Welcome
Naruto rubbed a hand down his face, "So he was…he was in your apartment. This whole month."
Sakura nibbled her bottom lip and nodded weakly. She hadn't planned on telling Naruto, in fact she had tried her hardest not to, but the words had burst from her mouth before she could stop herself. It had been two days since Sasuke had left and Sakura never once wavered from her routine of going to work, she filled the time in between by completing paper work at an alarming rate. It stopped her thinking of him, she knew if she gave herself a spare moment she wouldn't be able to breathe over the pounding of her heart and shaking fingers.
Naruto, concerned about her work load and refusal to go to lunch with him, had visited her that morning to ask how she was feeling. Sakura was pretty sure he wasn't expecting a sob to escape her and receive the full story of how Sasuke had been staying with her the whole month and was a temporary cat.
She looked at him now, every few seconds he would frown and open his mouth to say something but then massage his temples, thinking about what his next words would be.
"Sakura, why didn't you tell me?" His voice cracked with hurt.
"I couldn't, if the village found out-"
"I wouldn't have told any one!"
"I'm not saying you would have, I was worried in case a fight broke out. I thought I was doing the right thing." Sakura sighed and slumped into her chair, a headache was settling between her temples.
Again, Naruto opened his mouth to say something but snapped it shut, he peered closely at Sakura and she fidgeted under his gaze. He too sighed and sat beside her.
"What…what was he like?" He asked.
"Still an ass."
They both chuckled quietly.
Sakura rested her head on Naruto's shoulder, "He was…difficult to begin with. I threatened to kick him out a few times, but he kept coming back. We just…got used to each other being there."
Naruto was quiet but then he shifted the arm Sakura was resting on to put it around her shoulders. Sakura felt the lump in her throat and hid her face in Naruto's side.
"He had to leave because Tsunade felt he was a threat, but he changed…he wouldn't have-"
Her hands shook with the force of refusing to cry. But the first tear rolled down her cheek and was then followed by others.
::XxX::
Sasuke shifted from one foot to the other. He was not accustomed waiting for a person to appear as he would usually go to them, but this was Madara, he had to play this right.
Sasuke had a plan. One he hoped would work. He knew about Madara's plan to use him to defeat Konoha, he had followed him knowing the result would be what he had been wanting since a child, but circumstances had changed. Konoha was Sakura's home. Therefore, it was to remain standing.
Sasuke felt a horrible sense of dread in the pit of his stomach, if he should fail in stopping Madara she would be in danger. Even more than she is now. He wouldn't come back to her, the outcome of this fight would be either he is killed by Madara, or he wins and dies from his wounds. Sasuke had calculated no other outcome. His heart hung heavy when he thought about never seeing Sakura again. When staying with Sakura, Sasuke was happy. He'd laughed, more than once, at her trips on discarded clothes and frustrated ruffles of hair. She was positive and kind and selfless. Sasuke was thankful for the time he had spent with her.
The air changed, it grew heavy under a weight Sasuke couldn't sense or see. Madara strolled out from behind a tree, his gloves leisurely stroking the bark.
"Sasuke," He said cheerfully, "Wonderful to see you."
"Madara-"
"Yes, I know, 'cut the crap'. I'm aware of why you're here, I'm also aware that one of us will skip away from this. And we both know, you don't skip."
Sasuke fought to keep from rolling his eyes. He had suffered through Madara's stupid comments for a long while, and hearing them made Sasuke disbelieve the man was once an Uchiha.
"But they are your outcomes. See, I have different ones. Sasuke, whatever happened to those scrolls?"
Sasuke refused to show any expression that Madara may prey on, "What scrolls, Madara?"
"Why, the scrolls from Konoha. You stole them, didn't you? ANBU are out on the hunt for the traitor Uchiha." Madara droned.
To his right, Sasuke heard the rustling of paper. He searched for the source of the sound but found nothing, he heard it again and instead of looking on the ground, he looked up into the trees. Peeking out from one of the branches was the woman who had cursed him, with three old scrolls clutched under her arm.
Sasuke's eyes widened, betraying his vow to himself to not show emotion. Konoha believed he had stolen the scrolls and had sent ANBU after him. His plan wasn't working out as he'd hoped.
"My third outcome, Sasuke, is that the ANBU will brutally murder you for all you crimes and conspiracies against their village, while I watch up in that tree over there." Madara pointed behind Sasuke but he didn't turn to look.
