"I'm home Sakura." Sasuke said as he materialized behind the pink haired medic.

She turned towards him her eyes widening, blush tinging her cheeks, a small smile on her lips. The emerald orbs began to fill with tears but she quickly wiped them away. With her eyes closed and her head tilting to the side slightly her smile widened. "Welcome back Sasuke." She said warmly.

His brows lifted ever so slightly at the sound. It had been so long since he'd heard her voice. It was refreshing, comforting even. That alone surprised him. He studied her for a few moments, his onyx eye shifting red as he took in her condition. Her chakra was very low and he could see marks on her wrists and the backs of her hands, evidence of the ordeal she'd just experienced. His jaw clenched at the marks as irritation surged within him. If he'd been just a little faster, just a little closer, maybe if he'd returned when he first heard about the strange incidents involving look-a-likes of him starting trouble, perhaps she wouldn't be in such a ragged state.

"Is something wrong?" she asked snapping him out of his train of thought.

"No." he replied quickly. "Where are you going? I thought you'd be on your way home."

Sakura chuckled and smiled clasping her hands behind her back in a way that reminded him of their genin days. "That would be nice." She admitted. "Unfortunately I have a mountain of paperwork waiting for me at the hospital."

"I'll walk with you if you don't mind." He said walking up to stand beside her.

"Thank you. I'd like that." She replied as they started down the road together.

They stopped at a large building he didn't recognize. Children of all ages played within the fenced in space around it. Sakura stepped through the gates and several of the children stopped and turned towards her, their faces lighting up.

"Sakura sensei!" several voice rang out.

"Look everyone! Lady Sakura's back!" a louder voice called out.

The Uchiha took a step back as several children sprinted towards the medic nearly tackling her to the ground as they wrapped their arms around her the best they could around their peers.

"Sakura Sensei!" a young boy with ink colored hair cried out from where he was wrapped around her leg. "We heard you went away but none of the grownups would tell us what happened." He explained. "We were so worried!" he wailed fat tears rolling down his cheeks.

A soft smile touched her lips as she laid a hand on the boy's head. "I'm so sorry for worrying all of you." She said stroking the boy's hair before reaching out to touch the other children. "Everything is fine now. None of you need to worry."

The dark haired boy sniffed and nodded pressing his face against her leg. "I'm so glad." He murmured softly.

Sakura glanced down at the boy and chuckled. "Zen." She murmured softly. The boy glanced up and smiled at his name showing a pair of dimples.

"Alright everyone!" a younger medic called out as she approached the small knot of people. "Sakura Sensei has a lot to do. It's time to clear out."

"Fun sucker." Zen pouted as he and his peers reluctantly moved away and resumed their playing. The boy stopped his gaze focusing on Sasuke for the first time. "Sakura Sensei, who is that?" he asked pointing at the Uchiha.

"That's Sasuke Uchiha." She explained. "He's my friend."

The little boy's eyes narrowed. "A friend huh?" he said before marching up to the Uchiha. He put his hands on his hips as he looked the young man up and down before snorting. "I get it. My rival has finally appeared!"

"Huh!?" Sakura muttered her jaw dropping.

Sasuke's brow twitched slightly as the boy glared at him before taking a sharp step forward and pointed directly at him. "Listen up pretty boy!" he shouted. "Sakura Sensei is mine! Don't think you can swoop in and snatch her away from me just because I'm a kid! I'll fight you for her if you want me to!" He declared, raising his fists as his dark eyes narrowed.

The pink haired medic's head dropped her palm covering her face as Sasuke blinked and studied the determined looking boy in front of him unsure of what to say. It was so strange how much the child looked like him when he was younger but was acting just like Naruto.

"Zen! Get over here!" a girl's voice called out. "It's your turn to seek!"

The boy sighed. "Fine! Be right there!" he called back turning towards the waiting group of children. "Don't think this is over Sasuke." He promised before jogging off and leaning against a tree with his head bowed as he began to count.

"I'm sorry about him." Sakura said walking up to Sasuke.

"It's fine." He replied following her into the building.

