Chapter Ten_
"Otokagure" :

Sakura was lying on her bed, the morning sun pouring in as she debated on getting up ou just sleeping the jour away. After all, it was her first jour off and the suivant one wouldn't be for an entire month.
"Do I really want to waste it par sleeping all day?" she mumbled, rolling onto her side and letting her eyelids drop.
They flickered back open when she heard Sasuke's door close before he padded through the hallway—his footsteps disappearing on the stairs. Frowning, Sakura glanced at the clock on her nightstand. It was eight. That was odd. Sasuke was normally gone before she left in the mornings and that was at seven. Had he overslept?
Sakura remembered a few nights il y a and the dark circles under Sasuke's eyes. Thinking about it, Sasuke didn't only leave before her, but he usually returned accueil after her as well.
And people call me a workaholic, thought Sakura as she tossed the covers aside. Slipping from her bed, she shed the shorts and T-shirt she was sleeping in before getting dressed.
It was about time she got some answers.
After eating a quick breakfast, Sakura was out the door and ready to do some snooping. Deciding to go the opposite direction of the training center—all that was along that path was construction—she headed towards the cœur, coeur of the village.
She still couldn't get over how beautiful Otokagure really was. The dirt path she was walking along was bordered par the river on one side. The edge of the water lined with cattails and small bushes with little yellow blossoms. She heard the croak of a frog, immediately thinking of Naruto, before it splashed into the water. From what she'd seen, it appeared the wildlife wasn't about to back down to all the construction going on. Along her other side were fields of wildflowers. Every now and then she'd pass a half built house.
Soon enough, she made it into the main part of the village. People were scattered along the street, going in and out of shops and Sakura couldn't believe the wonderful smells drifting from the nourriture stands. She soon found out this part of the village was a complete labyrinth, but figured she could always get her bearings from the roof of any of the buildings.
An heure and a dozen different people later, Sakura was beyond frustrated. She'd asked about Sasuke, but no one would give her a straight answer! It was either, 'Sasuke-sama is a wonderful leader,' ou 'Just because toi live with him doesn't mean he'll fall for you!'
Was it custom to be annoyingly vague in Otokagure!
Sakura had worked her way to the center of the market after getting some dumplings from one of the nourriture stands.
Eating her food, Sakura glared at the other villagers. Why did this have to be so difficult? All she wanted to know was what Sasuke had been up to! Taking another frustrated bite, she decided to rest for a bit. She quickly located an unoccupied bench.
Glancing around, she found herself falling even plus in l’amour with the village. Everything about this place seemed to take her breath away. Hell, it was almost like it was designed for her. There wasn't a single thing she didn't like.