Sasuke swore in his head. He wouldn't be able to fight Madara and at the same time convince ANBU he hadn't stole the scrolls. Sasuke glared at the woman in the tree, she waved and disappeared from sight. Sasuke was ready to be rid of Madara, his heart beat rapidly and his chakra whirled around him, waiting to be put to good use.
However, once Sasuke had taken his stance to run towards Madara, another person had appeared. Sasuke gritted his teeth and curled his upper lip, he was tiring of the distractions. Kabuto placed himself between Madara and Sasuke, making a sort of triangle shape so as to not be too close to either one of them.
"Madara, I can take it from here." Snarled Kabuto.
"Really? But you look so out of breath, Kabuto-san." Madara folded his arms in front of him and rocked on his heels.
"I'm well enough to take out this pest," He growled in reply, "He deserves to die by my hand and-"
"Such a drama queen." Madara whispered, "Fine, but don't touch his face."
The warning hung in the air after Madara had vanished. Sasuke swore again, his original plan was now useless.
"Killing you, Sasuke, will be a great achievement." Purred Kabuto, "It'll be even more so when Sakura-chan arrives in, say about, a couple of hours?"
Sasuke's mouth dropped slightly open in realisation. Of course they'd send Sakura with the ANBU, they would need a medic and someone who knew his fighting style. Fuck.
Kabuto had begun to say something else but Sasuke heard nothing, after his realisation he rushed forward, grabbing his kunai and hurtling them towards Kabuto.
::XxX::
"I'm afraid it doesn't end here Sakura." Tsunade said uncomfortably.
Sakura frowned in confusion. She was sitting in the Hokage's office on a little seat by the wall. Her tea had been set down on a coffee table before her, Tsunade had the strategic mind to put Sakura in a calming environment before she delivered bad news. Which was why Sakura had not touched her tea, but instead focussed intently on Tsunade and held her breath.
"Scrolls are missing from the library. Important scrolls. A witness has finally come forward and identified the thief as Sasuke, albeit the woman was terrified to tell us."
Sakura was shocked, "Why would he-he couldn't have, we stopped going to the library because we had searched all of the scrolls-"
"The scrolls contained information on our defences and alliances; they had nothing to do with his…problem."
Sakura slowly turned her gaze to the tea cup, her breathe hitched with disbelief.
"Kakashi and I believe he has returned to the Akatsuki with these scrolls, we therefore have no choice, we must go after him."
Sakura tugged her fingers through her hair, she tried to speak but her throat constricted. He betrayed the village, even after being with her for so long.
"I'm so sorry, Tsunade-sama." She said, knowing the fault lay with her.
Tsunade laid a comforting but firm hand on Sakura's shoulder, "It wasn't your fault, and I doubt Uchiha had this planned from the start."
Sakura was still shocked, her mind was spinning like a hurricane but still she asked, "Has ANBU been dispatched?"
"They're ready to go…when you are."
Sakura's eyes darted to stare at Tsunade, "What?"
"You've been training with Uchiha, you know his strengths and limitations, his fighting style and weak points. No other person has knowledge of how he fights, and I don't want them to go in blind."
"Naruto has fought with him, he would-"
"Unleash the Nine-Tails? I'm trying to avoid a catastrophe like that; you're our advantage and top medic. If Uchiha decides he doesn't like being captured, then those men out there are going to need a medic who knows what she's doing."
Sakura let out a withered breath, "The captain?"
"Neji Hyuga."
"What about…how are we to bring him back?"
"Alive…or dead, depending on the circumstances." Tsunade took a tight hold of Sakura's shoulders, "It's not easy, I know, but you can't let your feelings get in the way of what has to be done."
Sakura nodded while still in a trance. She hadn't snapped out of it even while she walked back to her apartment, but upon entering her home she was struck with the scent of Sasuke again, like she had been every morning waking up. It would only take her a few minutes to get packed, but it would take longer for her to fully comprehend what was happening. She felt horrible, betrayed and stupid. Sakura leaned against her front door and slowly slid down to sit with her knees pressed against her chest. If she could stay in that position, she would have. For a long time Sakura sat there and stared at her living room. The image of Sasuke sleeping on her sofa that first night flashed through her head, she remembered his feat had been dangling off the end because he was much too tall.
"Idiot," She said to herself, "Idiot," She said again, this time to Sasuke, wherever he was.
