(A/N: As always, play the music for more effect!)

"Otou-san!" Tsunami whispered in a hushed tone. "You're back! We were so worried—" The concerned daughter took one look at Sakura, and then put the pieces together.

Abruptly, the pinkette was embraced by a hysterical woman who was crying softly. "Thank you, thank you..." Sakura stood there awkwardly, unsure of how she was to respond.

Tsunami let go, her hands still on her shoulders as she looked up and down at the grimy appearance. "You'll need to wash up, and then eat. After that, you'll go straight to bed," the woman said in a motherly tone. Sakura nodded soundlessly, and went into the house to clean herself up and fix the wounds.

:::

In the steamy washroom, Sakura dried herself off carefully, making sure not to touch the opening wound in her thigh too much.

Wordlessly, thinking over all that had happened, she began preparing her small medical kit Anko had gotten her a long time ago. Sakura cleaned the wounds, starting with the largest that was oozing pus and blood, having to give herself stitches without anesthetics. This is nothing compared to what I endured earlier, she told herself while the needle pierced her skin a fourth time.

Next, she worked on the bruises, only applying a thick cream to heal them overnight, and then her ear. There was no way it could grow back. Sakura stared at the notch in her ear, still red and raw. She dressed the wounds, and then wrapped it, along with the side of her face. A reminder of my foolishness, the genin thought to herself.

Sakura hadn't noticed it, but she had gained a small scar on the side of her mouth, making her lips appear to be a little wider than they actually were.

She glanced at her mid-length hair, damaged from the fire she had exposed herself to, and then dug around for scissors in her kit. Messily scattering the hair on the cold floor, she cut and snipped at her hair so that it was above her shoulders again.

Finally, she dressed in clothes she usually didn't wear—long pants that most jōnin wore, and a sleeveless shirt with the usual red swirl on the back. Its neck was higher than usual, covering the bruises on her neck. Tomorrow, I can wear my hitai-ate around my neck, just in case if the cream does not work.

"Sakura! Sit, sit," Tsunami insisted as she walked over to the table. "I just warmed up the rice. The stir-fry should almost be done." She smiled at the girl, then hopped off her stool to check on the food.

"Here," she said, placing a bowl of stir-fry and rice in front of Sakura. "I also have some miso soup."

Nodding in thanks, the pinkette picked up her chopsticks and began eating, chewing slowly. "I hope it's to your liking." Tazuna's daughter clasped her hands in front of her. "I'm just so thankful that you protected Otou-san!"

"Hn." Sakura kept eating, thinking of other things while Tsunami chartered about whatever. "I thank you for the food," she said before getting up and walking to where she slept.

"O-oh! You're welcome! Make sure you get enough sleep, okay?"

Sakura nodded, then opened the door to reveal Naruto sprawled across the floor, taking up the most space, and Sasuke, who was staying in his respective area. Quietly, she stood there looking at them, then got under her own covers of her futon and layer there, thinking of all that had happened.

Now that the pinkette finally found silence, the recent events haunted her, and she could still smell the burning flesh from both her memory, and the pile of soiled clothing that was beyond repair. Sakura rolled over despite her aching muscles and bruised body's protests to see a pair of dark eyes staring at her openly and quietly.

"Sakura?" His voice was raspy from not talking, and was laden with exhaustion.

"Yes."

Sasuke nodded, then closed his eyes and burrowed further underneath his covers to hide a small, relieved smile gracing his lips.

Sakura watched him for a few more seconds before turning away to look at the moonlight shining through the window. The dark-haired boy opened his eyes once again to look at his teammate, friend—oh.

Her ear. It was wrapped in gauze. He wiggled closer yet subtly, and then squinted. Sasuke felt his jaws clench in anger when he realized what had happened, just because he hadn't been there to protect her. Had I been stronger... His hands formed fists as he thought of what else was being hidden underneath her long pants and shirt—

Green eyes stared at him blankly, and he was grateful the room was dark. "How did you get that," he asked, reaching out and touching her left ear timidly.

"Two men followed the bridge builder and I. He hid while I fought," Sakura explained to Sasuke, without any detail.

"Are they...?"

"Dead," Sakura confirmed. "One was hit in the back of the head, the other...burnt and blown up." And tortured before he met his demise, she added in her head. Why didn't she want Sasuke to know that?

"Aa." Even his small response was shaky, which Sakura assumed to be fear of her and her methods—"Don't ever do something that stupid again," Sasuke muttered, his eyes sharp and his tone as monotonous as hers.

"It is the life of a shinobi," the pink-haired girl said, never tiring of repeating the same saying.

"Yes, but promise—promise you won't do anything stupid like that again." His dark eyes narrowed again as he listened to her answer.

"Stupid—showing a great lack of common sense or intelligence," she recited dutifully as always. 

Sasuke smirked. "You haven't done that in a while."

"Yes; I did not deem it necessary," Sakura explained, making the dark-haired boy's smirk larger.

He looked away. "I guess so. Goodnight, Sakura." He relished saying her name softly, not around people that would notice how he said it with different emotion compared to when surrounded by others.

"Aa. Good night, Sasuke."

The Uchiha felt his heart pound when she said his name gently, most likely from exhaustion, but he could be allowed to dream, right?

FUCKING SASUSAKU MOMENT! Guys, I love how cute Sasuke is in this story; it's ADORABLE!

What will happen is the morning?