Sasuke was approximately an hour away from the Land of Sound. It seemed like only moments since he’d crossed the threshold of the Konoha gates, leaving behind his wife and baby. Sarada was nearly two, and while he and Sakura had explained that he needed to go away, she was much too young to understand just yet. He remembered the sight of his family, the image of them burned into his memory. Sakura had waved goodbye, a soft, sad smile on her face, as Sarada clutched onto her leg.
He was going to make a better world for them. For everybody.
It was growing dark so he needed to find a place to stay the night. Normally, he’d be satisfied with camping out in the forest, but he was approaching a small village and given the option between a bed and the ground, there was no contest.
Sasuke approached the settlement warily. He knew that they were close enough to the Sound that he may be recognised, but after a quick identification of the inhabitants’ chakra levels, he found that there were no ninja anywhere. Proceeding with caution, as there could still be shinobi adept at masking their chakra signature, he headed straight into the nearest inn.
“How many rooms are available?” Sasuke said abruptly.
The old lady who worked there looked at him over her glasses for a moment, unsettling him slightly.
“We don’t get many ninja around here. Right this way, I have one in the back.”
Sasuke followed the woman round the corner to a small tatami room with a futon. It wasn’t much, as the mats were worn and the walls let in a breeze from outside, but it was cheap, so he handed over a few coins and thanked the innkeeper for her time.
He laid down to rest, intending to wake up at the crack of dawn to start moving again.
But Sasuke couldn’t sleep. It was the first night in over two years that he had slept alone, and between the wind whistling through the cracks of the walls and the absence of body heat next to him, it took him hours to finally drift off.
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He woke up and the sun had already risen. There was a gentle knock on the door and Sasuke carefully tucked a shuriken under his sleeve before giving his permission to enter. The old woman came in carrying a tray, which she placed on the floor before walking away. She’d left a cup of miso soup and a small grilled fish – apparently the price of the room included breakfast.
If it was poisoned, Sakura had sent him off with several vials of antidotes, so he felt safe enough to eat. Besides, it would be rude to refuse her hospitality, so he took the time to enjoy the meal.
Sasuke was leaving the village when he walked past a run-down bookshop. Despite already being behind schedule, he didn’t want another restless night to set him back even further, so he decided to find something other than loneliness to occupy his mind. He perused the shelves, dusty from disuse and bowing under the weight of the books. A damp, musty scent pervaded the air, and Sasuke’s nose wrinkled slightly at the smell. A pile of less than ten copies of Icha Icha Paradise sat behind the counter, which looked like they’d only just been delivered.
“So even people in places like here have read that filth?” Sasuke thought to himself, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.
He chose a mythology book, reasoning that if Kaguya was real, any knowledge on old myths and legends may be useful. But as he picked it up, he realised it had been resting on top of an encyclopaedia of medicinal herbs. Sasuke felt a pang of homesickness; he recognised that particular edition from the copy currently sat on one of the Uchiha bookshelves. Sakura had received it as a present from Tsunade upon the completion of her medic-nin training and she’d treasured it ever since.
Without really thinking, he picked it up too. He took both books to the counter and rang the bell to call the shopkeeper. It took a few minutes for him to get there; no doubt surprised that anyone wanted to buy anything.
The shopkeeper rang up the total for the books, glancing over the covers.
“Are you interested in herbs, then? It’s a wise choice. You don’t find very many medics out here so you might need that.”
“My wife is” Sasuke replied, a smile threatening to show on his face. “She taught me some of them.”
“She’s a keeper that one, women who know their medicines are often the ones with the biggest hearts.”
Sasuke gave a brief nod, handed over his money and tucked the books into his satchel, taking care to conceal the weapons inside. The last thing he wanted was to be seen as hostile. He thanked the man and left, the small tinkle of a bell indicating his exit.
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Over the course of the next few weeks, he pre-occupied himself at night by reading the books intently. The herb encyclopaedia made him feel closer to home during his travels, and the myths and legends proved to be more interesting than he’d expected. After a month of being away, his body still ached for home, but these distractions lessened the tightness in his chest when he thought of his wife and daughter late at night.
Soon enough, Sasuke started to recognise the plants from the encyclopaedia during his mission. About six weeks in, he came across an abundance of a slightly toxic purple plant which, in small quantities, was used to slow down the heart rate. Upon looking it up in the book, he found that it only grew in damp forest conditions. He picked as many as he could with one hand, not letting his guard down as he bent down to reach.
Before he settled for the night, choosing to camp outside, he split the collected herbs into two uneven bunches and tied a piece of string around each one with his teeth. He tucked one into his satchel, thinking that it may come in useful for rendering enemies unconscious. He wrapped up the bigger bunch, and after quickly summoning one of his hawks, he placed it in one of the claws.
“You know where to take this, don’t you?” Sasuke said quietly.
The hawk gave a nod of his head and took flight.
