Sealed

Sealed
VII

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Author: Ms. Trick

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Note: Reviews make my life. No seriously.

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Chapter 7

Kiba couldn’t get enough of the fact that both his mother and his sister were in formalwear. He kept glancing at them and snickering to himself. He’d almost never seen his mother out of her jounin uniform and when Hana wasn’t in her simple combat outfit, she draped herself in sweaters about the size of circus tents. But now they looked like, dare he say it, ladies.

Lights and ribbons had been strung around the large stone patio in front of the main Inuzuka mansion. People were milling around, chatting and eating and drinking. Akamaru, Hana’s three ubiquitous dogs, and several dogs Naruto didn’t recognize were playfully tussling in the grassy yard.

Naruto grinned and waved goodbye to Kiba and the new Inuzuka Hinata. Both of them waved back, their smiles a little less sincere than they would’ve liked to be able to give the blonde. Hinata’s mind was on what she could never have. Kiba’s mind was on Hinata.

Hana-nee-chan looked pretty in her bridesmaid outfit, Naruto thought as he undid the cord from the watered down version of his wedding yukata, which he had been using as formal attire for all the other weddings. Kiba got groomed up nicely too. But Hinata-chan was definitely the prettiest.

Rather than the traditional white clothing, Hinata had worn a rather colourful kimono. It was river green trimmed in a variety of blues and an exquisite pattern of silver fish swam up her thigh. As an accessory, she had carried a sunshine yellow and gold parasol above her head. With her hair pinned up and the Inuzuka marks fresh on her pale cheeks, she had looked like a young empress.

The small sound of Sasuke breaking the kiss entered his head again. Naruto rubbed his ears as if trying to flick the noise away like a fly.

/Why. Why. WHY am I still thinking about this? The bastard just did it to make me let him go./

Naruto paused at the end of the Inuzukas’ front walk.

But he pulled his hands free and then stopped kissing me. Naruto scratched his head, confused and now dead set on resolving the entire situation as: Sasuke is weird...and he left me to finish the whole roof by myself!

“Naruto,” a familiar voice called from behind him.

He turned to see Sakura jogging--rather awkwardly thanks to the simple peach pink kimono she was wearing--down the driveway after him.

“Sakura-chan!” He greeted happily when she got closer.

She tried to smile back but it didn’t stay on her face. Naruto frowned, concerned.

Did she try and seduce Sasuke again? Why do girls always go after the ones that’ll make them cry? Especially the ones that’ll make them cry and are, if involuntarily, already taken.

Sakura debated whether or not to ask why Sasuke hadn’t gone to the wedding, but didn’t bother. No need to look a gift horse in the mouth; Sasuke’s absence worked in her favour.

“I have something I need to tell you. We’ll make it a date. So walk with me for a bit.”

“A date? Wouldn’t that be a bit scandalous?” He said, grinning obnoxiously.

“As friends then,” she said, her serious tone flattening any future humour Naruto was going to send her way.

- - - - -

Finally out of the restricting kimono, Haekoe Inuzuka stretched until her back cracked and then she flopped tiredly into a kitchen chair. She crossed her arms over the cotton tank that matched the colour of the markings on her cheeks and eyed her son and new daughter-in-law, who were sitting across the table from her, looking equally as worn out.

Hinata had unpinned her hair and was currently trying to stifle a yawn. Kiba slumped in his chair, daydreaming of his bed.

Just then, Hana came in from the kitchen with a fresh pot of tea in one hand and a small stack of tea cups balanced in the other. She had changed back into her usual large beige sweater and like Hinata, had returned her hair to a casual style. She set the teacups down with a clink and filled one before handing it to her young sister-in-law, who thanked her politely.

After everyone was sipping, Hana sat down with some relief.

“Glad I’m not going through all this,” she said.

“You will someday,” Haekoe said before blowing on the liquid in her cup.

Hinata looked between the two.

