny shards of metal did not seem particularly attractive. Medical ninjutsu couldn't help her, unless—

"I have an idea," Sakura says brightly, lips curving upwards. She had almost forgotten how versatile Tsunade's training had been.

Sasuke turns to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "Care to explain?"

"I don't want to tell you yet," she says coyly, flexing her fingers. "It might not work, and after all, if I tell you, it'll ruin the surprise!"

Sasuke smirks and nods before slowing down his pace, letting Sakura take the lead.

They do not reach the hideout by the end of the day. Twilight sets upon them faster than Sasuke seems to expect, and Sakura's suggestion to make camp for the night is met with a brief scowl. Sakura can't help but tease the Uchiha.

"You're curious, aren't you?" she grins, with armful of firewood. "Curious to know what jutsu could possibly replace the Uchiha's ultimate offensive technique?"

Sasuke smirks, but doesn't take the bait. He lights the firewood with a small katon, and she admires the sharp curve of his jawline and the way his torso expands when he breathes in air and exhales flame. Sasuke briefly glances up at her, but her jade eyes are already admiring the skies above, as if she would never give him a second thought, much less admire his physical frame.

They sit across from each other, flame in between the two of them.

"Let's take a look at that eye again," says Sakura, making her way over to the raven-haired male. He remains silent, but brushes his bangs out of the way for her.

Sakura takes another long look at him when his eyes are closed, the green glow of her hand against his left eye. He almost looks like he's asleep, lips slightly pursed, muscles completely relaxed. When it's clear that the physical irritation can no longer be solved by her healing prowess, Sakura lets the healing chakra fade away and rests her palm against his cheek.

Just for a second, she tells herself.

But that second stretches into two, then three, four, five, until she gives up on counting. Sakura brushes his face lightly with her thumb, but the Uchiha remains silent, his eyes shut the entire time. His skin is still unmarred, despite the countless battles he's fought.

She doesn't see his right hand reach up, and when his fingers slide around her thin wrist, Sakura's breath nearly hitches. He lowers her hand to the ground, the sensation of their fingers brushing against each other like warm bursts of sunshine. The moment is over, and Sakura begins to stand and return to her side of the fire.

"Stay," he tells her, voice firm and unwavering.

Sakura doesn't refuse his command, sitting next to him just so that their hips barely brush. They are silent for the rest of the night, jade and onyx eyes watching the fire until it burns out into countless embers.

And if Sakura ends up leaning on Sasuke to sleep, it is nothing but an accident.

They leave early in the morning, just as the sun peaks beyond the horizon. Sasuke shifts slightly to wake Sakura up, who shakes herself out of a daze. Her breath is still visible in the air, one last remnant of winter days.

"It's cold," she murmurs, acclimating herself to the bracing temperature.

"Do you want my cloak?" asks Sasuke, right hand moving to unclasp the top button. Sakura only smiles and shakes her head, motioning for them to move forward. They say nothing about the previous night, but the warmth of his body lingers against her cheek.

They reach the hideout a little before noon. There's nothing blocking the entryway, but Sasuke points out a wire trap hiding behind several rocks. She dismantles it quickly, causing a fuma shuriken to clatter from the ceiling. The Uchiha seals it away neatly, before the scroll in-hand retreats underneath his cloak once more.

There aren't any rations at this location, and it doesn't take more than a few minutes for Sakura to look through the medical supplies. She collects some fresh alcohol pads, before leaving the rest in a crate. As for the armory, it's much smaller than the first hideout. There are a set of kunai, shuriken, and some wires. Sasuke pockets the wires quietly, before taking out another sealing scroll.

After Sasuke seals away whatever shuriken he can, Sakura lays out one kunai in front of her, hands growing green. The Uchiha is silent, crimson and amethyst eyes watching intently.

Sakura takes a breath to focus, and the green grow of her hands becomes sharper in nature. She places her hands against the kunai, and after a brief moment, Sakura throws the kunai against the wall. It shatters into a myriad of tiny metal shards.

"It's a clever jutsu," murmurs Sasuke, the pinwheel of his Sharingan whirring back to black. "You used your medical ninjutsu to reverse the tempering process."

Sakura nods. It was typically an offensive technique for medics if they had to get involved in combat at all. A quick tap to a tendon or a joint, and it would severely disable an enemy's capacity to move. Someone with incredible chakra control like Sakura could even dismantle the bonds between metal.

"Very clever," he says again quietly.

Sakura feels the nape of her neck glow hot, but turns away and repeats the process on the rest of the kunai.

"Should we break them all? Or just leave them?" asks Sakura, turning over one of the finished products in her right hand.

"Leave them. Civilians won't venture out this far, and shinobi from villages are well-stocked. Only criminals and thieves would really go scavenging for weapons now."

"They'll be in for a nasty surprise, I bet," says Sakura, neatly arranging the kunai back in their original positions. "We'll do this until your dōjutsu recovers. It's good practice for me anyway."

Sasuke nods, a small smirk on his face.

"What's so funny?" she frowns, hands on her hips.

"Amaterasu is still faster," he notes matter-of-factly, turning to leave the hideout.

"Get back here!" Sakura huffs, before following his lead.

It's not until Sakura catches up to him and hears the soft sound of Sasuke's laughter that she realizes he's only teasing.

notes: thanks again to all the new favorites, alerts, and reviews! i appreciate the positive feedback. it means a lot to me. :) i'll see you guys at the mountains' graveyard next week ;)