::XxX::
The ANBU team ran in silence, as did Neji, so Sakura had a running commentary in her head about the conversations she had had with Sasuke. She tried to pick up comments that would have given her a hint to what he had been planning to do but she found nothing. They had rarely talked about his intentions with Konoha. Maybe she should have pressed more.
They had been travelling for a day at high speed with a rest stop a few hours back. In any other mission they wouldn't have taken a rest until nightfall, but if they were to fight against Sasuke, the shinobi needed all the preparation they could get. During that rest Sakura told them of Sasuke's fighting style; his speed, his favourite combat moves, some of them she had taught him herself which many of the ANBU disapproved of. That was the end of any conversation after that, many of them had entered a zone where they were planning their own moves and how to use them against Sasuke.
Although, none of them, not even Sakura, could have predicted what happened next. Instead of finding Sasuke's chakra signature, they found Kabuto's. Neji halted the team and hushed them. Some were looking at each other in curiosity and some in nervousness, Sakura felt the same. They were not prepared to fight Kabuto, none of them were, their minds had been set on Sasuke.
"Sakura." Neji called, Sakura hurried over beside him.
"Why is Kabuto here?"
"He's been after Sasuke's head for a while now," She explained, "Both of them have been wanting to kill the other but I never asked why."
"Maybe Uchiha has grown tired of Kabuto's failed plans and ideas." Neji looked around at the ANBU gathered, "Kabuto may have already done the job for us. But we cannot let him escape."
Sakura ignored that first part. Not because she didn't want to believe it, but because she didn't believe it at all. The thought of Kabuto besting Sasuke was laughable. She reminded Neji that two of them could still be alive and that the team were not prepared for it.
"I can only sense Kabuto's chakra," Neji's white eyes darted to his left, "He's making his way for us."
They took off towards Kabuto, hoping on their way they would find a good clearing that would be suitable for a fight. Sakura placed herself at the back of the group. She was a medic, if she was needed she would do her job but then take cover again when she was not. The team relied on her to stay alive. As much as she detested not being able to get in a few hits with Kabuto. Neji began to shout behind him, informing the group of some tactics they may use and relaying what knowledge he had of Kabuto.
Neji was interrupted however when Kabuto landed hard onto the ground, bending his knees to support his weight. He was beaten bloody, slices to his skin could be seen and a bone appeared to be sticking out of place on his shoulder. Sakura analysed his damage, the cuts to his skin swooped upward to the left, many of them centred on the soft flesh of the chest and biceps. It was the work of Sasuke. Sakura was about to tell Neji this but beside Kabuto appeared five unfamiliar men.
"Now," Kabuto wheezed, "This will take short work to be rid of you all." He gave a crooked smile and lazily pointed to Sakura, "Except you, of course, I have something else especially for you."
The words were barely out of Kabuto's mouth when Neji had sped forward, followed by the others. Sakura stayed where she was, she was ready pounce when she was needed. So as not to be useless for a while, she placed herself on a tree branch and surveyed from above, she through shurikens and kunai to distract the unfamiliar men momentarily which gave the ANBU a chance to strike. Only ten minutes had gone by when the first deadly hit was delivered to their own team. Then another and another, her comrades were dropping like flies.
Sakura swooped down from the branch at high speed and darted forward, bursting through bushes, she came to a halt. Neji, bleeding and battered, was barely fighting off the advances from Kabuto and his followers. Three of their own ANBU lay unconscious on the ground, the gallons of blood pouring from limbs and organs kicked Sakura's brain into overdrive as she hurried toward the nearest body to her. She frantically tore at clothing and began to heal, trying her hardest to focus her chakra but Neji's intake of breath and thud as he hit the ground grabbed her horrified attention. She watched as many of the ANBU attacked and were thrown back, Kabuto bat them away as did his followers.
Just focus!
Her head shot up, she could sense it. Sasuke's chakra, closer and closer it came. Sakura helped the Shinobi she had been healing into a standing position and motioned for him to go help his team. Dropping to her knees beside Neji's head, her palms glowed bright as she set to work.
"Neji, he's coming," She panted, "I can sense his chakra. It's getting close-"
"I know, I can feel it too. We need to retreat, we are outmatched." He wheezed.
"I'm strong, Neji, but not strong enough to carry twenty men on my back while trying to outrun Kabuto and Sasuke."