"Zen became orphaned when a group of political extremists attacked the village a few years ago." She explained as she walked down the colorfully decorated hallway. "He was one of the first cases I took on by myself from admission all the way to discharge." She stopped in front of a large door and pushed it open. "He became rather attached to me. Things began to get a lot crazier after that. I started to notice that fire of his dimming when I'd visit him on my free time between missions and especially after the war. It bothered me a lot to see him suffering like that. He's actually one of the main reasons I started this hospital. I wanted to create a place where he could be himself and maintain that spark of his." She walked to a cabinet in her office and pulled out a bottle of food pills popping one into her mouth. Her nose wrinkled at the taste as she reached for a bottle of water and used its contents to chase the taste. "Sai is right. These taste awful." She admitted. "As long as they work, I don't really care though."

Sasuke nodded and glanced around the room. It was bright with several windows that revealed the back yard of the hospital. Play equipment and toys were strewn about and the laughter of children rang out followed by the voice of an adult yelling about being careful and slowing down. The inside of the room was decorate fairly simply with several pieces of what looked like children's artwork on the walls.

Sasuke then turned his attention to Sakura's desk. It was as neat as it could be given the amount of paperwork stacked on it. Three framed pictures sat on it as well. The first was a picture of her family with her parents grinning as she proudly displayed her chunin vest. Another was a photograph of her and Ino standing front and center with Kakashi performing what appeared to be a ribbon cutting ceremony in front of the hospital. Naruto and several other friends of theirs were gathered around them clearly happy and proud of the accomplishment. The last picture, sitting front and center on the desk was a photograph he himself knew well. It was the original team seven in all their childish glory. It somehow made his heart beat a little faster to know that she looked at his face every day.

The shifting of wooden legs against the ground caught his attention and he frowned as the pink haired woman began sifting through the piles of paper on her desk with pen in hand. He was surprised she wasn't telling him all about the events that she'd just been involved in. Though he knew the man responsible and his accomplices had been neutralized, he wanted to know exactly what had happened to her and why.

"Sakura, what happened?" he asked.

She sighed and set her pen down. "You don't need to worry about it Sasuke." She replied. "Everything has already been taken care of."

"I know that already." He replied. "I still want to know."

The pink haired medic blinked in surprise and then lowered her head. "Alright. I'll tell you, but not right now. I have a ton of catching up to do." She tapped her chin lightly with her finger. "How about you meet me at my house for dinner around six thirty tonight. I'll explain everything then. Is that alright?" she asked.

He nodded. "Very well. I'll see you then. I need to go report in."

She nodded. "Sounds good." She said as he moved towards the door. "Oh Sasuke!" she called out.

"Yes?" he replied turning towards her.

"It's good to see you. I'm happy to see you're doing well." She said with a smile.

He simply nodded unsure of what to say before leaving her office and heading back the way he came.

Sasuke walked back through the group of children and easily dodged a clumsily aimed kick to the back of his knees. He shifted again and caught a small fist aimed at his chest and leveled with the boy that looked so much like himself as a child it was eerie.

"So the rumors are true." The kid said gritting his teeth. "You are good."

"I don't have time to play with you." Sasuke said with a hint of hardness in his voice.

Zen snorted. "I don't get why Sakura Sensei likes you so much. You're so gloomy."

The Uchiha's head lowered slightly a little noise of amusement rumbling in his chest. "Neither do I." He admitted before leaping away. In moments, he was at the door of the Hokage's office.

"Come in." Kakashi's voice called out as he lifted a hand to knock on the door. He pushed it open and found the space littered with documents a tired looking Naruto standing beside their Sensei glaring at a piece of paper the Hokage was holding.

"Remind me again why we keep the ANBU around?" Naruto said his nose wrinkled in disgust. "What they pulled is a load of crap. Kidnapping Sakura like that no matter whose orders, or what jutsu they were under is an act of treason."

Kakashi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It seems we'll have to take the same action as Gaara did in The Village Hidden in the Sand. We'll have to wipe the slate clean and start over from scratch."

"Hey Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin as he focused on the dark haired man in front of him. "Long time no see!" he said rushing up and punching him playfully in the arm. "You missed my wedding you jerk. You were supposed to be my best man." He said glaring at him.

