Konoha Muses

“Well, I’m just as headstrong as Naruto, so I’ll take that advice to heart.” In a way, she felt more mature, more stalwart. Once, she would’ve flinched or swayed because of Sasuke’s blunt remarks, but it wasn’t the case anymore. Maybe she wasn’t at their level yet (which had eluded her with Hagoromo’s blessings), but it wouldn’t be much longer… Sakura was strong enough to travel with Sasuke, and she wanted to. Not to force her feelings, or try to foster something he might not even feel… but reacquaint herself with the boy who had grown into a man in their time apart.

Maybe… just to be friends. While it wasn’t what she wanted in her heart of hearts, the kunoichi wasn’t that same, foolish little girl trying to steal his first kiss anymore.

“Nope, I’ll put it this way: between the mental health clinics we’re putting up, the ICIU collaborates with other villages abroad, too. Not just those in the Shinobi Union, either. Every year, I take about a month or two abroad to do digging myself, nose around for people who need help who don’t have formal channels to contact us or our branches. So, this is perfectly in line with our work, either way.”

Sakura smirked a little to herself, hands curling on the straps of her backpack. “Besides, Shizune-senpai is Head of the Medical Department. The village will be in good hands, even when we’re away.”

Sasuke chuckled. “Headstrong is good. Just don’t be exactly like Naruto and we’ll be fine.” Was that a joke? He didn’t mind Naruto -- even liked him, though the reverse had been true years ago.

It was basically like he had already accepted her coming with him. He listened to her explanation about her plans, which did seem pretty well thought-out, and figured there probably wouldn’t be any harm. Sakura would be able to defend herself from most threats, and any others, Sasuke could protect her from. Besides, the company would be... not bad. That wasn’t to say Sakura’s company would be less than good, just... perhaps something to get used to because he’d made himself accustomed to being alone. Especially since she was more... morally pure than the members of Taka. (He assumed -- he hadn’t actually gotten to talk to her for a long time. So maybe it was a good thing she would be coming with him.)

“Yeah, sorry, but the self-flagellation isn’t going to work on me this time, Sasuke-kun. Try again,” Sakura replied sarcastically, but not unkindly. Maybe once it would’ve, but he had that chance. Over two years to sort his shit out, to beat himself up over trying to seek closure for his clan being butchered she’d only found out about a few years prior in the explosive trial to clear his name that had resulted in her being expelled for awhile until she was called back, well after making a home in the Northeastern Isles, especially in Shikkotsurin where the slugs had trained her for months. Now, with three kekkei tota under her belt, experience as an almost fully-fledged sage learning a precursor to chakra itself, among other things… she was getting there. Soon, the title of Neo-Sannin would be worth a damn instead of Sasuke and Naruto racing past her.

“Look… I’m not in charge of the Medic Corps since Shizune-senpai was promoted to Head of the Medical Division. Most of my work takes me abroad anyways, so… if I go with you, trust me, it’s in line with what I was doing from the start.” That was part of the reason, but part of her just had to know. Was there anything between them, or did she have to move on? Sakura didn’t want to force herself on him, she just… wanted answers. Closure.

Her feelings for him aside, she just missed being around him. Naruto was great, but his prestige had eclipsed him and now he was more than just a former member of Team 7. Like leaves scattered in the four winds, their lives were taking them in different directions. As he was studying for written Chunin Exams and then Jonin after (as his deeds and prowess rendered any gauge of his power completely redundant), he was busy in the village. Adored and beloved while she’d… become somewhat overshadowed, especially with her new profession being so underground.

At her response, Sasuke raised an eyebrow, surprised if nothing else at the sarcastic response. He hadn’t been attempting to put himself down, really, had just been trying to be honest. He wasn’t good at light conversations, wasn’t used to happy times, and often didn’t know how to have fun. That was just the way he was. Sasuke didn’t think it was necessarily a bad thing. But it did make it so people who liked those things sometimes felt uncomfortable around him. 

“It’s just a warning,” he said, huffing after a moment. “If you don’t want to listen, feel free,” he added, not unkindly. 

And feel free to come with me. The implication was there (and least, he thought it was), but he didn’t say it, not yet. He listened to her reasoning, and he supposed it made sense, though he didn’t exactly understand her work and couldn’t verify it with what he knew. But he didn’t think she was lying.