Neji's brows drew together. Sakura saw at that moment Hyuga Neji was at a loss at what to do in this situation. But she had a plan, it had been in her mind when the first of their team had dropped.
"Sakura-san…"
Sakura nodded, "I'll buy you some time. There are still two unconscious so they need to be carried and head North West. Sasuke's coming from the South, I'll lead Kabuto to the East and it might be enough to distract them both."
Neji hesitated in agreeing with her, they were not particularly close friends but Sakura suspected that he respected her as she respected him. As another painful scream erupted behind them, Neji sat up and let out a wince as he tried to ignore the pain.
Sakura wasted no time in twisting around and propelling her body forward to Kabuto, adrenaline spurred through her veins as her whole body surged with chakra needing to be released. She was upon Kabuto before he registered her change from medic to combatant, she used this advantage and swung her fist to his painful-looking shoulder, his lung area and then delivered a kick to his chest, breaking off his fight with two shinobi. He was thrown back into the air and she heard Neji call the ANBU back to retreat. Kabuto's followers were keen to run after them but she determined from their large body sizes, they would not easily catch up to Neji. Sakura transferred all of her chakra to her legs and set off East as she had planned.
She was confident that if she kept up her running pace, she would maintain a couple of miles between herself and Kabuto when he was able to chase after her. But to keep a distance from Sasuke…she wasn't so sure of herself. He was too quick, she'd witnessed his speed first-hand and if he cornered her off, she'd be at Kabuto's mercy. She had to assume he would team up with Kabuto, she couldn't take any chances and hope that he might aid her only to be greatly disappointed and end up dead. Not only that, if she did have these hopes and trusted him, she would put Neji and their team in danger. Knowing this, her legs pushed harder against the ground, shooting pains scored up her legs but she ignored them. She had to get as far away as possible.
A few minutes later, another chakra presence caught up with Kabuto's. She recognised it as Sasuke's, Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, this was it, she had to try harder, run faster and if she was captured…she had to fight her way through it all.
Suddenly, Kabuto and Sasuke's chakra were threw off her course, they veered to the right while she still ran straight. Was this a plan? Were they rounding her up?
Sakura chanced a look behind her as she kept on running and she saw that Sasuke, rigid and stony-faced, battling Kabuto ferociously before they disappeared into a thick patch of forest. Immediately, Sakura halted and heaved ragged breaths. No, it couldn't be. Her luck wasn't that spontaneous. She thought that for a moment, she was not being chased by Kabuto nor Sasuke and Neji could get away safely. But then it hit her, Sasuke, she needed to help him. He was fighting Kabuto for her.
She set off running again, this time towards them. Sasuke was aiding Konoha by doing this. Sakura jumped over a small river. He could come back by doing this. Her hair whipped behind her and her ears whistled as the wind flew past her.
As she dropped into a clearing she saw Sasuke raining down blows on Kabuto with kunai clutched tight into his fists. The attacks were so fast that all Kabuto could do was block and leap back out of reach, his cloak ripped into shreds as were his hands from blocking.
Sakura sprinted to Sasuke's side and checked for wounds with her keen eye. Sasuke's head whipped around towards her and his eyes widened then a frown followed immediately after.
"Sakura, what are you-"
"Oh, for once will you just let me help you, Sasuke." She said, waving her hand to shut him up.
Sakura guessed he would have argued further had Kabuto not gave a furious yell and charged towards them, his face contorted with rage. Sasuke made a move to attack first but Sakura knew, with the speed Kabuto was attacking and how unclear his mind must be, her fighting style would be much better suited. She sprinted forward, dirt lifting up behind her feet, she drew her arm back and, like before, threw a direct hit into Kabuto's chest. His mind was so distorted with fury that he had no intention of defending himself, but instead he focused on attacking. Sakura's brute force surprised him and his body nearly wrapped itself around her arm. For a second, his face was inches from her own. She could see stress wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, the manic gleam in his eyes had dulled in worry and defeat. However he was propelled back hundreds of feet a moment later, rolling and tumbling at high speed across grass and crashing into trees.
Sakura turned to Sasuke to tell him that detaining Kabuto would be a better choice in killing him, as his fighting spirit had somewhat diminished, but Sasuke had already disappeared to where Kabuto lay motionless.
"Wait, Sasuke!" Sakura shouted.