Sasuke's lips twitched a stab of pain mingling with a surge of warmth in his heart at his best friend's words. He didn't deserve them, not after all he'd done, but he still appreciated them. "I was busy." He replied quickly.

"Yeah yeah yeah." The blonde ninja whined his hands on his hips. "Well don't expect me to show up at your wedding." He threatened.

Sasuke merely rolled his eyes as he fished inside his bag and pulled out a thick hand bound book. "This is a log of all the lands I visited, who I encountered, and the state of the ninja world as I can see it." He said handing it to the Hokage. "I wasn't anywhere near The Village Hidden in the Sand during the incident you wrote me about."

"Well yeah. We knew that." Naruto said grinning as he laced his hands behind his head. "You're not that stupid."

"Gaara didn't seem to think so." Sasuke countered.

"Give the guy a break." Naruto said with a sigh. "He doesn't know you as well as I do and things have been hectic for him too with reorganizing things. You two have never been on the best of terms either."

Kakashi nodded. "There will always be those who feel that the old way of doing things is best and people who cause trouble. Unfortunately, those people are often one and the same."

"Speaking of trouble, does someone want to explain to me how Sakura got kidnapped in the first place?" Sasuke asked his eyes narrowing at Naruto slightly who cringed a little. They'd agreed secretly that the war hero would look after Sakura while Sasuke was away. Such a colossal failure on the last jinchuriki's part irritated the last Uchiha.

"Don't look at me like that. I haven't hung out with Sakura much lately." The blonde haired boy replied. He scratched the back of his head. "I've been a bit… busy."

"You are a newly wed." Kakashi agreed with a knowing twitch of his brow. "I'm sure you've had other things on your mind."

"Kakashi Sensei, why do you have to make everything so weird?" the young man complained as he turned red.

Sasuke sighed. "Well it's clear you two aren't going to be helpful. I guess I'll just have to wait until tonight and talk to her myself." He said as he turned towards the door.

"Wait!" Naruto called out. "I'll walk with you."

Sasuke shrugged and the two friends made it to the street. After a few minutes of quiet, as usual Naruto started talking.

"You know, you should go get some clothes that are a little less tattered." He said looking his friend up and down. "No offence, but you look like a homeless person."

"I am a homeless person." The Uchiha reminded him.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Right! You don't have a house here do you?" he touched his chin. "You can stay with me and Hinata if you want. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

Sasuke's nose wrinkled at the thought. Sharing a house with newlyweds was sure to be a nightmare especially when one of them was Naruto. "No thanks." He replied quickly. "I'll find somewhere else to stay."

"I'm sure Sakura would let you stay with her." Naruto said. "She moved out of her parent's place about a year ago. Something about wanting to be closer to the hospital and feeling bad about her parents being woken up at odd hours of the night when emergencies happened."

"I see." Sasuke said looking down at the dirt. Sakura… The boy had said that she still liked him. He still wasn't sure why she cared so much about him.

"So tell me, why did you come back to the village?" Naruto said disrupting his train of thought.

He blinked. "You asked me to come back didn't you?" the ink haired man replied. "You sent me enough annoying messages."

The blonde snorted. "Yeah, and you told us to deal with it ourselves." Sasuke just shrugged. "Was it because of Sakura?"

Sasuke's eyes widened his heart thumping painfully in his chest. Was it because of Sakura? It had been so easy to brush of the incidents and messages from the Leaf until he'd found out that Sakura had been taken. He distinctly remembered how his blood seemed to run cold at the thought of something happening to her. Of her vanishing from the face of the earth. He couldn't deny that feelings that he'd felt often as a genin, feelings that had surfaced briefly during the war during their battles with the Ten Tails, Obito, Madara, and Kaguya, had sparked to life inside of him. The intense desire to find her, save her, and then make the bastards responsible for any pain inflicted on her suffer flared stronger than he'd felt it before. He wasn't entirely sure why though. It wasn't like she was a weak woman who couldn't handle herself. The Leaf was also full of strong, capable people who cared about her and would do anything to secure her safe return and yet… "Maybe." He admitted. "I don't know why but…. I wanted to save her with my own hand."

Naruto's eyes widened a little before he grinned and clapped him hard on the back. "Look at you go!" he exclaimed.