Where she sat, the marketplace opened up as opposed to the winding roads leading here. In the center was fountain—water was bubbling from the top, gliding down the carved stone into the first curved basin before overflowing and raining into the large base. Sakura found her frustration slowly slipping away as she watched kids run up to it every now and then and throw in a small coin. Each time scaring away a small flock of birds that would cercle the sky before coming back to continue scavenging for crumbs.
"This place..." whispered Sakura as her eyes lifted to the riz patty fields covering the hills to the west and back down to the busy shops surrounding her.
"It's calming, isn't it," came a voice to her left.
After flinching in surprise and feeling like a fool for not sensing the man, Sakura looked up to see a tall orange-headed male smiling down at her.
"May I sit?" he asked.
"Oh!" a dit Sakura, sliding over. "Of course."
"Thanks."
Sakura glanced at the man before looking back at the fountain. Awkward. Eating her last dumpling, Sakura began to fiddle with the wooden skewer between her fingers and ignore the stranger beside her.
Swallowing, she decided she might as well try and make some sort of conversation.
Holding out her hand, she smiled and said, "I'm Sakura, par the way."
He smiled back, shook her hand and offered, "Juugo."
"So, um," a dit Sakura, folding her hands in her lap, "were toi a villager here when Orochimaru was in power?"
That was subtle, thought Sakura, feeling like a complete fool. When Juugo glanced at her and frowned, she believed she'd angered the man. Though she couldn't fault him—how could anyone have liked being under the leadership of Orochimaru?
"I actually use to be a Sound prisoner."
Sakura felt like she'd just been slapped across the face and, she reasoned, it was well deserved.
"I-I'm so sorry!" she said, slightly bowing her head. "I'm from Konoha, toi see, and Sasuke is an old fr-teammate of mine. I'm just curious about what all has happened here."
Sakura immediately felt like an idiot for blurting all of that out.
"I see," a dit Juugo and Sakura waited with baited breath as he continued, "It all started after Orochimaru was killed. The prisoners revolted, killing quite a few guards while most fled since Orochimaru was no longer around. It was really quite a feat considering most of them lacked any form of shinobi training.
"See, all of the villager's here are former prisoners who couldn't return accueil ou didn't have a accueil to return to. Sasuke had left this place in chaos to kill his brother, then one jour out of the blue he came back and somehow managed to get everyone organized. I'm not sure why he came back, but I do know this—if it weren't for Sasuke, these people would've killed each other par now."
Juugo looked at her, smiling. "He's a good man."
"Yeah," a dit Sakura, staring at her lap in a daze, "he is."
Sakura felt her confusion with Sasuke only growing now. For him to come back, to help all of these people—it simply didn't sound like the Sasuke she used to know. The Sasuke she remembered would've told them to get stronger so suivant time they wouldn't have to rely on others.
What changed?
"It was nice talking with you," a dit Juugo and Sakura's head quickly snapped up to see him standing.
"Yeah," she agreed, "it was."
With a slight wave, she watched Juugo walk away.