@konohamuses​ – ;

“Hey… you’re not thinking of leaving on your own again, are you?” On that same path that led from the village–the placid, civilian path fed towards the main road–something like the past crept towards her heart uneasily. It wasn’t that she’d ever think to deny him, but a growing hole in her heart felt like she didn’t know him past the frantic attempts to bring him back before he’d left years ago to seek revenge. He was different now, but still like a lode star forever fixed in her sky she couldn’t quite reach. 

With supplies crammed into a backpack slung from her shoulders, a new arsenal of abilities even Sasuke didn’t know about kept secret from much of the world, the kunoichi trotted with a girlish smile towards the Uchiha cloaked like a raven with his black cape draped gloomily on his shoulders. Though she wouldn’t push, every cell in her body hoped he’d say yes.

“I’m a Jonin now, so I can, but… what if I went with you this time around?”

Of course he was leaving on his own again. He didn’t belong here, perhaps never would. After all he had done, after all his crimes against Konoha and the people in it, would they ever forgive him, ever look at him without fear or resentment or hatred? He doubted it. So of course he was leaving, and he couldn’t ask anyone to go with him. He had traveled on his own before, though, as evidenced by the fact that he had assembled his own team, it wasn’t as if he abhorred company. There were uses to having company, and, if he were honest with himself, it was nice not being alone.

And he was different now. He regretted his actions, and wasn’t going to try to kill or even hurt his comrades and the people loyal to him, which was something he regretted more than anything else. This was, of course, another reason why he couldn’t ask anyone to come with him. Because he had done those things.

Gods, she loved him. More than she ever could’ve before they’d come to this point, when they could be themselves and be a family. With Sarada of all, if she could still believe it. Sometimes, Sakura had to pinch herself when she doted on their daughter when she remembered she was their daughter. Borne of love and nothing less. It was sweet when he kissed her, and Sakura kissed just as passionately back. Because it was the fulfillment of years of yearning and wanting to save him that made it so much sweeter.

“Well, I’ve got some…” Sakura trailed off as her hands sensually splayed on his chest, rubbing over muscles contours teasingly. “Depends if you’d want to play along, too, huh?”

Getting to this point was incredible in and of itself, and Sasuke could hardly believe it, except he could because, they were, in fact here. And he loved both of them. Even though darkness crept into his mind, like negative thoughts threatening to tell him it wouldn’t last, or he didn’t deserve it, he knew better (most of the time) than to do act on those thoughts and feelings. He had, after all, a family to care for. Besides, what was he going to do? Act like old Sasuke and disappear? No.

It was always a difficult thing, when a young child’s parents passed. Hiruzen hated being the one to have to decide what to do with the child. There was the option to stick the child in the orphanage, where the child would be crowded with a bunch of other lonely children with too many needs to fulfill, where hierarchies and bullies would be created, where Hiruzen would hire surrogate “mothers” or “fathers” to care for the children, a job very few people wanted. But the fact of matter was, the Konoha Orphanage was overcrowded. He couldn’t put every orphan into the orphanage without it getting overrun. So the capable children, generally shinobi children, who Hiruzen thought could fend for themselves, or who Hiruzen thought wouldn’t do well in an orphange, usually were forced, to his regret, to fend for themselves. There was just no other good option.

Such was the case here. Orochimaru, Hiruzen knew, would be able to fend for themself. Orochimaru, Hiruzen knew (or thought he knew), wouldn’t do well in an orphanage. They would either turn into a bully or be bullied. Maybe both. And the chances (and Orochimaru’s desire) for adoption were slim to none. So the only option was to stick Orochimaru in a random apartment.

When Hiruzen talked about the difficult decisions a hokage had to make, this was one of them. Orochimaru, being one of his students, was someone he had more responsibility for. So when the child showed up at his home with an injured arm, Hiruzen let them inside.

It was obvious this was something Orochimaru could fix on their own, which meant Orochimaru was just feeling the naturally childlike need to be cared for. Not being the type to be overly... affectionate, Hiruzen could only nod and lead Orochimaru to the couch, quickly healing the wound.

valentine's day application

There he went again, making her feel like the blushing schoolgirl she’d once been around him, even if that part of her would never go away. Not as long as Sasuke was in her life, being the moon an earth like her to gravitate towards. To their sun and moon, the earth had always described her best. Someone in between who benefitted from the sun’s light to conceive life, while the moon made the waters of the world flow so that life would be enriched. She felt so utterly complete with him. 