"Ouch! What the Hell?!" Sasuke hissed his skin throbbing from the hit.

"Nothing." The blonde replied with a wink. "So, you said you're having dinner with Sakura tonight. Want me to show you where her new place is? We could grab some ramen too."

Sasuke blinked a little twinge of jealousy prinking his mind as he nodded. "I guess that would be helpful." He admitted.

"Great! Let's get going! I'll tell you all about what you've missed on the way." His best friend exclaimed.

"Here we go." He muttered to himself as the blonde launched into a story about the mission to save Hinata from the moon ninja.

#%#

Sasuke glanced at the time and took a deep breath. It was 6:20 pm. Ten minutes before he was supposed to meet with Sakura. The blonde idiot had finally let him go and he was now alone on one of the busy streets near the hospital. As he walked something caught his eye and he stopped to study the burst of color.

"See something you like?" a soft voice asked. His eyes flickered towards the voice and he found himself looking at one of his former classmates. Her eyes lit up as she seemed to recognize his face. "Sasuke! You really are back in the village!" Ino exclaimed.

"Yeah." He said simply his mind torn. Part of him wanted to bolt while the other wanted to buy the bundle of flowers that caught his eye.

"Sakura said she was having dinner with someone tonight." The blonde said her lips quirking up into a smirk. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"

The former avenger sighed and pulled a few coins from a pouch on his waist. He thrust them at the mind transfer ninja before scooping up the bundle of pink carnations and quickly making his escape before the meddlesome girl could say something else annoying. He strode through town noting several people who moved away from him and others gathered together whispering as they stole glances at him. It was to be expected of course. He'd all but wrecked the shinobi world, saved it and then vanished for years. Of course people were going to talk. To be honest, since before he was born whispers surrounding his family had always drifted in the air around him, they'd only intensified after the massacre. It didn't bother him nearly as much as it used to.

He neared the apartment building Naruto had taken him to earlier that day and climbed the four flights of stairs to the pink haired medic's floor and stepped up to her door at the end of the hall. Nervous for a reason he didn't quite understand, he gently rapped his knuckles against the wood.

"Coming!" came Sakura's familiar voice and she yanked it open and smiled at him. "Welcome." She said stepping back so that he could cross the threshold. "I'm almost finished setting everything up." She said cheerfully as she walked from the entry towards the main living space.

Sasuke set the flowers down gently and then slipped his sandals off laying them beside her smaller, less worn pair. He glanced around the simple, yet warm space noting several paintings and framed photographs lining the walls. He walked down the hall and into the living room noting several book shelves, a couch, and a coffee table. He continued forward to the combined kitchen and dining room where a spread including fish, soup, rice and sliced tomatoes waited.

"Pick whatever seat you'd like." Sakura said with her back to him as she slipped the elastic holding her hair in place out letting the vibrant pink locks fall to her should blades, a bit longer than he last remembered seeing her hair. Then she removed the white apron she'd been wearing revealing a light green off the shoulder tee shirt and tan pants.

"Thank you." He said moving forward. "Sakura?"

She turned towards him. "What is it Sasuke?" she asked.

He held the bundle of pink carnations out to her. "These are for you." He said simply, annoyed by the tinge of pink on his cheeks.

Her face lit up and a blush feathered across her cheeks as she reached out and accepted them with a soft, genuine smile of her face. "Beautiful." She murmured softly closing her eyes and leaning forward slightly to sniff the blooms. "Thank you Sasuke." She said moving to her sink.

She opened a cupboard and studied the collection of vases there before selecting one and filling it with water. She placed the flowers inside and moved it to the table. Sasuke felt warmth surge in his chest at how genuinely happy she looked, at least for the moment. He hadn't seen her like this in… his jaw tightened a little as he tried to remember the last time she'd looked so at ease around him. A pang of guilt striking him when he realized he couldn't remember the last time. Even so, he was happy that such a simple thing could make her smile.

"Thank you for the food." He said quietly before picking up the chop sticks in front of him.

She smiled and began to eat herself. After a few moments, she spoke. "So how have you been?" she asked.

"Well enough." He answered simply.

"I see." She replied as she returned to her meal.