But Sakura saw Sasuke was already upon Kabuto, he wrenched Kabuto half way up from the ground so to see his face. Sasuke's mouth was set in a straight line, his jaw locked and his eyes narrowed in ferocious anger.
"Sasuke, think how much information he has!" Sakura shouted again, almost pleading. She pushed her legs to run faster. "Please just wait!"
For a brief moment, Sakura didn't think Sasuke would listen to her. Even at the closing distance between them she could see his fist turning a frightening shade of blue from the tightness at which he held Kabuto's collar. But eventually, he loosened his grip and settled for placing his boot on Kabuto's stomach and crossing his arms.
Sakura came to a stop beside him, shifting her eyes between the two men warily. She knew this went against Sasuke's nature, and she understood it took more of his strength to let Kabuto live than to win a fight against him. So for that she placed her hand onto his arm in a comforting manner and smiled.
"Sometimes you've just got to look at the bigger picture. The information he has…"
"I know." He replied, "Remember to tell Naruto that when we get back."
Despite the scratches and pains Sakura's body had been put through in the past hour, she chuckled. Yes, he would come back. Her chuckle turned into laughter, crazy though it may sound, she was thankful Sasuke had been turned into a cat. If not, they would never have found one another again. Sasuke's shoulders relaxed, he smiled and looked to the ground, almost as if he was trying to hide it.
Sakura was just about to tease him for it when Kabuto's arm flew out and knocked Sasuke's leg away from him. Sasuke and Sakura were both momentarily startled, but before Sakura could tell herself to restrain Kabuto a kunai sliced deep into her abdomen. Her breath hitched and her body froze, in what seemed like a lifetime she started to fall to the ground. In that period of time, she watched Sasuke's hand light up with electricity, then his whole arm and body. She could hear the high-pitched sparking as if it were through a thick wall and the light of it was somewhat blurred, Sakura would have laughed if she could because Sasuke resembled a very tall lantern.
Sasuke grasped Kabuto's head in one hand and every electric shock travelled from Sasuke's body into Kabuto's. Kabuto's eyes widened but then, in an instant, he exploded. His body had disappeared, all that remained were pieces of muscle and tattered fragments of bone. Sakura finally hit the ground, she could feel the warmth of her own blood and Kabuto's on her skin. She wanted to life her hand and wipe the droplets of blood on her face away however her arm was numb. As was the rest of her body. She could tell from these symptoms Kabuto had successfully hit an organ and she was losing blood fast. Nice going, Kabuto.
Sasuke's face appeared above, casting a shadow over her. He was trembling as he cupped her face with a hand and placed the other near her wound. She wanted to tell him to calm down and listen to her, she could tell him exactly how to bind it. Alas, she could not, she was due to faint at any moment. Sakura wasn't scared, she had been in a similar situation quite a few times. Well, not quite as drastic as this one but about the same.
Suddenly, a pressure had been applied to her ribcage. She slowly looked down and saw Sasuke's hand placed below her chest. It shone blue, not with electricity but with chakra. The pressure grew heavier and heavier and then, like a burst damn, Sasuke's chakra collided with her own. She felt its presence better than hers, it spread throughout her body, spiralling and dancing with her chakra.
She felt amazing! She was utterly buzzed and intoxicated with energy. If the cut on her abdomen felt painful before, it was nothing more than a paper cut now. She immediately set to work on healing the damage, while she did so her chakra illuminated her hand like a torch. She could light up a whole cave if needed. A hand was placed beside her ear which distracted her from her bewilderment.
Sasuke appeared more beaten than she'd ever seen him, the amount of chakra he transferred to her must have been all he had save for a small amount to keep him awake. Sakura tried to see his face, but he hid it from her like before. It was not a smile he was hiding, it was Kabuto's blood dripping from his face.
In mere minutes her wound was healed, she had enough energy to shoot up and run back to Konoha and arrive there in hours. Was this what Sasuke felt every day? Enough energy and adrenaline to run through days without stopping, to fight an entire army in one breath? How…tiring.
Instead of doing all those things, she sat up slowly, leaning on one hand and using the other to gently pull his arm toward her. He succumbed to her tiny gestures and moved his head ever so slightly in her direction. He was out of breath, and Sakura would bet it took a lot for him to keep sitting up. She ripped the material from one of the pockets on her pants with the intent to use it as a cloth. Carefully, she turned Sasuke to face her and pushed his hair back from his blood stained face. Some strands had stuck to the blood but she pried them away. Wiping the blood away didn't take long, but encouraging Sasuke to look at her was a different matter.
