Mᴀᴅɴᴇss | Sᴀsᴜᴋᴇ Uᴄʜɪʜᴀ

Epilogue

Four months later

The kettle whistled loudly on the stove. Mei snuggled into a large warm poncho and hurried to pour the tea. She yawned and looked around sleepily. The third week of March was colder than she expected and early morning starts and late-night shifts have taken a toll on her. A sudden pandemic swamped over Konoha at the end of December, catching the medics unprepared. The strange disease affected only the infants and teenagers. All the medics were summoned to the Hokage to address the issue and, to Mei's surprise, she was invited as well.

Mei sighed, reliving the events of the past couple of months. She dropped her head on her arms, her eyes closing instantaneously. The circumstances forced her to work closely with Sakura and it was hell. They could barely stand being in the same room with each other, but the occasion called for it. Sakura could not forgive her for hiding her connection to Sasuke and Mei could not understand why in Haruno's mind, she was obliged to tell her anything.

After countless fights, sleepless nights, tears, and grief, the two managed to come up with a treatment. It was trial and error, but they had to try it. In the beginning of March all affected children received their portion of medicine. Mei had never been more afraid in her entire life. Watching them battling the sickness through pain and suffering was twisting her insides. The symptoms remained for another week, causing Mei to lose her optimism, but when the first child showed improvement, she knew that they were on the right track.

It was her first official day off, but she still crawled out of the bed early. Her plan to sleep failed miserably, so she quickly rescheduled her day. After a nice long bath, she was going to visit the hospital to see how the kids were doing. A small smile crossed her lips as she finally pushed herself up and made her way to the shower room.

***

Steam rose from the hot water, as the girl eased into the small tub. Goosebumps covered her arms and legs. She bit her lip embracing the heat. When her body finally adjusted to the temperature, she managed to relax. Mei closed her eyes and leaned back. The atmosphere reminded her of...

"Hot springs." A husky voice said from the direction of the door. Mei's eyes shot open; her heart raced like crazy, threatening to burst through her ribcage. It took a moment to process whose voice she was hearing; a soft sigh escaped her lips as her tensed body relaxed once again. She looked through the curtain of steam at the dark-haired man standing at the door of her shower room.

"Ever heard of knocking?" she questioned calmly, but her heart continued doing somersaults.

"Ever heard of knocking it off?" he retorted stepping closer. She looked up and meeting his eyes, getting lost in their darkness. "You've got a lot of nerve running off like that, Mei." He said, slowly taking off his outerwear. His large hands were slowly unbuttoning his shirt. The white material landed on the floor, leaving his torso bare. Mei watched intently, feeling the heat rising within her and the hot water was not the cause.

"I left a note." She responded. Her throat felt dry as she watched him pull down his bottoms. Sasuke chuckled.

"Oh yes. You know where to find me once you know the reason." He mocked.

"I do not sound like that," the girl pouted. Sasuke ignored her response and stepped into the tub. His hands reached out to the girl and lifted her up. Their naked bodies pressed together, hearts beating in a unison. "Do you know the reason now?" she asked quietly. His eyes found hers.

"I do." he leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead.

"Care to elaborate?" Mei wrapped her arms around his body. Sasuke held her tighter and smiled against her skin.

"Later."