"I heard Naruto got married." He said trying to ease the tension in the room. She wasn't nearly as nervous around him as she used to be, nor was she as energetic and clingy. The Sakura eating with him was calm and composed, almost too much so. The tension between them was entirely his fault which made him want to ease it even more.

She nodded. "It was beautiful." She said with a wistful smile on her lips. "I'm so happy for them."

He nodded. "The idiot did seem pretty happy when he talked about it."

Sakura smiled. "Yeah. I'm glad her feelings finally reached him. She's loved him so much for so long."

Sasuke nodded again and they ate quietly talking here and there about the state of the village and their friends. When the food was gone, Sakura cleared the dishes and then brewed tea as he walked into the living room and settled down on the couch. She walked over and offered him a cup which he accepted before she sat down in the opposite corner from him. The distance and tension in the room was nearly tangible as they sipped their tea. Finally when the Uchiha thought the silence was going to be the death of him, Sakura's mouth moved.

"Sorry." She said softly.

He turned towards her his eyes wide as he tried to study her face as best he could with her head bowed. "Sorry? What for?" he replied

She gripped the cup tighter in her hands. "It's my fault you returned to the village. I'm sorry."

His eye nearly twitched in irritation. "What are you talking about? I told you that I'd come back."

The pink haired girl sighed. "Yes but, it wasn't when you planned on coming back. You hurried back because I got caught in a stupid trap."

Sasuke took a deep breath to calm his growing irritation. Her apologies were beginning to tick him off. "I came back because I wanted to." He said simply. "Don't apologize for something that wasn't your fault." He sighed. "Though I will admit, I was a little surprised to see how easily you were caught in that trap."

Sakura sighed and hung her head lower. "Yeah. So was I." she glanced over at him. "Wait, you used genjutsu on the ANBU that were involved so you already know what happened. Was there something specific you wanted to know?"

The dark haired man nodded. "I want to know what they did to you." He said softly.

"While I was captured you mean?" she clarified. He nodded. She sighed and set her cup down before raking her fingers through her hair. "It wasn't anything I couldn't handle." She replied flashing him a smile though he could tell it was fake.

"That doesn't answer my question." He replied.

She sighed. "After taunting me about how they were going to use me as bait to lure you to them and kill me in front of you, one of them used a drug to transform into you in front of me." Her jaw clenched at the memory. "The guy taunted me while using your form and it…" she closed her eyes for a moment. "It made me angry and sick. That's all." She chuckled and glanced up at the ceiling her eyes reflecting pain.

Sasuke closed his eyes as anger, guilt, and sadness swirled inside him. It wasn't a secret that Sakura had feelings for him. Nearly everyone in the shinobi world knew it. He could only imagine what a sadistic bastard could have done to hurt her while using his form.

"Did he touch you? While transformed into me I mean?" he asked suddenly.

She glanced over at him a tiny smile on her face. "Yes but it was just my hair." She said fingering a lock of it.

"I see." He replied another twinge of guilt tugging at his heart. Her hair, the hair she'd cut years ago for reasons he still knew few details about in the forest of death. Hair he knew she'd been growing out for him. The man probably didn't know it, but that action likely had more far more penetrating effects than he cared to admit.

She chuckled. "You know, I didn't think I'd still be this mad about it but," he watched her hand ball into a fist. "It really pisses me off. The whole damn situation." She muttered standing up suddenly her back to him. "Using me because they consider me your weakness."

"Sakura?" he questioned standing up to follow her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." She replied her voice a little rough. After a few moments she took a deep breath and turned to smile at him. "I'm guessing you don't have a place to stay tonight. You can stay here if you'd like." She offered. "I have an extra futon. I figured you'd rather stay with me than the newlyweds right?"

He nodded. "Definitely. Thank you."

She nodded and trotted over to a closet and pulled the bedding down and offered it to him. "You might want to sleep in the living room. I'd let you sleep in the other bedroom but frankly… It turned into my home office and there's no room to lay down there anymore." She admitted blushing slightly.

"It's fine." He said shifting the bundle a little as he tried to balance it with one hand.

She seemed to notice and frowned slightly as she used her monster strength to move the furniture out of the way with ease that didn't suit her petite form. "Your replacement arm is ready you know." She reminded him. "I could attach it myself tomorrow if you'd like."