"Sasuke, why won't you look at me?"
"Information. It's gone because I killed him." He answered immediately, a hint of anger in his voice.
"Because you were saving both of us." She corrected him, "It was my mistake for getting distracted."
His black eyes shifted to look at her, he didn't believe her, which was for certain. However he was wrong if he thought she would let him feel guilty about Kabuto, if anyone were to kill him, Sasuke had every right. She would assure him of that every day. They would get information some other way, maybe next year, since Sasuke would be coming back to Konoha with her.
She smiled and stroked his hair, he gave her a confused look but she didn't explain herself. She stood and helped Sasuke to do so, but gasped when she look at his clothes, every inch was covered with blood. She wrinkled her nose as some of it had rubbed off on her and decided she would take him to a nearby river to wash. She supported nearly all of his weight as they set off at a slow pace, even with chakra bursting from her she patiently guided Sasuke through the trees.
As they walked, Sakura's mind wandered back to when she had laughed before being wounded. She couldn't imagine what would have happened to Sasuke had Ino not found him and brought him home. A death warrant would forever be upon Sasuke's head and in a few years, an ANBU would have finally killed him. Sakura shook her head to get rid of those horrible thoughts and pressed herself closer to Sasuke in worry that he might disappear and she had been dreaming. They arrived at the small river shortly after Sakura's worried thoughts.
"What are we doing here?" Sasuke said, his breath heavy.
"You have blood all over you, in case you haven't noticed. It's going to harden and smell all the way home if it isn't washed." She explained.
Sasuke eyebrow shot up, "It's cold." He said, gesturing to the river.
Sakura confident expression vanished. Damn, she forgot. She threw her head back onto Sasuke's arm around her neck and sighed.
"You're going to have to change." She said.
He nodded in understanding. It would be much easier if he were a cat, Sakura could run back to Konoha without hauling a tired human Sasuke behind her.
They both shuffled to the river edge and kneeled down. "Do you want me to keep a hold of you?" She asked.
"No." Sasuke mouth turned into a frown and she realised she had hit his ego with a hard slap.
She snorted and let him go as he put his legs into the water, took a breath, then submerged his whole body in from the neck down.
"If your little cat body is swept away with the current, I will save you when I'm done laughing. Just a warning that there might be a delay in your rescue." She lay belly down on the grass and drew shapes in the water.
"Thank you for your consideration." He retorted, "I'll remind you that you will be saving me with my chakra."
"Of course, but it will still be your chakra laughing its little head off." She grinned.
Sasuke pulled himself closer to the edge where she lay, "I expect to have it returned."
"Is that so? I don't know, I'm feeling pretty good right now, I might hold onto it for a while."
Sasuke shrugged, "You can have it for as long as you like."
"Thank you, I think I will. You know this means I have to keep you in my sight at all times in case I decide to give it back?"
"I understand," He smirked, "It's a precaution, nothing more."
"Exactly." Sakura smacked her lips together to keep herself from smiling, however she let herself do so when Sasuke did the same.
Then a thought occurred to Sakura. They shouldn't even be having a conversation right now, Sasuke should have turned into a cat. Sasuke caught onto Sakura's puzzling look and glanced down at his body, some of the blood had lifted from his clothes and was drifting away but other than that nothing else had changed.
Sakura opened her mouth then shut it again, she didn't know what to say. Was this a trick? Were they being fooled into having hope?
"Where the hell is that old woman when you need her?" Sakura asked no one in particular while standing up.
Sasuke lifted himself out of the water and stood, soaked, beside her. They remained silent for a few seconds but no one appeared. Sakura turned to face Sasuke.
"Are you…healed?"
Sasuke gave one last look around for anyone standing behind a tree then faced her. Once again they fell into silence before Sakura gave a disbelieving laugh.
Sakura lifted a hand to her mouth, "Holy shi-"
Sakura gave a yelp as Sasuke lifted her off her feet, his arms wrapped round her hips and his face pressed into her neck. When Sakura had recovered from the shock the cold water soaking through her own clothes and Sasuke was quite literally squeezing Sakura, she cradled his head and grinned into his hair despite the slight smell of blood.
"Uh, Sasuke?" She mumbled against his hair.
"Hn?"
"This doesn't solve the problem of how we're getting home."