. . .

Chapter Eleven_
"Hysteria" :

Sakura was walking back along the path she'd taken to go to the market. It was so surreal to see it at night. The faint flickers of fireflies over the water and the dull buzz of crickets. She wasn't really able to enjoy it, though. Too many questions were swimming in her thoughts.
After setting out this morning to get réponses all she really got were plus questions, but the biggest one of all wouldn't stop gnawing at her mind: Why?
Juugo a dit Sasuke came back after defeating his brother, but to what purpose? Why not return to Konoha? Why take on reconstructing an entire village?
Sakura felt her stomach doing back-flips as the answer skirted against her thoughts.
Power.
It had been what pulled him to Orochimaru, after all. It was the driving force behind all of Sasuke's decisions, why should she assume this is any different?
Sakura looked up to see Sasuke's house in front of her. It looked so threatening at that moment without a single light on. Like the evil in this beautiful village. She took a step back. She was working herself into hysteria, but she simply couldn't help it. She knew absolutely nothing about Sasuke, about this entire place.
She needed to get away, to think. Perhaps she could find a place to do a little training and cool off. Anything to ease the ever-growing paranoia settling in her gut.
The moment she turned away from the house, however, she came face to face with Sasuke.
"Where have toi been?" he asked harshly.
Sakura slid her foot back; her cœur, coeur was going a thousand miles a minute. When Sasuke's hand came towards her, a distant echo of, "What the hell's wrong with you?" Sakura smacked the limb away and hissed, "Don't touch me."
She saw the confusion in Sasuke's eyes, but she didn't dare back down. She had been a fool to come here, Sakura realized, to walk so blindly into this place. She had allowed herself to fall into a false sense of security simply because Oto didn't appear to be evil, but the past spoke for itself.
"Sakura–" a dit Sasuke, trying to take a step closer.
"Don't," warned Sakura, as she took a step back. "I can't believe I was stupid enough to trust you!"
"Where the hell is this coming from?" asked Sasuke, annoyed.
"Last time I saw you, toi tried to kill me, to kill Naruto," a dit Sakura accusingly. "Why should I assume this is any different, huh? Just because toi haven't tried anything yet?"
"We don't have time for this right now," a dit Sasuke through gritted teeth. "I need toi to come with me."
Sakura didn't budge when he turned. At this, Sasuke was beside her, his hand clamped on her wrist and dragging her along within a second.
"Let go of me!" shouted Sakura, trying to wrench her hand free. She was building chakra in her arm when Sasuke spun around to face her, a glare etched on his face.
"Look, I don't care if toi don't trust me. Right now I need toi to shut up and listen. There was an accident today and people are hurt. Do toi understand?" hissed Sasuke.
Sakura searched his face for any signs of a lie.
"Fine," a dit Sakura.
Sasuke gave a curt nod before turning and heading off in the direction of the wounded. Sakura followed, still wary.
Sakura was taken to someone's home. An older lady led her up to a room with three people lying on futon's on the floor. She looked at the bandaging.
"Whose looked at them?" asked Sakura.
The old woman replied, "Some of your students came and fixed up two others, these three had some deep wounds. They bandaged them up best they could, a dit the wounds were too messy for their skill level."
Sakura nodded, undoing the bandaging, she noted that the wounds had been wrapped well. A sense of pride filled her chest. Her students did good. Once she saw the jagged flesh she understood their apprehension in healing them.
This was a very delicate procedure.
Channeling chakra to her palms, Sakura got to work.
It took her an heure to heal all three of the men. They'd thanked her profusely, much to Sakura's chagrin. She didn't very much care for gratitude. It always seemed so awkward to be thanked for doing her job.
Giving them proper instructions to rest for the suivant couple of days, Sakura a dit good-bye to the old couple and left the house to see Sasuke waiting her for out front.
"Are they okay?" asked Sasuke when they started back towards his house.
"They'll be," a dit Sakura.
Sasuke nodded as they continued to walk.
"Are toi going to answer my question?" a dit Sakura.
Sasuke shrugged. "What question? Am I really planning to kill you? No. But I doubt you'll believe me anyways so what's the point."
"Can toi blame me?"
"You've been here a month," a dit Sasuke, "and I haven't donné toi one reason not to trust me."
"I haven't even seen you!" screamed Sakura.
"Yeah, well, if toi haven't noticed I'm kind of busy," yelled Sasuke.
They were standing in front of the house now, facing each other with furious glares.
"Why!" yelled Sakura. "Why are toi doing this? Why are toi helping these people?"
Sakura's eyes didn't leave him as he turned his head away from her. He didn't speak for the longest time, but Sakura wasn't about to let him worm his way out of this. She needed an answer.
The one she got, though, nearly made her cœur, coeur stop
"Because for three years I sat par and did absolutely nothing."