“You don’t have to get married, Hana-nee-chan? I thought you fell into the age bracket,” Hinata asked.

“I do but I have a mission that’ll keep me away from the village until autumn, so the Hokage exempted me.” Hana’s grin let Hinata know that she wasn’t at all upset by this.

“Autumn?” Hinata whispered, disappointed. Over the last few weeks of turbulent wedding preparations, Hana had been a large source of comfort for her. She would feel the older girl’s absence greatly.

“Today was nice though,” Hana added, after a pause.

“Mmm.” Haekoe nodded. “Hiashi could have stayed a while longer. The party might have gotten rid of some of the old man’s stiffness,” she tacked on.

Hinata’s eyes dropped to the table, feeling unreasonably guilty for her father’s standoffish behaviour. She wanted to tell her new family that he would have thought she had married down no matter who her husband was.

She had anticipated how he would treat her throughout the entire wedding process. The words ‘Good riddance’ were never uttered but they seemed to be written in his eyes. Like when he told Haekoe how he was glad his daughter would be entering a clan that could take care of her. She sighed.

At least he came to the wedding, she thought gloomily. He didn’t stay for the reception, but Hanabi, Neji, and a fair few of her other family members--from both houses--did, which cheered her some.

Haekoe watched as Hinata’s spirits drooped like flower petals.

“Hey...buck up, kiddo,” she said. “Man like that’s not worth going out of your way to please.”

Hinata looked up and smiled sadly.

“No Inuzuka girl gets down over something like this. Hyuuga or not, we’ll toughen you up,” Haekoe continued, leaning back in her chair with a grin that showed off her fangs.

“Kaa-chan...” Kiba said.

Hinata’s smile grew more genuine. “Yes, Haekoe-san.”

“Aww...that’s right. Now I’m outnumbered 3 to 1,” Kiba whined.

His mother barked out a laugh and his sister grinned at him over her tea. He looked over at Hinata and she shrugged her shoulders with a smile.

Haekoe yawned suddenly. “Alright. I’m going to bed. You two know how this is going to work right?” She asked the newlyweds. “You two’ll sleep in your own rooms until you’re sixteen. And then I want grandchildren.”

“Kaa-chan!” Kiba yelled as his face nearly turned darker than the Inuzuka markings.

Hinata’s face wasn’t much better.

“Oh, and tomorrow your mission is to fix the bridge over the stream at the far end of the fields. I’ll put a request for a couple others to help you,” Haekoe said as she pulled herself to her feet.

Kiba frowned. “We don’t have a bridge over the stream.”

“Then build one,” his mother called without missing a beat as she left the room.

Kiba and Hinata also made to go upstairs, an embarrassed silence between them courtesy of thoughts of grandchildren. They made their way sleepily to the staircase and climbed to the hall where their bedrooms were located.

“Ino looked pretty this morning,” Hinata finally piped up, resisting the urge to press her hands into her burning face. “When she was trying on her wedding dress, with her hair down like that.”

“Heh, Shikamaru didn’t look too happy. Besides, how many times do I have to tell you? You’re way prettier than her.”

“Yeah,” Hana agreed, suddenly appearing behind them. “You’ll have curves in a couple of years any girl would die for,” she added before tossing out a ‘good night’ and climbing another staircase to get to the third floor, where she slept.

“Goodnight, Hinata-chan,” Kiba said, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously.

Hinata looked at him for a minute, the two of them still in their wedding clothes and standing in the hall outside their separate bedrooms, and then leaned in and kissed his cheek.

“Goodnight, Kiba-kun,” she said with a soft smile before retreating to her room.

Hinata bathed in her new surroundings, taking in her bedroom. It was about the size of her old one and had a large bed and a vanity table. She sat in front of the mirror and caught her reflection as she began undoing her obi. She was getting used to the marks on her cheeks, she noted. Even now, they were less of a surprise than they were at noon.