Sasuke pulled his face away from her neck, at a loss for what to do.
"Well, I guess I could give some of it back and hold onto the rest." Sakura offered.
He gazed up at her, "That is a good idea."
Sasuke set her down but didn't move away, which Sakura noted. He remained close to her. From a short distance away she heard the rustling of paper. Sakura turned her head curiously and locked gazed with the old woman who had cursed Sasuke. She gave a gasp and Sasuke jumped in front of her, not that he could do much since Sakura had nearly all of his chakra.
"You need to calm down, Uchiha. I'm only returning the scrolls." She croaked as she closed the distance between them.
When she was less than two metres from them, Sakura took hold of Sasuke's shirt; she was ready to throw him backwards over her shoulder if this woman attacked. He'd be annoyed at her for it but at least he would be alive.
The woman held out one end of the scrolls and gestured for Sakura to take them. But when Sasuke reached out she snatched them back, "Not you. These are Konoha's documents, and you're still a criminal."
So Sakura took the scrolls in her arms and waited for the woman to explain herself. Instead she stood grinning at them, her excited gaze shifting between Sasuke and Sakura.
Sasuke lost his patience before Sakura did, "Hag-"
"Such an awful name to call someone." She said.
"You cursed me." He growled.
"I saved you. You think Madara would let you ruin his plans by going off on your own and destroying Konoha? You would have been sleeping beside a tree when he murdered you. And then her." She pointed to Sakura.
"How do you know-"
"Every old person is wise. Let's say I am old."
"You told me I needed to see myself, reflect or whatever."
"And you did it perfectly," She looked to Sakura, "With a little help of course. The second you stopped yourself from killing Kabuto, when you realised the benefits of keeping him outweighed your vengeance, that is when you 'curse' broke. As Sakura put it so delicately, 'looking at the bigger picture'."
Sakura held the scrolls tightly, "So that's it? He's okay now?"
"Yes, my dear."
"But why did you do it in the first place?" She asked.
"You're kidding, right? I'm going to go home, put my old feet up, and tell everyone that I single-handedly fixed that mess." She gestured to Sasuke. She then looked away dreamily, "For the glory." She whispered.
Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other with confused frowns, they turned back to ask the woman more questions but she had disappeared.
::XxX::
"Are you sure you don't want to stop at home first?"
"I'm sure."
"Not even for a shower or-"
"Sakura, we need to get this over with."
Sakura sighed, she was being selfish. She wanted them to go straight back to the apartment, have some food and television and a toasty warm blanket on the sofa. But Sasuke was right, they needed to go straight to Tsunade.
Upon meeting up with Neji and the team a few hours after their river discovery, Sasuke and Sakura had been fed and healed from all cuts and scratches in return for information. The ANBU were wary at first when they saw Sasuke, but after Sakura had assured them of their safety and told them of what happened, they were relatively welcoming-no, welcoming isn't the right word. Putting up with sounds about right.
It took them a day to get back to Konoha, it was night and the stars shone, reminding Sakura of Sasuke's lightening. Neji and the others had ran ahead to warn the Shinobi on guard to let them pass which gave Sasuke and Sakura the opportunity to take their time through the streets of Konoha.
"The council will want me to remain silent for a time." Sasuke said as they walked.
Sakura nodded, "You won't be allowed on any missions, or to see official documents, anything of that sort. But just for a while, maybe in a year they'll let you out."
Sasuke was silent for a while, then said, "They ordered the massacre of my family."
Sakura wasn't surprised by this, she had known for a while. This subject was delicate to Sasuke, he was entering the village he'd swore to destroy to avenge his family. She couldn't comprehend his feelings at that moment.
"I'm looking at the bigger picture," He continued, "The council keep this village alive."
Sakura could feel tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, Sasuke was giving up his life goal for the village. To protect it.
"The council…will answer for their crimes eventually. It's just a matter of waiting."
Sasuke gave a half-hearted smirk, "One of them will slip up, and I'll be there when they do."
"What about Madara? You said he disappeared."
"He doesn't have me anymore or Kabuto, he's vulnerable and after I tell the council about him, he'll be dead within a few years. Maybe the council will allow me to do it."
Sakura nodded, "Take me along with you this time. Naruto and I are missing all the good stuff." Sakura gently joked.
"Does Naruto…does he forgive me?"
"He'll come around, you know how he is. I'm pretty sure, at your trial, he'll beat me to the first spot on the bench."