“Hey, you’re racking up a serious tally, making me blush like this so much…” Sakura groused lamely, though there was nothing except the sentiment of a young woman completely and utterly smitten with the Uchiha. While much of her wished she could take back her cringey behavior as a preteen, it made the present so much sweeter. Especially when he wasn’t ruled by a vendetta anymore and could be himself. 

“You should tell them yourself,” Sakura hinted with a smile as she pressed into Sasuke’s side, smiling knowingly up at him. “You might have to talk over my dad’s endless puns, and mom can be a bit of a nag, but they’re good people. Maybe once you show how much of a dork you are, maybe they’ll relent.”

Though Sasuke didn’t particularly like being vulnerable, which included saying things like you’re kind of perfect, he was relieved that at least Sakura seemed to enjoy it, even though she jokingly complained about it. It still made him feel a little odd, to say something so completely emotionally based, but he could get over himself considering it was, well, true. 

Although he had just come over here to bring Sakura a box of chocolates, it seemed like this had turned into something more, Sasuke thought, as Sakura leaned into his side. Not that he minded. He’d never admit it, but sometimes he craved physical contact, companionship, and ever since that night with Sakura he could admit to himself that felt something for her.

Still, the idea of meeting Sakura’s parents was somewhat daunting. Sasuke hadn’t met... anyone’s parents since his own had died--he thought that was probably true. And yet, the idea of a sort of... domestic family thing with Sakura was kind of appealing. Especially given they had a child together.

While Sakura was no mind-reader, part of her imagined that Sasuke might share a similar tangent of thought as her, especially when the peace they had was strikingly different from the tormented, violent past they’d shared. Even if by no means was it anywhere close to what Sasuke had experienced, considering how they’d come from her botched attempt to kill him and free him from his misery, to her desperate plea at the tail end of the war… it was so, so much better. She couldn’t help but recall when he’d left for the first time when Sakura had promised Sasuke she’d help make him happy again, that Team 7 would be happy again. Even if they were far from Konoha, she’d kept her word; they were a family again, even if not in the way her preteen self thought.

“Hell yeah, that’s the spirit!” Sakura crowed as she began to squeeze a dollop of sunscreen on her open palm to lather Sasuke’s exposed skin with, impishly wondering if his shirt would come off and if she’d be able to lather it on his care, muscles chest…

Sarada crooned from beneath the cabana, the toddler doe-eyed and adorable as she chewed on a teething ring, one of her toys Sakura had remembered to pack plenty of. While her eye occasionally darted to their adorable daughter, she was content to chew on her toy while Sakura dotingly ensured that Sasuke wouldn’t burn beneath the intense Magome sun. 

Then, it was Sarada’s turn, depositing the small Uchiha on her lap as she carefully repeated the motions. “Of course it is, Sasuke-kun. As long as she doesn’t wander off into the water or on her own, she’d be fine. Besides,” Sakura amended with a glint in her eye, “don’t tell me you wouldn’t be up for a little sandcastle competition.~”

Sasuke’s acquiescence to the sunscreen triggered a more enthusiastic response from Sakura than he’d expected, as she cheered happily before getting sunscreen on her hands. Surprised again because she seemed to want to put it on him, he got an idea in his head. And that idea was her lathering on the sunscreen on his body without his shirt, even though he hadn’t really been planning on taking it off, if he were honest with himself. (He would never admit that he wanted her to apply said sunscreen, though.)

But hey, most, if not all, of the men at this beach weren’t wearing a shirt. So it would be odd if Sasuke kept his shirt on, wouldn’t it? Yes. Reasonable thinking, Sasuke. They wanted to fit in, after all. Throwing a glance around them, he made a little hnn sound and quickly took off his shirt, allowing Sakura to do, well, whatever she wanted, if she so wanted.

konohamuses     /     choji akimichi.