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The next morning, in Konoha, Sakura carefully entered Sarada’s room.
“Time to wake up~” she sang softly, knowing that her daughter had inherited her father’s distaste for mornings. The small lump on the bed squirmed as Sarada tugged the covers over her head.
“Come on, you’re going to Aunt Ino’s house while Mama’s working today, so you need to get dressed.”
Sakura pulled the covers back; Sarada’s efforts to burrow further into the bed no match for her mother’s strength. She sat upright, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Sakura picked up her daughter, balancing her on her hip.
“Let’s get you some breakfast, yeah?”
“Mama, look…”
Sakura turned round sharply as there was a tap on the window. The hawk was perched on the windowsill and hitting the glass with his beak to get her attention. She sat Sarada back on the bed and let the bird in. He ruffled his feathers and hopped onto her arm before sticking his leg out proudly to show off his delivery. Sakura unrolled the package to reveal the herbs enclosed. There was no note, as the mission called for absolute secrecy, but the intentions were clear.
Sasuke was thinking about them. Despite the distance, their hearts were connected. No matter how far apart they were, they were still under the same sky.
Sakura clutched the herbs close to her chest, her eyes tearing up at the first contact from her husband in over a month. But she was happy. Really, really happy.
She stroked the hawk’s head and he flew off. She put her present in her apron pocket so she could put Sarada on the chair by the window, and the two of them watched him soar over the treetops and out of sight. Sarada climbed down to walk to the kitchen and Sakura followed close behind.
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This continued periodically, Sasuke sending various different plants, and some candy for Sarada whenever he could get it. There was never a note, but it was never needed. Sakura often tried to guess where he was by the locations where the herbs were common, and while most times she could never be certain, it was reassuring nonetheless.
Occasionally, Sasuke would slip in a couple of beautiful flowers. One time, he’d found a type of mint used in treatments for insect bites, and he enclosed a bunch of lavender stalks. Sakura put them in a vase pride of place in the kitchen window. The next time Ino came over for a cup of tea, she mentioned that they hadn’t had any lavender at the Yamanaka shop recently, looking pointedly at her best friend.
Sakura blushed. “I was sent them.”
“By that husband of yours?” Ino replied “Lucky girl, I keep dropping hints to Sai but he’s oblivious as ever. “
She finished up her tea between gossiping about Kiba’s love life and the teachers at the Academy, before noticing the time and having to hurry off to pick up Inojin from Uncle Shikamaru’s house.
“In the language of flowers, lavender means faithfulness, you know? Looks like Sasuke-kun knows what he’s doing.”
And with those words, she left, leaving Sakura flushed pink in the doorway.
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Over the next few months, the deliveries became much more erratic, often going weeks with no sign of the hawk on the horizon. Whatever he was doing, Sakura understood that his safety prioritised over anything else, but it didn’t mean that she didn’t miss the little contact they had.
Sakura started to send antidotes and ointments back with the hawk whenever she could. Between acting as a single mother, handling the hospital and having to deal with Naruto every time he wanted parenting advice, she barely had any time to breathe. But last thing at night, when Sarada was sound asleep, she prepared the herbs Sasuke had given her, pouring her love into the mixture. Sakura deliberately made large batches, enough for household use and enough to send to her husband. She knew Sasuke would want her to save some for their daughter.
The vials were packaged discreetly, and sent back with the hawk as soon as it made a delivery. As the bird’s visits became less frequent, the need for secrecy becoming more important by the month, Sakura distracted herself with work and looking after Sarada.
Then, they stopped altogether.
She grew to live with it, without the little presents her husband would send her while he was away. As a ninja herself, she understood the need for deep cover, and this mission needed it more than ever.
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Sarada was five years old, and about to start her first day of the Academy. She nervously adjusted her tie in the mirror, before fidgeting with her glasses. A call from Sakura beckoned her downstairs for breakfast. As she entered the kitchen, Sarada saw the flutter of wings out of the corner of her eye, and her mother quickly stuffed what looked like a piece of paper into her apron.
“Eat up, I gave you extra umeboshi, your favourite!” Sakura said with a smile.
Sarada knew that umeboshi was Sakura’s favourite as well, but it looked like she’d given her all of them for her big day. But she still couldn’t manage to eat anything. Sakura noticed that she hadn’t touched her food, and had just been moving it around with her chopsticks.
“Nervous, huh?” she said “I understand. But it’s going to be okay. Just know that your father and I are very proud of you.”
“Papa? How do you know?” Sarada’s eyes widened.
Sakura gave a warm smile.
“I just do.”
A single bloom of hydrangea sat on the windowsill. *
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Chapter end notes: Inspired by a fan-art by lesbrasdemer on Tumblr.
*In the Japanese language of flowers (Hanakotoba), hydrangeas mean pride. All of the flower meanings in this fanfiction come from Hanakotoba rather than the Western version.