The Return

Chapter 13

  A New Mission

Sakura had a restless sleep after her evening with Team 7 at Ichiraku's. She enjoyed spending some down time with them, however, Shizune tracked her down immediately following her first bowl of ramen and dragged her back to the hospital. There'd been another attack from rogue ninja who used the same poison they found in the boy shortly before Sasuke arrived in the village. She'd already lost two patients in the meantime and wasn't sure how much more she could handle. The poison was even more complicated than Sasori's. She'd asked Shizune and Lady Tsunade for help, but they couldn't seem to figure it out either. She wanted to tell Sasuke about it, but it seemed like there was a lot on his mind lately. She didn't want to bother him with her problems. Seeing him at the end of the day was enough for her.

After spending all night trying to save an older man from the poison, she just couldn't do it anymore. She did everything she could to save him, but it was useless. She put on a brave face for others but broke down once she was in her apartment. Thank god, Sasuke was asleep at the time. She closed her door and cried softly until fatigue won out and she collapsed on her bed.

As dawn broke, she opened her eyes wearily. She heard rusting out in the living room. Sasuke must be up, she thought. She would've gone out to greet him or make breakfast, but she was just too tired. She'd see him again this evening anyway. She wondered where he'd go this morning. Usually he'd investigate disturbances in the Land of Fire and work in conjunction with Kakashi to ensure the safety of their borders. She wondered how long that would last though. It was only a matter of time before he was called away again. Keeping the Rinneagan and Sharingan in the Leaf for too long left them vulnerable to attack, after all. Still, she hoped he'd agree to take her with him the next time he travelled. She needed a break from life in the village, regardless.

A knock at the door, broke her out of her thoughts. Was it Sasuke? She shut her eyes quickly, he couldn't see her miserable like this! The door creaked open and footsteps entered the room. There was no doubt in her mind, it was him. But what was he doing here?

"Sakura...thank you for everything" his voice whispered in her ear. He pushed back a strand of her pink hair and kissed her forehead gently. She heard his footsteaps retreat and the door shut tightly behind him.

She waited a minute, then sat bolt upright. "Sasuke" she whispered, touching her forehead lightly. She had a bittersweet feeling, almost like...She jumped out of her bed and raced to get dressed.

She tore through the village, towards the Hokage Tower as the sun rose high in the sky. She wasn't sure if she felt angry, sad, happy or all of the above. Either way, she was going to find Sasuke and knock some sense into him.

She banged on the door to Kakashi's office in a flurry.

"What is it?" he replied.

"Kakashi sensei, tell me where Sasuke is right now, or so help me!" She demanded.

Kakashi sighed and threw up his hands in surrender. "Just calm down, I sent him on a mission for your benefit actually."

"What do you mean?" she asked, still fuming.

"Shizune told me about the patients who've been dying because of an unknown poison. I sent scouts out over the past few weeks and discovered that this problem may be bigger than we initially realized. Apparently a band of rogue shinobi who specialize in poisons have been targeting smaller villages in the Land of Fire, only now we suspect they might come after the hidden villages as well. Since the poison is in a gaseous form and is virtually undetectable to the naked eye, no one knows where they will strike next. Thus, I sent Sasuke out to get some intel for us. I actually assumed he'd let you and Naruto go with him since I told him he could form his own team for the mission."

Sakura took in all of this information. So Sasuke was out there right now, investigating the deadly chakra-stealing poison, potentially on his own?! Why didn't he ask her to go too, he must have known that she would in a heartbeat? Unless he was actually worried about her. She thought about all of the sleepless night she came home in tears. She'd hoped he wouldn't notice but perhaps she hadn't been as subtle as she thought. 

Sakura looked up fiercely. She knew what she had to do. "Kakashi-sensei," she looked into his eyes pleadingly.

He nodded. "Permission granted; do as you see fit" he sighed.

"Thank you, Kakashi sensei" she said emphatically, turning to rush out the door.

"One more thing" he said, stopping her. "Take Naruto with you, just in case."

She smiled back at him and nodded before rushing off. Wait for me, Sasuke, she thought. We'll be Team 7 again soon.