She looked her reflection in the eye, thinking of how different her life would be. Though both clans got along swimmingly, the Inuzukas were about as un-Hyuuga as she could get.

She remembered how Kiba had spent longer brushing Akamaru than he had brushing his hair this morning, Hana’s encouraging smile as she nervously walked up the aisle with her sweaty hands gripping the parasol, and Haekoe’s gruff show of affection towards her son...and Hinata thought that she could get happy here.

- - - - -

Naruto flashed a beaming smile that nearly outdid the streetlights at old man Ichiraku as he set down the two orders of ramen. The boy leaned forward and inhaled the sumptuous fumes until his mouth watered. But even his stomach couldn’t distract him when Sakura was sitting next to him, not even noticing her food and appearing as though someone had just eaten her pet kitten.

“Sakura-chan?” He prompted.

Her eyes snapped to his. “Sorry...I spaced out.” The inviting scent of her meal wafted towards her and grabbed her attention. “Looks delicious. Let’s eat!”

“Yep!” Naruto agreed, scooping up a massive mouthful with his chopsticks. “Tell me about Sasuke while we eat.”

The oh-so-enticing mouthful was nearly at his lips when he noticed that, if possible, Sakura appeared even more miserable, like someone had just regurgitated her dead pet kitten.

There was a long pause. Naruto lowered his chopsticks and told himself to stop making analogies as he wasn’t very good at them. He then wondered how just mentioning Sasuke’s name could send Sakura into fits of joy or the throes of depression depending on the day.

“Sasuke-kun...” She said slowly. “...told me not to tell you. It’s all Orochimaru’s fault. I mean, Kakashi-sensei said he’d be fine and I want to believe that, since you and Sasuke-kun were getting along.” She took a deep breath. “Then this morning you were both sniping at each other again and...and when he fought Gaara, it...again...Then when he fought you he had that same look...that’s why...I...”

Naruto’s eyes were drilling holes into his innocent ramen.

“Orochimaru, huh? I met him,” Naruto said grimly.

Sakura looked over quickly. “Where?”

“While searching for old lady Tsunade. He was up against Ero-Sennin and the old lady... He’s very strong...and really dangerous.”

“That seal...” Sakura started softly.

“Don’t worry about it!” Naruto burst out, effectively shattering the solemn atmosphere. The mouthful of ramen he had been denied earlier was now in his gullet and quickly being followed by a string of others. He avoided Sakura’s eyes for a few seconds as he ate.

If he could just convince Sakura, make sure she was happy and okay and away from the strange dark that was lurking inside him and Sasuke, then later he and Sasuke were free to rip into each other and not hurt her or anyone else. The image of her throwing herself between the Rasengan and the Chidori still terrified him.

He would not let that happen again. If it came down to it, he could deal with Sasuke himself. He knew this because Sasuke could deal with him. He had a lot of faith in his rival-come-husband. The memory of the unexpected kiss blinked into his mind and instead of dwelling on it, he re-entered the conversation he was having with Sakura.

“Seal or no seal, Sasuke wouldn’t accept that bastard’s invitation. He doesn’t need to since he’s really strong already.”

He ate heartily and loudly, doing his best to prove that everything was normal and would be fine.

“I guarantee it!” He inserted between bites.

He needed her to believe him. He couldn’t worry about both her and Sasuke’s entire mental/emotional states at the same time.

And finally, Sakura smiled.

“Yeah,” she said softly, picking up her chopsticks.
Over an hour later, the two team mates stood outside Ichiraku’s with full stomachs. They stared at the bugs zipping sluggishly around the streetlights in the late evening.

“Sure you don’t want me to walk you home, Sakura-chan?” Naruto asked, rocking back and forth on his feet.

She smiled but shook her head. “I’m a ninja too, remember? I’ll see you tomorrow. YOU BETTER BE THERE!”

“At your wedding?” Naruto called as he started to jog down the street. “Wouldn’t miss it!”

“Eh...” Sakura injected suddenly, causing the blonde to stop. “Naruto, you live that way now.”