“     yeah,     it’s  pretty     troublesome.   i  thought  i’d  finally  get  some  time  to  relax  after  everything  that’s  happened.     i  guess  that  was  wishful  thinking.     ”     he  has  effectively  transitioned  into  his  father’s  previous  position  of  advisor  and  chief  coordinator  of  the  shinobi  union  in  spite  of  his  age     :     if  he  is  not  sitting  in  on  meetings  or  helping  with  paperwork,     shikamaru  is  on  diplomatic  trips  to  other  villages  or  finally  getting  a  well  -  earned  catnap.     choji’s  doubts  cloud  his  own  expression     ;     it  is  not  surprising  that  shinobi  exhausted  by  endless  conflict  and  battle  are  hesitant  to  believe  that  the  fleeting  moments  of  peace  will  last.     “     what  the  hell  could  be  worse  than  what  we’ve  already  dealt  with     ?     things  will  be  fine. ”

Hearing Shikamaru’s words, Choji gave a little chuckle. It was funny because, Choji always knew Shikamaru was headed for great things, what with how smart he was, how good he was at making strategies and keeping a cool head. It was only natural that he would get his current position, which naturally kept him busy and a part of current affairs. He glanced in Shikamaru’s direction, “I mean, is it any surprise?” he asked, reaching for a chip and noticing the bag was almost empty. Hmm. Noted. “Someone as smart as you, they’re gonna want you helping to make sure we keep the peace. But I guess you’re probably not surprised, are you?” 

Was he afraid? Absolutely fucking not! But was being caught by Uchiha Sasuke who, loathe as he was to admit it (seriously, it was like swallowing acid) had beaten him last time and no doubt grown stronger since, highly likely to land him some dingy Konoha cell? Absolutely fucking yes!

And like bloody screaming hell was he going to be subjected to that, or some kind of little pissbaby ‘rehabilitation program’—or worse, therapy. Oh yeah, he’d heard that was the new in thing in the Leaf. Maybe that was why Sasuke himself seemed so relaxed, so waxen, so Nothing. Sure, he’d been a little like that last time, too—but back then, Deidara could smell the hatred, the killing intent, the absence of anything besides his goal. It had crackled in the air so deliciously, making his hair stand on end, and for all it had made him feel so woefully overlooked, it had at least been an admirable quality in a foe.

But now? Now he was probably just some subdued Konoha hound mopping up the mess, wasn’t he? There was no sign of his little bitch squad from back in the day, after all. And if he was correct in his suspicions, then this guy would see the likes of Deidara put in a cell.

So he ran. With one hand chewing furiously on clay while his other arm swung to knock aside a few unfortunate townspeople here and there, he needed to make it to an open spot where nobody could interfere with his flying C1 mount. Even this plan, admittedly—compared to his recent track record that had kept him well under the Five Nations’ radars—wasn’t subtle… but there was just something about coming face to face with an Uchiha that lit a rocket under his ass.

And there was also something about that pointed goading that wormed its way right beneath his skin, just as it was supposed to. He skidded to a halt where crowds gathered in the busy marketplace, very much in his way, and he tutted to himself sharply before his darting gaze fixed on the other, luridly cyan. Clearly neither wished to cause too much of a stir, but Deidara was hardly averse to it either.

Actually… he was getting a little excited.

❝Afraid?! Of you?! Pffaahahaha! Get real!!❞ Deidara hollered, grin so manically livid that people began to take note of the distinctly unhinged energy about him and avoided getting too close. ❝I’m not here for a catch-up, mm. I’ve got a job to do. So if you don’t fucking mind—❞

With a single hand seal concealed within his sleeve, his jutsu was prepared… and it wasn’t exactly the initial escape plan, either. Having yelled at the Uchiha, several likenesses of the Iwa-nin split suddenly off in numerous directions while the clay clone in the middle of the crowd launched itself towards Sasuke himself, intending to smother him in clay and hinder his movements. Meanwhile, the real Deidara was off elsewhere, leaping up some low canopies to pass one gaggle of punters and dip into a less populated alleyway, where he ran aimlessly through a warren-like network of paths until he came across a communal space lined with dumpsters.

And god, it fucking reeked. 

But he had no choice but to catch his breath and calm down before he took flight, otherwise the altitude would surely do him in.