. . .


Chapter Twelve_
"Goodnight" :

Lying on her lit staring at the ceiling, Sakura wished she'd known where Sasuke had stormed off to.
"Sasuke, I–" a dit Sakura, somberly.
"I'll be back later," replied Sasuke in a low voice before heading away from the house and disappearing into the shadows.
She should've followed him. He was angry, she knew, and whenever Naruto walked away angry he always tended to do something stupid.
"But Sasuke's not Naruto," a dit Sakura. It didn't ease the worry.
Clutching the oreiller to her stomach, Sakura's temper flared as she chucked the damn thing at the wall.
"Jerk!" she a dit in a harsh whisper, talking to herself. "How the hell was I supposed to know toi actually had a heart?" Rolling onto her side, she mumbled sadly, "It's not like toi ever showed it to me."
Rolling her eyes, Sakura let out an annoyed sigh.
"Now I'm just being pathetic."
That was when she heard the front door slam shut.
Sakura was off her lit the moment she heard the stairs creak and about to go into the hallway just as she saw the bathroom light flood in under her door.
Frowning, she eased her door open and peered around to see Sasuke's reflection in the bathroom mirror. His eyes went to hers—both looking at each other through the reflective glass—when she saw the blood.
Throwing her door open, Sakura chastised, "What the hell happened?"
"Nothing," a dit Sasuke, as he turned the sink on and grabbed a rag. "Go back to bed."
Sakura didn't listen as she came into the bathroom and took the rag from his hand. Opening the medicine cabinet, she grabbed the rubbing alcohol and dumped a generous amount on the rag before pressing it to Sasuke's bloody forehead.
When his face tensed slightly and he sucked in a hiss of air, Sakura mumbled, "Sorry."
"I'm fine," a dit Sasuke as he tried to take the rag from Sakura's hand. She slapped the limb away.
"No. You're bleeding," she said, lightly dabbing up the rest of the blood.
Sasuke let out an annoyed sigh.
"Would toi stop whining," a dit Sakura. "I'm just trying to help."
"Be careful, I might try and kill you," mumbled Sasuke.
Sakura took in a sharp breath through her nose as she tensed. Lowering the rag, she replied, "I guess I sort of deserved that, but toi have to look at from where I stand. I never see you. I don't know what toi do all day. And toi were ready to kill me the last time we saw each other."
"That was years ago," a dit Sasuke.
Sakura frowned before channeling healing chakra to her palm and closing the wound on Sasuke's forehead.
"Yeah, well, how am I supposed to know toi didn't change for the worst?"
"Do toi really believe that?" asked Sasuke.
"I think..." started Sakura before letting out a long sigh, "I think toi really are trying to help these people."
There was a long pause before Sasuke a dit bluntly, "But?"
Sakura looked him straight in the eye. "I assisted with Itachi's autopsy."
Sakura remembered the chidori wound through the elder brother's stomach. At first glance one would assume it was what killed him, but after the autopsy, they knew—Itachi was already dead before the attack. His organs had shut down.
Sasuke hadn't killed him.
"That couldn't have been easy to handle. Not after everything that toi went through to be the one to…" Sakura trailed off, the unspoken words lingering in the air: toi threw your life away for nothing.
Sakura was surprised when Sasuke just let out a tired sigh.
"He was still alive when I found him," he said, barely a whisper.
Sakura's eyes snapped up to find his, but they were hidden beneath his bangs.
She didn't dare move, didn't dare take a breath. She'd never imagine Sasuke admitting something like that—to actually talk about it.
He shook his head. Sakura noticed the distant look in his eyes disappeared. He just seemed tired now. The kind of tired that didn't just involve ones body, but their entire being.
She knew he wasn't going to say any plus on the matter.
Deciding to let it go, she attempted to break the tense mood par asking, "So, what exactly happened to your forehead?"
Sasuke looked at her, a frown on his lips, and was that a blush creeping up on his neck?
"I put a chidori through a arbre and a piece splintered off," he replied.
Sakura couldn't help it. She tried, of course, really she did, but the laughter won out.
Sasuke glared at her.
Forcing back the fit of giggles, she said, "So you're telling me toi got beat par a tree?"
The laughter erupted from her lips again.
"Shut up, Sakura," a dit Sasuke as he walked past her towards his room.
"Wait, Sasuke," a dit Sakura, smiling like an idiot, "you don't have to be embarrassed! I mean, just because a stationary object kicked your ass–"
"Goodnight, Sakura," a dit Sasuke, sounding rather ticked before he shut his door with a loud bang.
Sakura leaned across the bathroom doorway, her mood sobering when she realized what he just said.
For the first time she actually felt like she was living with Sasuke and not just living in his house.
"Goodnight, Sasuke."

. . .


Chapter Thirteen_
"Forever Broke..." :