He glanced down at the space where his limb used to be. It was the price he'd had to pay for his ridiculous quest for power. A price that Naruto had shouldered as well to save him. The former deserved a new arm and more for his sacrifice, he on the other hand… "Thank you, but no." he said touching the stump. "This was one of the consequences of my selfish actions. I took innocent lives and inflicted terrible pain on others in my quest for revenge. This will be part of my path to redemption."

The pink haired girl sighed. "I figured as much." She muttered. "Are you sure though?"

"I'm sure." He replied. The image of Donzo's arm exploding off his body while using an artificial arm made of similar material covered in sharringans still haunted him from time to time. He didn't want anything that reminded him of the man who had briefly held the title of Hokage let alone a limb. Additionally, he was warry of combining his Uchiha blood with Senju cells especially after watching what happened to Madara.

"You don't have to punish yourself you know." Sakura said as she took the bundle from him and laid it out on the floor. She smoothed out the blankets and bowed her head. "You were a victim as well."

"You're too soft, especially on me." He said studying her.

The pink haired medic sighed. "Maybe you're right." She said rising to her feet. The sound of a rock hitting the window startled them both and Sakura quickly strode across the room and slid it open glancing around. Curious, Sasuke followed and found a young man standing on the roof of the building next door holding a boom box. The machine was playing a song about undying love and devotion and the Uchiha's brow twitched at the sound.

"I LOVE YOU SAKURA SENSIE!" the young man yelled. "NO MATTER NOW MANY TIMES YOU REJECT ME I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU! I'LL NEVER GIVE UP ON YOU!"

"Give it a rest already will you!?" Sakura hissed as she picked up a rock of her own and threw it at the young man. It hit him right between the eyes and he tumbled backwards.

"YOUR AIM IS TRUE AS ALWAYS! OH BEAUTIFUL CHERRY BLOSSOM OF THE LEAF I, KATO HIMURA WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER!" The man cried into the night.

Sakura groaned and slammed the window shut and drew the curtains. "Idiot!" she hissed. "He's going to get himself arrested again."

"He's done this before?" Sasuke questioned following her as she picked up their empty tea cups and carried them to the kitchen.

"Almost every night." She admitted as she rinsed the cups. "During the reconstruction of the village after things finally settled down, he was working on one of the buildings when a support beam suddenly snapped and he was buried under the rubble. I pulled him out of the wreckage and treated him. He's been infatuated with me ever since."

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed a bit at that. He didn't like the idea of a man that persistent near Sakura. "If he gives you trouble, let Naruto or one of the others know. He could become dangerous." He told her.

The pink haired woman glanced at him and he was surprised to see a flash of anger in her eyes. "I'm not some damsel in distress that needs to be protected." She protested. "I can handle him just fine on my own."

He blinked. "Even so, you are a woman. You shouldn't force yourself or put up with that."

Her eyes narrowed for a moment before she sighed. "Well, I hate to be the one to say this, but we should probably head to bed." She said glancing at the clock. "Kakashi told me to take some time off from work to rest and I'm actually pretty tired." She stretched her arm and winced. "I overdid it today." She admitted flexing her fingers.

"Right." He said studying her.

"The bathroom is the last door at the end of that hall." She said motioning to the hallway that branched off from the living room. "Feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen." He nodded and she mirrored the motion before heading to the door that he guessed led to her bedroom. The instinct to touch her suddenly overcame him, the anxiety that had been erased when he'd found her unharmed earlier that day slowly seeping back into his consciousness.

"Sakura." He called out stepping up to her.

"Yes?" she relied turning towards him.

He wanted to hold her, to press her close to his heart and confirm that she really was alive and well and not just dream or illusion but he couldn't. He wouldn't allow himself such a luxury, instead he reached out and gently touched her hair. "Thank you." He said simply.

She blushed a pretty shade of pink and he nearly smirked. She was so very pretty in the soft lamp light. Filled with a warm feeling that he noticed he only seemed to get when he thought of her he reached out and tapped her in the middle of her forehead. "I'll see you in the morning."

His action was rewarded with her turning an even darker shade of pink and a warm, genuine smile. "Yeah. See you in the morning." She said softly.