Truth be told, Sasuke didn’t exactly want to put Deidara in a prison. Or subject him to therapy--the thought didn’t even cross his mind; Sasuke wouldn’t subject his worst enemy to therapy against their will. Though he didn’t discount Sakura’s work, and he thought it was valuble, the idea of talking about his emotions and past to a stranger was so abhorrent to him, he couldn’t consider making someone else do it. Either way, there were a lot of reasons why Sasuke wouldn’t put Deidara in a prison, actually. Deidara had always just struck him as someone who was not really... malicious, so to speak. So not a huge threat, in terms of Deidara going around murdering everyone. Also, Sasuke didn’t really feel like a prison would be effective to keep Deidara anyway, at least not permanently, so what was the point? Besides, if Deidara wasn’t doing anything dangerous or wrong, he didn’t need to be stopped.

So why was he following Deidara now? Mostly out of boredom. It wasn’t often he found someone that was, well, interesting, a bit of a challenge to fight against, and entertaining, when it came down to it. Sasuke didn’t have much to do right now, and so... why not? He could make a detour from his current self-assigned mission to investigate. 

He knew an attack was coming, of course it was, but Sasuke was ready. Darting through the gap in the crowds that was left as Deidara pushed the unfortunate people out of the way, the Uchiha followed quickly, not bothering to apologize either. When Deidara came to a stop, turning to look at him with a wide grin on his face, Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

A job to do. Interesting. Who was Deidara working for? Not overly concerned by the clay Deidaras, Sasuke, jumping back, briefly watched the direction Deidara ran off in before paying more attention to the clones. Drawing Kusanagi, he quickly lead the clones to a more secluded area, so they wouldn’t blow up on anyone, not sure if that was what Deidara intended. Imbuing the sword with lighting chakra, he fought the clones and destroyed them quickly.

It was nice when they could be like this. When it was just them and a want to be intimate in an unhurried way petals drifting across a pond might be. Weightless, without worry. There weren’t the menacing stone faces of the former Hokage staring grimly upon them, even if they hadn’t been such terrible people in life, that world was behind them. Because they were like traitors reveling in their freedom from a life that would’ve threatened to take so much away. Sakura smiled softly, but the jaunty humor soon gave way for the sensuous. 

𝗞𝗢𝗡𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗘𝗦     :     𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗝𝗜 𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗜.

shikamaru  knows  good  and  well  that  choji  is  always  insistent  on  the  last  potato  chip  being  his     :     while  he’s  happy  to  sate  his  friend’s  hunger  by  buying  another  bag,     that  troublesome  possibility  can  be  avoided  by  merely  monitoring  the  diminishing  amount  of  their  snack.     “     how  should  i  know     ?     i  don’t  keep  tabs  on  everyone  in  the  village.     ”     peacetime  is  a  blessing  and  a  curse     –––––     silence  is  fortune  to  a  boy  who  has  only  known  conflict,     but  it  leaves  him  at  the  mercy  of  his  thoughts  in  the  absence  of  chaos.     EXHAUSTION  weighs  down  shikamaru’s  eyes  and  the  downward  pull  of  his  scowl.     despite  his  scornful  words,     there  is  no  malice  directed  toward  choji.     “     everyone’s  probably  just  happy  that  we  can  finally  rebuild  properly.     it’s  been  mess  after  mess  ever  since  we  became  genin.     ”

Madara knew that what he suggested was outlandish at best, for if anyone else were to come to him with such an insinuation, he’d destroy them on the spot. But unlike the greedy miscreants the world over, all he’d wanted was his family back. Even if they weren’t Uchiha in blood, having only the potential for Sharingan in common, they still counted as a true rebirth for their clan. After having it cruelly wrenched away, to have Uchiha thriving in the world again was the greatest vengeance he could ever want when those otherwise concerning it were dead. 

They deserved it. Being nowhere near the Land of Fire instilled an enormous sense of security he wouldn’t have had otherwise, moving them far from that wretched place that had been their cage, their killing floor, and finally their tomb that had been desecrated an infinite number of times over. And this time, it wouldn’t be the case. It would be a place where their clan could live and flourish. 

“Shin Uchiha has no lineage to speak of. He’s a perfect genetic blank,” Madara explained to Sasuke. “I’m not sure how Orochimaru even conceived of him, but all he is is a carrier of Uchiha traits–such as our kekkei genkai–without being related to us. And with part of his DNA attached inseminated on a waiting zygote, a Uchiha is the byproduct. Even if it’s one unrelated to us by blood.”