Sakura could hardly remember a time she'd been so worn out. No, that wasn't true. She could remember perfectly—it was the last time she'd pulled a double shift at the hospital in Konoha.
She'd taught her class probably one of the hardest techniques a medic-nin would have to perfect and in doing so she had to demonstrate it over and over and over.
It was suffice to say her chakra was non-existent at that point.
Though, she supposed as she walked along the dark path back to Sasuke's house, she should be thankful she wasn't dead tired. She was tired of course, but not the kind of mind numbing exhaustion that comes with virtually no sleep for two days. So when she was walking along the path, her mind taking in the eerie beauty of the fireflies flickering around the half-built shops and houses, Sakura couldn't believe it when the ground beneath her fell away and she plummeted into a deep pit.
"What the hell?"
She groaned as she stood, absently brushing the dirt off herself. Her back was most definitely going to be sore in the morning.
Looking up, she saw the jagged edges of broken wood. That made her feel a little less stupid. It wasn't as if she simply walked right into a stupid hole. She squinted, trying to gauge the size and exactly what it was doing there when she noticed a few pipes par her feet. They where running the plumbing, she deduced, but who was the genius that decided to cover the hole with a flimsy little panel of wood!
Sighing, Sakura quickly reigned in her temper. It wouldn't help to get all worked up at this point. Right now she had to climb out.
Standing on one of the pipes, Sakura grabbed a makeshift handhold on the mur before starting to climb. She got about two steps up when the dirt crumbled and she slid back to the bottom.
"You've got to be kidding me!" shouted Sakura. The dirt wasn't packed tight enough! Any root ou rock lodged into the mur would just pull out under her weight.
Kicking the mur in annoyance, a pile of dirt spilled out and got under her toes. Sakura had to close her eyes lest she do something else to worsen the situation.
An heure later and a dozen ou so plus failed attempts at getting out—if only she had her chakra!—Sakura had donné up. Leaning against one of the pipes, she occupied herself par finding small rocks and throwing them over the edge of the pit.
She wished she were one of them.
Sakura had no idea what time it was when she finally heard footsteps, but she really didn't care. She was just ecstatic that she would be getting out of the stupid pit.
"Hello?" she shouted. "Anyone–"
Before she could finish her sentence a spiky outline came over the edge and an all too familiar voice said, "Sakura."
"Damn," she muttered under her breath. Why the hell did it have to be Sasuke?
"Yeah," she said. "It's me."
"What the hell are toi doing?" asked Sasuke.
Sakura frowned.
"What am I doing? What am I doing?" she echoed incredulously. "What the hell does it look like I'm doing! I fell in this stupid pit and now I'm stuck!"
There was a pregnant pause, and well-timed croak of a toad, before Sakura asked pathetically, "Can toi help me?"
"Why?" he asked sarcastically. "Maybe this was all part of my plan to off you, toi know, besides the fact that I need toi to train medic-nin and the whole idea makes no sense whatsoever."
Sakura frowned. "Do not mock me right now! Besides, it makes perfect sense. toi bring me here with a purpose. Give me a false sense of security and then one morning I just don't wake up! It's not like there aren't other medic-nin's in sea."
She heard Sasuke sigh—man did she want to coup de poing him right now!—before disappearing only for him to reappear beside her.
"But," a dit Sasuke, "you were trained par Tsunade, meaning you're probably one of the best. So it would be stupid of me to kill toi and then have to find someone less adequate."
Sakura looked at him apprehensively for a moment. "You just had to add the 'probably', didn't you. And here I thought I was finally going to get a compliment from you."
"Fine," a dit Sasuke, and Sakura finally realized how close he was as she craned her neck up to look at him. She could feel the heat radiating from his body and she was none too pleased with what it was doing to hers. "You're one of the best medic-nin's out there. Happy?"
Swallowing thickly, Sakura tried to retort, but failed miserably with her shaky voice. "Maybe if toi didn't sound so damn condescending- Hey! Whoa! What the hell do toi think you're doing!"
Sakura had grabbed Sasuke's wrists as he went to pick her up. She heard Sasuke sigh.
"I'm not going to drop you," he said.
"I wasn't worried about that!" a dit Sakura, the words flying out of her mouth before she had time to stop them. She wished they hadn't.
"Then what the hell's your problem?" asked Sasuke. She could just make out the glare.
"I, well, it's just–" Sakura sighed. "I don't know. It's just weird, okay?"
"Okay," a dit Sasuke as he freed his wrists and slipped his arms around Sakura's shoulders and beneath her knees. "But I don't really care."
Before Sakura could even yell at him, they were out of the pit and he was putting her back on her feet. She watched him stuff his hands in his pockets and stalk off. She could only wonder what the hell his problem was. Sighing, she jogged a bit to catch up with him.
"So," she said, trying to force conversation, "what time is it?"
"Almost two," a dit Sasuke.
"Two," a dit Sakura, shocked. "As in two in the morning! What the hell is wrong with you, Sasuke! toi left the house at five this morning. Do toi realize how unhealthy that is?"
He shrugged. Sakura let out an exasperated sigh.
"You really should take better care of yourself," she said.
"Like toi even care," a dit Sasuke accusingly.
"And whose fault is that?" she a dit darkly. "The last time I checked, toi threw any kindness I ever gave toi back in my face. What was it toi said? Oh right, toi don't want me to look after you. Well guess what Sasuke, wish granted!"
Sakura was glad they were at the house. Storming off, she threw the front door open and disappeared to her room. She could only hope things would return to how they had been during that first month. If she didn't see Sasuke again for the rest of the year, she would be grateful.


