Ripples

Chapter 20

                             Reunion

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Some part of Sasuke still couldn't quite believe it. He had just agreed to go back to Konoha...with Sakura.

He was going back to Konoha. Back to Naruto and Kakashi and all the others.

He would be lying if he said it wasn't a daunting prospect. Would he even be allowed to return - without being executed? Sasuke knew the punishments for missing-nins were harsh and usually fatal...but then again, the usual brand of missing-nin were dragged back to their village in chains (if they were alive at all). It was likely his voluntary return would work in his favour.

And at the same time...some part of him did want to return. He had always assumed that he had to either have his revenge or have his friends - they couldn't be dragged down the path with him. And he had owed it to his family. So he had done it - he cut his team from his mind and heart because he couldn't bear to remember what he'd thrown away...but he'd never thought he could have both.

Sakura had proven him wrong.

She was still smiling quietly, and the soft upturn of her mouth made him think of what it had felt like to have those lips against his own.

"Hey!"

Sakura turned, and Sasuke silently cursed Suigetsu.

The white-haired man was approaching them rapidly, with Karin and Juugo beside him.

He barely heard Karin explaining that she'd sensed their chakra flaring, he was more interested in the broad grin Sakura gave the two males.

"Hey, guys - miss me?"

Juugo gave an embarrassed smile, shyly handing over the pack he had carried. Suigetsu smirked and shrugged awkwardly.

"Aww, that's sweet," Sakura cooed, seeming to understand what they weren't saying perfectly well.

"You aren't hurt?" Juugo asked as she dug in her pack, searching for the dirty clothes she had stowed there.

"I'll survive," Sakura hedged.

For some reason, she could only find her pants - her shirt was nowhere to be found.

Too tired to really bother with the mystery of the missing shirt, Sakura simply pulled out the shorts and tugged them on, discreetly healing the small gash on her hip as she did so.

She'd been able to ignore it when she was yelling at Sasuke, and it hadn't hurt badly when it was inflicted, but she knew that if she ran with the gash unhealed and in such a position, she'd be likely to rip it open further. Sakura didn't have much chakra left, but she just wanted to stop the bleeding. It was probably lucky Sasuke's shirt was black - no one had noticed the slow seeping of blood.

She trickled healing energy to the gash until it scabbed over, not wanting to risk putting more chakra into it in case she collapsed on the way back to Konoha. But as she pulled her hand away, a painful twinge rippled through her body, every nerve ending shuddering.

It seemed the purge she'd performed earlier was catching up with her. It usually took a day or so before the aches, pains and general exhaustion that were the consequence of forcing the body's cells to process toxins took hold...but that was assuming the purge was all the body had to go through. With her healings, and her fight with Sasuke, Sakura had the feeling she'd pushed her body to the very limit.