Sasuke chuckled and she joined him. But Sasuke stopped abruptly, his eyes focussed on a bench before them. The bench. The one Sakura was all too familiar with. Sakura took a deep breath and slipped her hand into Sasuke's, she slowly walked forward and sat down, he followed soon after. Their sides pressed closely against one another, providing the other warmth.
Both were hesitant to say anything. Sasuke was back, they hoped the council wouldn't be too hard on him and eventually he would be accepted back into the community through good deeds. But their relationship at that moment? Sakura had no clue.
"I shouldn't have left you on this bench." Sasuke said quietly, "It is really cold, you got the flu because of me."
Sakura's snort shortly turned into quiet laughter, and then surprisingly, Sasuke laughed with her. It wasn't as loud as her own laugh nor as high. It was deep and rich, and completely addictive.
Sasuke moved his arm to rest on her shoulders, she instantly felt the warmth of his skin through the fabric and was thankful for it. She looked up at the stars, as did Sasuke, and gave a long sigh.
"Are you glad you were turned into a cat?" She asked.
"No."
Sakura gave a start, "What? Why?"
"Being a cat was annoying."
"But you would never have come here and met me again." She argued.
Sasuke shifted his eyes to Sakura, then back to the sky, "I would have."
"Possibly, with a kunai in my chest."
"I wouldn't have killed you." He said, "I wouldn't."
Sakura stared at Sasuke's neck, he was still looking at the sky, and wondered if she had had enough impact on Sasuke when she was young, that he'd swore not to kill her. Maybe being annoying to Sasuke wasn't so…annoying after all.
"That makes me glad." She said. "Thank you."
Sasuke's fingers had started playing with the ends of her hair, she dared not to say anything, she didn't think he was even aware he was doing it. It was quite bizarre to be sitting beside Sasuke on the bench he had left her on years ago.
"Sasuke," Sakura gave a nervous smile, "Don't leave again, okay?"
Fingers stopped playing with her hair. Sasuke finally looked away from the sky to settle on the path in front of them.
"You have my chakra, I can't leave without that." He smirked.
"Good." Sakura gave a satisfied smile and crossed her legs, letting one leg rest on Sasuke's. "It's going to be different with everyone knowing you're here."
Sasuke nodded but didn't say anything. Sakura carried on, "Tsunade will arrange for another place where you can stay, and you'll be put under 24 hour watch by shinobi. I can visit if you want, I mean, if the council lets me. I don't know if they will considering our past but it's worth a shot."
"I'm not staying in a house with Anko." Sasuke growled.
"Sasuke, that's not your decision."
"I've been under your watch every day for a month, I don't see what difference it makes to stay with you."
"You want to stay with me?" The corners of Sakura's mouth picked up.
Sasuke saw this and looked away, glaring at a nearby tree. "Yes." He mumbled.
"People are going to think scandalous things, Sasuke." She joked.
"It's only scandalous if you don't give something to encourage it to be more innocent."
"Like what?"
"A date."
Sakura whipped her head around so fast her hair smacked Sasuke in the face, "Are you asking me on a date?"
The tree got the full force of the glare again as Sasuke refused to look at her. A muscle in his jaw ticked and his brows furrowed down. He didn't answer her.
Sakura felt butterflies in her stomach, and they felt blissful. She felt like she did before, with nearly all of Sasuke's chakra buzzing around inside of her.
"I accept." She said, turning to face forward.
Hesitantly, Sasuke stopped trying to burn the tree with his gaze and instead looked at her, "Ichiraku's?"
"Of course."
She stood up, grinning so hard her cheeks hurt, but they barely got a few metres away from the bench before a loud, booming voice shouted Sasuke's name. It was Naruto's voice.
"Oh dear." Sakura's shoulders slumped, the date would have to wait.
"-before that idiot gets here." She heard Sasuke mumble behind her, but she hardly had time to wonder what he meant before she was grasped around the waist and kissed by Uchiha Sasuke.
::XxX::
THE END
Since I was so late, this is a 7000 word chapter for all you perfect people. This is the end of Our Little Secret, it's been an amazing time. Thank you so much, I'd put in all your names as thanks but I'm proud to say there's been so many of you it won't all fit on one page! I entered another genre of the SasuSaku world and your support has been more than I could have anticipated. I've read every single review with a smile and a giggle, and even spoke to you through messages! It's been a blast.