She pointed down the street that led through the now-quiet centre of town.

“Oh right, I keep forgetting,” he said abashedly as his ramen-supplied energy changed gears and propelled him back in the other direction. “Bye Sakura-chan!”

She rolled her eyes and then waved.

In fairness, Naruto thought. I did move in only this morning. I haven’t even unpacked all my stuff yet.

He groaned, thinking about how he’d have to dig through everything to find his pyjamas. And then they’d have to clean the place at some point.

That morning, he had managed to put his entire apartment into boxes and he’d piled them into the front hall of the large main house in the deserted Uchiha sector. It was an awesome house but EVERYTHING was covered in dust.

Come to think of it, Sasuke didn’t look too happy about moving in either.

Naruto double checked that he was on the correct street, trying not to think of how on edge Sasuke had been while helping Naruto move the boxes.

Naruto rounded the corner and was nearly blinded by an impossibly bright glow. He stopped in his tracks and just gaped.

The Uchiha complex was on fire. Completely.

The blonde demon-vessel had never seen so much fire in one place. It was like getting a close up of the sun itself. Flames were greedily licking up the very walls of the compound. Every shop and smaller house was crumbling into hot, fiery embers that sizzled as they flew into the air. Windows were blackening in plumes of smoke too thick to see through. The lake was bubbling and boiling. The large main house was quickly being swallowed by a twisting white-hot inferno.

“MY STUFF! I LIVE THERE!” Naruto shrieked, inching closer to the blaze. But even from his position on the road, he could feel the intense scorching heat and knew there was no way he or anyone else was getting inside.

The firemen apparently agreed, as they seemed less concerned about going in to control the damage and more about making sure the fire simply didn’t spread. Hoses were aimed at the outskirts of the danger zone in the hope of keeping the fire within a specific perimeter until it burned itself out.

A pyjama-clad neighbour was standing worriedly not too far away. He looked Naruto up and down, his eyes landing on the scarred cheeks illuminated by the vicious flames.

“You live there?” He said, disgust clear in his voice.

“Yeah! Old Lady Tsunade married me to the bastard!” Naruto said, flustered and defensive, immediately recognizing the attitude of the man for what it was.

“You married Uchiha Sasuke? Well! That explains why someone set the compound on fire.”

Angry, Naruto turned to face the man fully. Then he noticed a familiar silhouette slumping against the wall in a nearby alley and promptly forgot the man’s existence. He moved towards the figure, following a hunch. The neighbour, seeing Naruto outlined in the glow of the blaze with that intense expression on his face, hopped out of the way like a twitchy rabbit.

Just as Naruto reached the entrance to the rather narrow alley, several ANBU tore down the street behind him. A few seconds later, he heard what sounded like several powerful water jutsus being performed, usurping the scalding lake water.

“Sasuke! Your house! MY STUFF!” Naruto hollered as way of frantic greeting towards his dark-haired team mate, who was casually leaning against the side of the building with his arms folded.

“Aren’t you going to ask me if I’m okay?” Sasuke said mockingly.

Naruto noticed that Sasuke’s clothes were a tad singed and that he smelled like smoke, but he dismissively waved off the comment.

“Why wouldn’t you be? Fire is your spec...ial…..ty...”

His blue eyes widened.

There was a small, amused smile on Sasuke’s face as Naruto agitatedly looked back and forth between his friend and the Uchiha complex, which was still lit like a Christmas tree despite the ANBU’s efforts.

“...! Wait! WAIT! HOLD ON!” Naruto yelled, flailing his arms.

Sasuke braced himself for a blow-out but suddenly Naruto stopped in mid-hysterics and put a hand against the wall next to him, his eyes concentrating on the ground and hidden. Three audible deep breaths were sucked in and then exhaled.

“Okay...” Naruto said, twitching slightly. “You set the place on fire...Worked out your issues, then, I take it?”

“I think so.”

