Sasuke waited as the medic nin finished mending the long cut on his arm.

The last mission he had was one of the few B-rank missions that he was allowed to do after his official release from prison.

No one believed that Naruto and Sasuke would survive their final face-off. So when they both woke up from a long coma (well Naruto's was shorter by a month), everyone in the ninja community was shocked.

According to rumors, Sasuke's body was too severed for anyone to think that he would live. When they took his unconscious body from the scene, they didn't even think that he was breathing.

But he woke up. And he woke up inside a cave-like prison that was modified to look like an intensive care unit. A five-inch thick steel door was the only way in and out of the room.

"That will do," the medic nin said, trying to engage in another small talk after examining the work she made on his wound.

Going back to the time when people treated him as a part of the village was impossible. Sasuke never thought that anyone in Konoha would want him roaming around without his hands and feet chained to an iron ball.

After all, he wanted everyone in the village killed.

For the past year however, one year after he was given his first C-rank mission, more people seemed to try to talk to him as if the past didn't happen.

Of course his batch mates in the ninja academy were the first ones who tried to make him feel at home. Naruto was particularly ecstatic when Sasuke was finally allowed to live with the villagers again.

Sasuke didn't respond to the medic nin. He wasn't there to have a conversation. And he knew that the medic nin was just forced into trying to talk to him.

He instead stood up from the hospital bed where he sat on, and proceeded to the door.

"Wait!" the medic nin said. Sasuke didn't even care what she looked like. "Your medicines!"

"I have them," he said – his eyes fixed at his path toward the exit of the hospital.

The medic nin sighed. "Finally! Three words," she said. "I thought you really turned into a mute."

Sasuke kept his face even.

What do you know? The medic nin was flirting.

Being a nasty criminal did give him some benefits. One was that he was freed from his fan girls. But when he finally received a C-rank mission after two years of doing D-rank missions, his fan girls came back. And guess what. They're numbers and method of flirting was worse than before.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that he softened up with the Genin teams he worked with in those D-rank missions.

Sasuke began to walk out to the hallway.

The medic nin followed him, saying something like, 'are you going to report to Tsunade already?'

As if he cared for whatever she said.

"I wish Sakura-chan was here," said someone from the nurses' station.

Sasuke froze and stiffly turned to look at who said it.

Two medic nins were talking beside the station.

"She would know what to do," the medic nin said sadly.

The other medic nin nodded.

Ever since he got out of his prison, he never saw Sakura again.

The last time he saw her was a few days before Tsunade permitted his release.

Sasuke looked away and continued his walk toward the exit doors of the hospital.

He could still recall her face when he first woke up in the cell.

Her eyes were swollen and filled with tears. She looked so frail and broken.

His consciousness only lasted for a few minutes that day.

The next time he woke up, Sakura had an indifferent expression on her face.

"I'll kill you," he remembered him tell her every time she treated her wounds.

But she never responded.

She never frowned. She never cried. She never spoke a word.

The only times she spoke to him was when she checked on how he was feeling – part of the physical examinations that she conducted as his personal medic nin.

Sasuke felt the cool breeze of the village touch his face. He turned to walk toward the Hokage's office, where he was about to submit his report about his mission.

He thought that Sakura volunteered to take care of him because she still adored him.

Based on how apathetic she was with him though, he figured he was wrong.

He couldn't blame her. He tried to kill her after all, and he continued to give her death threats.

Did he regret it? It was probably better that she didn't approach him anymore.

"You know you look like a child who lost his candy, don't you?" he heard Shikamaru, who was suddenly in front of him, say.

Shikamaru and Neji, though he wouldn't vocally admit it, were the only ones he spoke with that made absolute sense. And they calmed him down when he needed to be.

Sasuke threw his death glare on Shikamaru.

Shikamaru sighed. "What a drag," he muttered. "You're scaring children around because of your expression."

Sasuke looked away.

He did see some children running away from his path. He figured it was normal though since he was a notorious criminal.

Shikamaru walked passed him – hands in his pockets and a drowsy expression on his face.

By the looks of his clothes, he just finished an A-rank mission.

Sasuke looked down at the path wanting to continue on his way but feeling difficulties making his legs move.

"I haven't heard anything," Shikamaru said.

Sasuke turned and looked at Shikamaru – a brow raised at the Jounin.

Shikamaru looked at Sasuke. His face was serious…and sad.

"I haven't heard a word about Sakura," he said.

Sasuke couldn't feel his chest. "Why are you telling me this?" he said.

Shikamaru looked away and shrugged his shoulders. "You were thinking of asking me about it," he said. "It's a drag to wait for you to have the guts to do it so I answered it already."

He then walked away, probably to his home so he could get some rest.

Hopefully, Ino wasn't there yet. Despite growing up physically, she still had that nasty habit of nagging. He never quite understood why Shikamaru picked Ino over that Sand ninja.