. .. .

Chapter Fourteen
"Coffee" :

Sakura yawned as she went into the cuisine the suivant morning. She'd slept rather well despite how little she actually slept.
Grabbing a mug from the cupboard, she picked up the coffee pot and poured absolutely nothing.
"Wait," mumbled Sakura groggily before she held the clear pot up to eye-level. She could see straight through it.
"What the..." she began to mutter. "Stupid Uchiha. Stupid, stupid mornings and why the hell is it so cold. All I want is some freaking coffee!"
Just as she was really getting into her little rant she heard the last stair creak. She turned, a frown slowly finding its way to her lips before Sasuke appeared in the cuisine doorway. Whether it was pent up frustration from last night ou because of the fact that there was no damn coffee, Sakura wasn't sure.
It was probably both.
Regardless, it didn't make the fact that she chucked the empty pot straight at Sasuke's head any less true. She barely noticed Sasuke's eyes widen before his hand shot out with startling reflexes and caught the projectile.
"You're insane," a dit Sasuke bluntly.
Sakura just glared.
"I'm not talking to you," she a dit before turning away from him. She heard him walk towards her before turning on the sink. Her fingers were itching to curl into a fist and coup de poing him in the face. He stepped around her to put the coffee pot in place and grabbed the ground coffee from the cabinet overhead.
Sakura frowned as she watched him prepare the common household beverage. It was so normal and not Sasuke-like.
"You make coffee," she said, as if it was the most startling realization ever.
Sasuke looked at her like she had five heads.
"You just figured this out?"
Sakura shook her head. "No, I mean, toi actually stand there and make coffee."
"Did toi hit your head in that hole?" asked Sasuke.
"First," a dit Sakura, "it was a pit. A very deep pit so don't cheapen it and second- wait, toi know what, I'm still mad at you!"
She turned away from him before taking a siège at the cuisine table. She was annoyed when he took the siège across from her. She turned her head to the side, trying her best to avoid so much as acknowledging him.
She could feel his stupid eyes on her. It was like something had crawled under her skin—nagging and relentless. The palm holding her chin up immediately smacked against the table, tableau as she whipped her head back to meet those god-forsaken eyes.
"What the hell are toi even doing here!"
"I forgot to set my alarm last night," he a dit simply and Sakura was utterly confused at this.
"Since when do toi need an alarm? toi have the most freakishly accurate internal clock I've ever seen."
Absently, Sakura remembered the many missions they went on as genin. Kakashi-sensei never had to wake Sasuke.
Sasuke merely shrugged. "People change."
"Why are toi doing this, Sasuke?" she asked after a pregnant pause.
This distance between them, this anger and resentment she harbored for him ever since she saw him back at Konoha was really starting to eat away at her. Not to mention every conversation they had seemed to leave her with plus questions then she started with.
The whole situation just didn't make sense to her.
"You want to help these people out of some sort of guilt? Fine, but why the hell did toi bring me here? With our history, you're just making it harder on yourself. Especially since there are dozens of other medic-nin's out there toi could've asked. And don't pull that shit about how I was trained par Tsunade and blah, blah, blah. toi know as well as I do to bring someone up to that level it takes personal training. Years, Sasuke."
"Why did toi agree to come?" countered Sasuke.
Sakura looked at him, really looked. It was the first time he'd ever looked so damn human with the dark circles under his eyes and the slump to his shoulders. He looked older and not in a good way.
"I needed to know toi were okay, to see toi again." Looking down at her lap, Sakura added quietly, "you never a dit good-bye, Sasuke."
When he didn't speak, Sakura glanced up at him. She sucked in a gasp of air through her nose as her chest felt tight. He didn't speak, barely made eye contact before getting up quietly and leaving the room. It wasn't until the door closed that Sakura let out her breath.
Sakura had no idea if she was seeing things, but the moment she met his eyes it was as if he was saying: Our reasons aren't so different.
The coffee machine beeped.