“Where are we supposed to live, you bastard?”

“I still own my apartment. It’s big enough. And your stuff’s already there.”

“How many fire jutsus did it take?”

“Eight or nine.”

And then Sasuke stepped forward, turned his back on the by-now-mostly-ash complex that once served as his childhood home, and led his husband (whose eyebrow was still twitching) the few blocks to his apartment.

- - - - -

/I guess Sasuke was a little more than ‘on edge’ this morning. Well, who would want to return to the house where your parents were murdered?/ Naruto thought glumly as the dark-haired boy unlocked the front door and moved inside, turning on the light without looking at it.

Sure enough, Naruto’s boxes were neatly piled in the middle of the living room. Naruto eyed them balefully and then his relentless optimism raised its head.

He hadn’t actually liked the massive and empty complex either. Having always lived in an apartment building that was down the street from the bustling centre of the village, Naruto had gotten used to noise. The compound had felt large and empty and lonely. Though it had felt fun to live in such an obviously money-filled abode, Naruto thought cheekily.

Not that Sasuke’s apartment wasn’t one. Naruto’s apartment had had a kitchen attached to a bedroom with a tiny bathroom tacked on the side. It hadn’t been run down--everything worked fine except sometimes the hot water--but it was by no means prime real estate.

Sasuke’s, on the other hand, had a kitchen attached to a plush living space (which was about the size of Naruto’s entire apartment), a rather nice bathroom with an actual bathtub, and two other rooms--one acted as Sasuke’s bedroom and the other he optimized as a mini library/study.

So, yeah, Naruto supposed he wouldn’t be grieving too long over the new living arrangement. Despite the fact that Sasuke kept the apartment impeccably neat.

A pillow slammed into his face and knocked him clean off his feet. Just as he sat up, angrily rubbing where he’d landed on his back, mouth open to yell, a thick blanket covered him.

Naruto pulled it off and surprised Sasuke with a massive grin that he didn’t trust for a minute.

“What?”

“I just realised I married uhhhhp. I get to be a rich asshole just like you!” The blonde said gleefully before hurling the pillow at the dark look Sasuke was giving him.

To his irritation, Sasuke caught it.

“Go to sleep, dobe,” Sasuke said, tossing the pillow onto the large couch before disappearing into his bedroom.

Eying the pyramid of boxes towering over the couch, Naruto opted to forgo his sleeping cap for just this one night lest he topple the entire thing on top of him. He flicked off the light, stripped down to his boxers, lay on couch, got comfy with the blanket and pillow, and then stared at the ceiling.

For the next two and a half hours.

Naruto exhaustedly rolled over for the umpteenth time. He’d already gotten a glass of water, finished it, laid back down, gotten up half an hour later to pee, and laid down again. He was tired, though. His eyes were itching.

He’d close them and try to count sheep but his mind kept buzzing. And before he’d realise it, his eyes would be open and staring a pensive hole into the white ceiling again.

His conversation with Sakura kept replaying in his head in chunks that rearranged themselves chronologically every time. And old man Ichiraku was probably the most informed person in the entire village. Everyone got ramen and everyone talked while they got ramen...like tonight when he’d recounted to Sakura the battle between the three sannin. When he became Hokage, he’d have to have an ANBU member keep an eye on the ramen stand, make sure the kind old man didn’t become a target for other villages. Man, that battle had been a big one.

Naruto groaned quietly and put his hands to his head. He squeezed his eyes shut but barely three seconds ticked by before they were open again.

He set his house on fire...isn’t that what people do before they start life-changing quests?

The couch squeaked exasperatedly as Naruto got up again. He padded softly over to Sasuke’s bedroom door and opened it as quietly as he could.

The first thing Naruto noted was that the bastard had a pair of sliding glass doors that led to a fair-sized balcony. The second was that he also had a TV.

/Definitely married up. I should have married the bastard years ago./

Naruto found himself next to Sasuke’s double bed, staring down at his team mate’s pale, sleeping face.