Unrelated they may be, but it was enough for Madara. For what was a clan but a union of people united by shared kekkei genkai or even Hiden, not necessarily related by blood? This was them reborn, and the fate they’d deserved since the beginning. 

“You’d be surprised. After the war, a tremendous amount of people were displaced and defected despite still being hunted by their villages. And a good few dozen women among them hardly mind bearing children, consensually. I won’t resort to the baser tactics of the Leaf. And they are proud mothers, Sasuke-kun. Uchiha like us, even if not by blood.”

He wasn’t sure what to make of this all. It was kind of like a baby Uchiha mill. With Shin Uchiha, no less, who wasn’t even related to them. But did that still make him an Uchiha, did that make his offspring Uchiha...? Probably. It was... strange thinking that this was all possible because of Orochimaru, his old sensei with whom he had so much... conflict with. And yet, how else did you revive a clan, besides sort of... mass production of children? Doing it very very slowly would run into problems, especially in a shinobi world, children could die, parents could die...

“I am definitely surprised,” was all he could manage as he thought about this all. After a moment, he added, “It’s unusual, to say the least. It seems almost... artificial. But possibly the only way, as well.”

❝Indeed,❞ he states blandly, attention largely fixed on the documents he’s working through. Or so it seems. ❝You have reminded me every year since we were boys.❞

So foolish. Do the shadows ever ‘take the day off’? He thinks not. Only the OBNOXIOUS SUN has a habit of eliminating the space in which they can operate when it’s at its full height. With the barest of sighs through his nose, Danzō casts a stony gaze up at the other.

❝Perhaps I could stretch to a drink.❞  

With an old friend, he fails to add. And of course, spoken as if he’d be the one doing Hiruzen a favour.

“And you have had the least eager response of any person I’ve known to their own birthday every year since we were boys,” Hiruzen responded, giving a slight roll of his eyes. 

And he would continue to remind Danzo of the day of his birth, every day that followed, until the day he died. To hell with the shadows don’t celebrate their days of birth, or whatever Danzo ever said in response to Hiruzen’s announcement that it was his birthday. Hirzen was steadfast in his belief that it was a day that should be celebrated, and as Danzo’s only friend, he would be the one to try to enforce it, Danzo willing.

By his standards, he’d been laying pretty low ever since his final technique had been rendered a sham, reshaping the land but not even taking anyone with it—not even himself. It had taken a long time to recover both his health and his pride having not only failed to go out in a blaze of glory, but to even kill the man he was fighting. The whole process took him straight to the other side of a Shinobi World War, leaving him… pretty unsure of what to do with himself, to say the least.

With no Akatsuki and no Hidden Village at his back, there were no longer any grand designs for which he could utilise his art, nor would he last very long at all if he was as indiscriminate as he was back then. That only left him with one choice: petty crime.

Well, not entirely petty. Mostly organised, actually, but the scale of it felt petty—more like fucking pathetic—in comparison, for all he didn’t care for Akatsuki’s goals. So that was it. He was a pathetic criminal. And this time, he’d just finished preparing his supplies for a heist in the Land of Frost, where he’d been hired by a rival daimyō to recover some shitty artefact. Usual affair—plant tiny explosives onto the guards, let them take them straight to the safe, blow the locks to kingdom come (and hopefully the guards, too), slip in and swipe. It was all very fucking dull, but the reward would keep him going for a while. 

Maybe it was this repetitive dullness, the tedium of his continued life that made Deidara a little rusty and careless, because the moment he heard a familiar voice, he whipped around in shock to find an even more familiar face in all its infuriatingly bland stoicism.

❝U-Uchiha Sasuke?! What the—❞ 

What the hell was he doing here, making such a casual observation?! Reducing his masterpiece to ‘blowing himself up’?! Ice-cold dread soon melted in his gut, then whipped up into a fury as his teeth clenched, trying to hold back the hellfire burning in his lungs… which failed after mere seconds, as useless as trying to hold back rising bile.