Ino. She was also kind to him, even when she was with Shikamaru.

When he stopped seeing Sakura around, Ino suddenly became part of his daily life – giving him meals, fixing his apartment, checking his health…

Ino was Sakura's rival and friend. That was why Shikamaru kept tabs on Sakura's whereabouts whether he liked it or not.

Ino was the one of the ninjas who escorted him out of his cell. She told him that Sakura was on a mission, hence her absence from his side.

He didn't care though.

It was the same reason that she gave him in the next instances that Ino came to check on him instead of Sakura; the same reason Shikamaru gave when he spoke with him on the streets about her; and the same reason Naruto gave when he was talkative enough to tell him why she wasn't with them in Ichiraku.

She was busy.

He figured that have such a hectic schedule for missions was in exchange for how frequently stayed with him when he was still imprisoned.

There must have been a bargain for it – a year of being his personal medic nin in exchange for a strenuous series of missions that barely allowed her to be visible in Konoha.

Sasuke sighed.

It wasn't like he wanted to see her. He didn't even know what he would tell her if he saw her again.

Thank you..?

No. That was not Uchiha Sasuke. A 'Hn' would be more appropriate.

Sasuke went on to submit his report to Tsunade.

Tsunade read the scroll that he handed over.

As a probationary ninja, all his missions were strictly reviewed and scrutinized. The Hokage even sent Anbus to check if his missions did end the way he reported it.

He didn't care. They were just humiliating themselves anyway.

Tsunade nodded and put down the scroll on her table. She then stamped her signature on the scroll.

Sasuke raised a brow at her. "You won't send out Anbus to check it out?"

"Later," Tsunade said looking around the pile of scroll and papers on her table. "I have another mission for you and I need you to do it immediately."

Sasuke wasn't one to complain. He didn't like staying in Konoha much because feeling people's disgust and pity towards him was annoying.

And Naruto was away on a mission with Kakashi. Neji was out on a mission with Tenten that Naruto and Chouji were betting would produce a Hyuuga child. Shikamaru was no doubt sleeping despite the possibility of Ino nagging around his apartment – a daily activity, Sasuke realized after many times of playing Shogi with Shikamaru.

"Hn," Sasuke replied.

Tsunade handed him a scroll. "Your mission is to deliver an important medic scroll to me," she said.

Sasuke took the scroll and was about to open it when Tsunade gripped the end of the scroll tightly.

"This scroll is very important," she said looking seriously at Sasuke. "And the peril of doing this is too much for a Chunin."

Sasuke raised a brow at Tsunade. "This is an A-rank mission?"

It was only then that he realized how stressed Tsunade appeared. Her eyes were deep and a little swollen.

She must have forgotten to do a retouch.

"We're out of Jounins and your skills are at par with the best Anbu," Tsunade said. "Don't get it over your head though."

"Hn."

At par? He could kill the best Anbu without so much as a scratch and he knew Tsunade knew it. It was his status as an ex-criminal and probationary ninja that made her say that he was only "at par."

"So I'm giving you this mission," Tsunade continued. "Get this done and you're off the hook."

"I thought I need fifty more missions to get off the hook."

"Well I'm cutting it to one," Tsunade said.

"Hn. What am I dealing with here, since you don't want me to read about it?"

Tsunade let the scroll go. "Like I said, it's a medic scroll," she said. "It contains information about a mysterious disease that swept a number of villages up north. Powerful nations are after it, so you will encounter a number of ninjas on the way."

Sasuke looked down at the scroll in his hand and nodded.

"Before you leave," Tsunade said pulling something out of her drawer – a box of round blue pills. She handed one to Sasuke. "Swallow this now. It would take effect three hours after you eat it. The client suggested you take it before you leave."

Sasuke raised a brow.

"They're clients," Tsunade said. "…That… And I already checked these pills. They'll just boost your immunity. No harm in not doing it, but just to be sure – swallow it. NOW."

Sasuke took the pill and placed it in his mouth. He felt the pill melt on his tongue, leaving a cool icy taste in his mouth.

He somewhat felt a little anxious after that. It was as if something in that mission was very important to him.

"Open the scroll only when you're out of the gates of Konoha," Tsunade said. "This is a solo mission and I want no one else to know about it."

Sasuke nodded. The mission concerned an outbreak. It was only right that they keep it hidden to avoid unnecessary commotion in the village.

"Good luck," Tsunade said.

Sasuke turned to go.

"Remember, Sasuke," Tsunade said. "You finish this, and you're off the hook. You can live here like a normal ninja again."

Sasuke ignored it and left.

…Off the hook – no Anbus guarding your apartment, no Anbus watching your every move in the village…he might even gain back respect for saving the villagers from an outbreak.

Did it matter though? Why was he staying in Konoha again?