Naruto chuckled. “Nice defences, bastard. I could completely take you out of the picture right now,” he muttered under his breath.

“I seriously doubt that,” Sasuke said, his voice resounding in the dark.

Naruto jumped about a foot in the air.

“S-sasuke! Don’t do that!”

“You’re in my room. Go away.”

“Don’t go to Orochimaru.”

It took a few seconds for this to make its way into Sasuke’s sleep-deprived brain.

“What?” He asked finally, sitting up slowly and rubbing his eyes.

“Don’t go to Orochimaru,” Naruto repeated, standing stiffly beside Sasuke’s bed.

Sasuke groaned. “Are you going to tell me you love me and that every day will be fun if I stay?”

Naruto blew a raspberry at him. “You wish. I just figure--‘cause I saw the sannin battle and know this stuff--I figure that all the sannin are really strong--even if Ero-Sennin is a pervert--and it’s better to live in a village with two sannin than a village with one, right?”

Sasuke scratched his neck and looked at his blonde team mate through sleep-clogged eyes. Naruto watched as Sasuke’s fingernails dragged over the seal, which was stark against his bare skin in the dark of the room.

Sasuke noticed him staring and covered the seal with his palm nonchalantly, blocking it from Naruto’s view.

“Even if it’s there...you forced the seal away once,” the blond blurted out suddenly.

Sasuke frowned, surprised. His hand came away from his neck and he decided as punishment for squealing, he’d throw Sakura into the river when they met Kakashi tomorrow.

“Yeah, yeah! During your first match at the Chuunin exam,” Naruto said, like a child eagerly finishing a math problem he knew he had figured out. “I didn’t know what it was then but yeah, that’s what happened! I remember.”

Sasuke looked away.

“Was that hatred too?” Naruto asked quietly.

Sasuke thought about the feeling of the seal smoothly crawling over his skin...he had forced it away after noticing his team mates’ worried looks on the sidelines. But he’d die before he told Naruto that.

Itachi had said he needed hatred to be strong. Gaara too. But hadn’t Gaara lost? Naruto had fought to protect others and had won in the end. Sasuke had little faith in his ability to carry out Naruto’s method but he wasn’t 100 percent on his own right now either.

He blearily glanced at the red numbers on the digital clock. He was not awake enough to decipher the basis of his fighting spirit right now.

“Go away,” he said again, lazily lying back down and flinging an arm over his eyes.

“Teme...” Naruto growled, his fists clenching. “I’m not going anywhere. This conversation isn’t over!”

After a few minutes of pretending to be asleep, Sasuke gave up and scooted sideways, his face still covered.

“You might as well lie down, dobe.”

Naruto hmphed and retaliated by jumping onto the bed heavily, causing Sasuke to bounce. As he crawled under the covers, Sasuke peeked out from under his arm for a second to glare. Naruto scowled and folded his arms grumpily.

After a few minutes, Sasuke felt the murderous intent directed his way lessen slightly due to what had to be exhaustion. Naruto let out a large jaw-creaking yawn and felt sleep creep into him.

Sasuke allowed himself a small, unhappy sigh. He didn’t like the indecision this was causing him.

“I...don’t know what I’d do...” He whispered into room. “...if I got mad enough. I can’t make promises. But for now, Konoha and the extra training with Kakashi, which was what we were talking about earlier...for now, it’s enough.”

Naruto was clinging to the last dregs of consciousness at this point. But if the words didn’t make it past the earwax, the message did, and the blonde fell asleep with a smile on his face.

- - - - -

“Miss?”

Someone put a hand on her shoulder and Sakura bolted upright, wide awake.

“Miss? Are you alright? You’re not hurt are you?” The old man in glasses asked in a concerned voice.