❝Like it’s any of your damn business, mm!❞ he spat, voice strangled and chest heaving with the effort not to bellow and draw attention as he backed himself into the opposite wall. ❝Like you’d ever understand the extent of my sublime art! Fucking Uchiha!! Fucking… SAVAGE!!!❞

With that said, he flung a clay spider at Sasuke’s face, yelled ‘KATSU’ and gestured to detonate it, and bolted. Which definitely wouldn’t draw attention.

The shock with which Deidara regarded him was actually fairly satisfying. There were a range of emotions that showed on the blonde’s face in the next few seconds, and Sasuke simple raised an eyebrow, raising for more than an exclamation of his name. Because, yes, obviously, that was his name. There was no mistaking it was him. 

He was kind of anticipating seeing what Deidara’s final reaction would be to his appearance. Would it be anger? Fear? Sasuke had absolutely no idea and he actually like being surprised when it didn’t mean losing in a battle. A few second later, and suddenly Deidara started shouting at him, a kind of spitting, strangled shouting, as he backed up against the wall.

Which, meant, of course, that he was angry, but he was also afraid. Which was fair. If he hadn’t been able to defeat Sasuke then, he probably couldn’t do it now. But also--why the hell was he talking about his art now? How wsas that relevant. And--did he just call him a savage?

Sasuke was about to chuckle to himself when he noticed a clay spider flung at him. A quick substitution jutsu and he got out of there in time, but not without his cloak being a little singed. He put out the slightly burning edges and decided--why not chase after Deidara?

Sakura looked at him, and she saw someone she loved so much that it hurt. Everything between them she could remember, everything significant–from their time in the Forest of Death, to the Land of Waves, to the Chuunin Exams and fighting together in the war–she could only see the journey of how she truly, utterly came to love him. What had begun as girlish infatuation died the very moment she thought Haku had killed Sasuke, blossoming into something that could continue became alive and true. 

“I know, I know… it’s just, you didn’t do those things out of a genuine malevolence. And yeah, you did fuck up a lot. I kinda have the troubles to prove it,” Sakura conceded with a wry smile, but her gaze was full of nothing but adoration for the Uchiha. “But that doesn’t matter anymore. Right now, what does is that you get the family that was cruelly taken from you by this place.” Her gaze strayed towards Sarada where it lingered, heart aching with how beautiful their daughter was.

“I think you’d like my parents,” Sakura continued with a smile, swaying their entwined hands gently. “Gods know I could never shut up about you as a kid, so they think you’re some kind of… fairy-tale prince. And now that you’re part of our family, well… they’d love to have you. And be the annoying in-laws they’ve always dreamed of being.”

It was kind of astounding, the way Sakura loved him. The way she saw his faults and turned them into... well, still faults, but not something entirely damning. Not something that cursed him all the way into eternity. It was forgiving, it was... well, it was loving. And he just didn’t understand sometimes, how she could love him, after all he had done to her. And yet... he was so grateful that she did. Even if he didn’t express it.

“You know, you’re kind of perfect,” he said after a moment, the words leaving his lips before he could really think about them, or take them back, or scold himself for such a sappy, sentimental thing for him to say. His eyes did avert after he said that thought, a soft huff of air past his lips at embarrassment from his statement.

It seemed like it wasn’t that long ago that Sakura felt as though she’d almost lost Sasuke to the darkness in his heart, mired in ignorance until she’d discovered the truth and forced the hands of fate to enact justice that was far too belated. But, it’d been worth it because the man she loved was free and they both were away from the place that had caused them so much grief. Free to pursue one another without being strangled by enmity or ignorance that would’ve torn a gulf betwixt them. 

Sakura held him like this as though they were both suspended in water, the melodic lull of their heartbeats soothing whatever old aches and memories slipped through the periphery of her mind. “I wouldn’t say that. We’re more, just–picking up where we left off, huh?” Sakura said with a brief grin flashing across her features. “Although, we do have to make up for lost time, so there’s that, too.”

He chuckled lightly, smiling at her as his arms wrapped around her body. “Picking up where we left off, hmm?” he repeated. “Yeah, I think you can say that. In terms of making up for lost time...” He learned forward and kissed her, softly at first, then more passionately, his arms tightening around her to pull her closer. And he kept kissing her, if she’d allow it, until he needed air, and at that point he’d draw back and press their foreheads together.