Sakura's Letter

Part 3: Sakura

"What happened to you?" she was at his side in an instant, taking his arm over her shoulder. Her husband visibly winced as she did so and Sakura took the opportunity to assess his injuries more closely. She helped him make it to the dining room table and Sasuke settled deeply into the chair, nodding his thanks.

"Well?" she asked in response to his silence.

"Just a spar," was his curt reply and Sakura felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle.

She gritted her teeth. There's only one person that could have inflicted this much damage on Sasuke and Sakura instantly recognized Naruto in all of his injuries. "What were you thinking? You're supposed to be resting! Not fighting the Hokage!"

Her husband offered no excuse and remained silent. Sakura decided she would let him suffer through his minor injuries, hoping it would teach him not to be too reckless. Instead, she began to heal the worst of his injuries: his arm. Sasuke seemed to pull away from her at first but was stilled by the pain of moving his arm. Not realizing his effort, Sakura held on more tightly, summoning chakra to her palms and sensing that the radius bone of his forearm was completely severed and the ulna was also fractured. She grimaced.

"Are you trying to lose your right arm, too?" she exclaimed.

She heard Sarada giggle, but when Sasuke raised his eyes to hers, Sarada seemed to remember her annoyance with him. "You were supposed to train with me today, but instead you were out getting your butt kicked by the Seventh!"

The Uchiha scoffed. "You should see him."

Sakura finished healing his arm and released it. Her husband flexed it approvingly and then reached it out across the table, closing the small distance between him and his daughter, and placed two fingers upon her forehead. "I got distracted today. Next time, I promise."

Sakura smiled at the familiar gesture that her husband used to show them affection. She also found that her annoyance with him had faded and was replaced with happiness as she watched the two people she loved most together in one room, again.

Sarada rubbed her forehead where he had poked her, saying, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Smiling, Mrs. Uchiha bounded into the kitchen, exclaiming "Hope you guys are hungry! I made your favorite!"

Plates were set before them and Sakura took the seat next to her husband, smiling at him as she waited for his approval. He said nothing and immediately began to eat. She guessed she wasn't going to get a very joyful Sasuke tonight, either.

The rest of the dinner was spent somewhat awkwardly. Sakura would ask them about their days and would get a short response here and there from both of them, neither seeming to express the desire to reciprocate a conversation. Not necessarily wanting to sit in silence, Sakura decided that she would update them on things from the hospital: new techniques and discoveries, diseases and jutsu, patients and their injuries.

"You seemed to have mastered the arm pretty well," her husband interrupted, saying his first full sentence to her since he had arrived. He kept his eyes on his plate and avoided looking at her.

Sakura noticed that Sarada had stopped eating and now stared at her curiously, sneaking occasional glances at her father.

"Yes," she smiled a reply, interpreting her husband's statement as gratitude for healing him. "The arm's network is complex but I seem to have acquired a full understanding of it.

"Have you had lots of practice?" interjected her daughter, who closely evaluated her face.

Sakura nodded modestly, "I guess you could say that."