“What?” She asked as she looked up and down the little cobblestone road distractedly. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, it’s not everyday you find a girl like yourself asleep on a bench like this. In Konoha at least. Some girls in some cities aren’t so lucky, you know. This is certainly a nice place to live,” he rambled as she checked her watch. “Though there are better roads to pass out on than the one that leads out of...”

“3 a.m.?” She whispered to herself, unbelieving.

“Miss? Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine. I’ve got to go though,” she cried and raced off back into the village, cursing herself for being so stupid.

She briefly wondered why an old man would be on the road leading out of the village at three in the morning, but when she spared a glance over her shoulder, he was already gone.

She remembered checking her watch at 2:15...so she couldn’t have been asleep for that long. Regardless, Sasuke could have left in that short interval.

Stupid. Stupid. Letting herself fall asleep at a time like this... Stupid!

She tore down the silent Konoha streets, breathing harshly, the sound of her footfalls crashing loudly against the sleeping buildings.

She remembered Naruto’s optimism and wondered if she was working herself up over nothing. But...as much as she wanted to have faith in Sasuke and as much as she loved him even now, she was too smart for that. And like she had told Temari, it sucked.

She stopped with a choked gasp in front of what had been the Uchiha complex. She inhaled deep lungfuls of air and stared at the mountains and forests and caves of ash and the broken glass littering the wreckage.

What...?

There was a wrenching moment of hesitation, and then she took off at a sprint for Sasuke’s apartment.

/Maybe...maybe.../ her blurry thoughts repeated as she approached her destination.

She managed to control her chakra long enough to tiredly walk up the wall of the building and climb over the railing of the balcony. Eyes drooping with exhaustion, she stared inside through the glass doors at the two boys on the bed and the adrenaline drained out of her in a rush.

Naruto was curled against Sasuke’s shoulder, fast asleep, and Sakura groggily considered the possibility that Sasuke wouldn’t be leaving the village tonight.

What had Naruto said, after all? Sakura-chan, you really don’t know Sasuke at all!

And, like a girl in a dreamworld she didn’t fully understand, Sakura found herself sleepwalking back down the building.

Eyes dry, she trudged back into the night, leaving her dreams and tears on the balcony. She crawled home to get some sleep so that when she got married tomorrow, she’d be ready to start feeling less hollow.

- - - - -

One thing he loved to do when on an espionage mission was play the good guy. What could he say? He had a taste for irony.

By dawn, Kabuto had entered the Hidden Village of Sound, his disguise ditched.

He entered the underground labyrinth serving as Orochimaru’s lair and wound his way through the snake-like passages until he reached what the subordinates referred to as “the throne room.”

Indeed, the vicious sannin was sitting rigidly in the large carved chair in the centre of the room.

“Back so soon?” Orochimaru asked, his voice a mocking hiss.

Kabuto didn’t respond, neither defending himself nor rising to his master’s bait. He stood calmly in front of the throne, glasses glinting in the candlelight.

“Report.”

“Yes, Orochimaru-sama. Gaara-kun and Lee-kun appear to be willingly cooperating, their scruples from their history behind them. Little to exploit at this time. Sasuke-kun is unhappy about being tied to another person but his bond with Naruto-kun is becoming stronger despite their reluctance.”

“Hmm...That may be problematic. Should Sasuke-kun grow too attached to his little husband, we may have to see about working Naruto-kun into a more desirable position. His fondness for Sasuke-kun could be put to our use. That’s all Tsunade has done, after all, created guaranteed liabilities for her ninja,” Orochimaru chuckled. “Do any other marriages have potential?”

“The Hyuuga girl seems to be unhappy but she was brought up in too prestigious a household to act any way other than proper. Her husband, the youngest Inuzuka, is hot-headed but it’s obvious he has a great affection for her. Temari-san and Sakura-san are on congenial terms but their relationship is hardly beyond that of a casual friendship.”

Orochimaru sat deep in thought for a minute.

“I will only need to make one move. Then we will step back for now. Time is a subtle weapon, Kabuto. It will bring me Sasuke-kun and more.”

-