The sky was rather blue today, Sasori noted with a dulled interest. He was sprawled back on a leafless tree branch at his team's training grounds, waiting for his three genin to arrive. The cold air nipped at his pale real skin as red curls bounced in and out of his vision. He raised his hand to the sun, twisting it this way and that while flexing his fingers.
Still, he wasn't used to being human.
Feeling. Breathing. Experiencing. It had been years ever since he was "resurrected" in a flesh and blood body and he still didn't know how to feel about it. Of course it was a nuisance now to be conscious of his personal well-being and it was far more inefficient as a biological organism, but it was something comfortable.
Sasori rubbed his eyes. He couldn't find himself to be too annoyed by it. He was part of a village again and given the privilege of a genin sensei. He single-handedly had the opportunity to help shape the future shinobi of Otogakure with every legal right to do so. All it took was a one month period that changed him from S-Rank rogue to loyal shinobi, and it happened because his killer was able to change his mind.
'Sakura, hm?'
A brat turned formidable Kage. She had the whole village's trust and faith in her hands, including those others might regard as gang members or criminals. He saw some of her training sessions and witnessed the decisions she made to shape the village into something renowned. Sakura was a pretty damn great leader, honestly. Eccentric and devoted, yes, but she was someone many would be more than willing to follow.
Especially after kicking that Uchiha's ass to the ground that day.
He smirked, remembering just how badly Sasuke got beat. The kid was an dimwit for even opening his mouth and challenging her like that.
But that made him a hypocrite for thinking something like that, didn't it?
"Sasori-sensei!!"
"Eh?! What are you doing all the way up there?!"
"Sensei, get your old butt down here!"
Sasori's lips tilted upwards as he rolled over and dropped down in front of the group of twelve-year olds. He looked at them with his usual half-lidded eyes.
"Izumi. Miwa." he acknowledged, nodding at the brunette and pixie-cut blonde. He then glanced at the cheeky little black-haired ball of anger that never failed to insult him and flicked her forehead.
"Shigeko. Rude as always, I see. So," he sighed, "What excuse do you all have now for being late? You know very well that I hate to be kept waiting."
The three exchanged glances before they each slid off their packs off and produced small boxes. They held it out to him with matching smiles and voices that chorused.
"Happy Valentine's Day, sensei!"
Sasori blinked. The boxes, each tied with a colored ribbon, were forced into his hands before he could reply. Each had a clear film top so that he could see the chocolates inside. Homemade chocolates. He stared down at the packages like they were foreign objects and tried to reason just why they were in his hands.
"Do you... want me to give these to someone?" he questioned. Izumi's face scrunched up as she flipped her brown hair over her shoulder.
"What are you talking about? We made those for you!" she exclaimed.
"For me?"
His eyes were blank and glued to the boxes. Another thing he couldn't get used to was how kind his genin now and his past genin had been to him. Them, along with other shinobi he would encounter in his day to day life. They knew who he was, didn't they? How many people had perished at his hands. His previous unethical practices with human puppets.
Sasori looked up at his team and saw their bright faces, hands tightening ever so slightly around the chocolates.
"... Thank you."
Their smiles widened.
"And as thanks, you only have to run fifteen laps around the village." he said. He smirked when their faces dropped and Shigeko puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
"Sensei!"
::
Sakura was never really treated like this back in Konoha. On Valentine's Day, she'd get a few chocolates from Lee, Naruto, and some of the interns. That was it. It wasn't until a few years into her leadership of Otogakure that she started to get so much sweets that she couldn't finish them.
There were a few stacks of packages on her desk where they led to six other piles beside her. Bouquets were in front of her, blocking her vision of the door. She heard a sigh from her right and saw a dismayed Kabuto jotting some things down on a clipboard.
"Why do you have to send a 'Thank You' note to everyone who sent you something?" he grumbled, "And why do you insist on eating all of them? You're going to get sick."
She picked up a box and read another name out for him to write down.
"Because whoever sent these obviously took time out of their day so I could get them, so I should at least say thanks in return! Geez Kabuto, it's called being appreciative." she grinned, laughing when he pushed up his glasses in irritation, "Besides, I'm not going to eat all of these by myself. The help's here, if you haven't noticed."
Oh. He'd forgotten about them. Kabuto peered across the room at the four-- Kakuzu, Kotohime, Sasame, and Tobi-- who were scattered on the floor and chairs, each taking their time in devouring the chocolate. Kotohime and Sasame volunteered to help because they loved sweets and spent most of the time in the Kage building anyway, so why not? Kakuzu honestly had nothing better to do and Tobi was bored on his off day, so free food it was.
"This one's is ramen flavored. The fuck?"
"Koto-chan, try this one! There's blueberries inside!"
"In all my years of living, I don't think I've ever encountered fried eggplant covered in chocolate."
"Ghck! W-Wa-Water! Ka... Kazu... sen-senpai, wa-water! Why... Why hot s-sauce?! WHY?!"
Sakura picked up another set of chocolates. It was the odd one in the pile with it's gleaming silver wrapping and purple ribbon tied in a neat bow. She hid her smile, knowing exactly who it was from and who it was for. She held it up.
"Kabuto, this is yours."
"What?"
He took the box from her and looked at the tag. His name was printed on it, most likely to not reveal the sender, and nothing else was there. Tobi perked up from his spot with tears still running down his cheeks and tongue swollen.
"Babudo-dan'h been bweally bopuwa doday."
"You sound terrible."
"Idh da hod dauce!"
Kabuto placed it on the window sill with the seven others he'd gotten, his eyes lingering on it for a little longer before sliding back to the clipboard. He didn't know why, but it felt like those specific chocolates were different than the others.
"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed, "Juugo-san sent strawberries!"
This was how most of the day went. When she had the list of names, she made a 'Thank You' card for each of them and set them aside to be delivered tomorrow. Afterwards, she completed the paperwork she had for the day while listening to the lull of conversation the others had as they went on eating.
It was at about five o'clock when the door creaked open and someone stepped inside.
"Sasuke?"
Sasuke glanced at the five other shinobi in the office who silenced immediately, but continued eating their chocolate. The Otokage smiled up at him.
"What can I help you with?"
"I recall you being able to subdue my cursed seal during our fight, and it made me wonder if you'd be able to rid of it completely." he said, "Before coming here, I ran into Juugo... He told me about his treatment. And how it was working."
Nervousness was not a familiar color on his face, though Sakura found it more than entertaining to see it. She felt some pity for him as he was being burned through with five other pairs of scorching eyes and stood up.
"I'll be back no later than half an hour. Come with me, Sasuke."
::
He couldn't remember a time Orochimaru expressed a desire to rebuild this village. He'd been through here a number of times, yes, but he never had an expectation for it to grow from the run-down criminal hideaway it used to be.
"I thought you'd come back sooner to look for your cure." Sakura hummed from his left, "You just missed Naruto. But he'll come back in a few weeks, I think."
"Hn."
"Reverting back to your angsty self? I liked you better before when you suddenly gained that will to talk. Or was it just your anger?"
Sasuke couldn't help but send a sidelong glare her way, making her laugh and punch him in the shoulder.
"Right on the mark! Learn to smile and maybe I'll stop teasing you." she grinned. He rubbed the spot where she hit him and bitterly noted that he was probably going to get a bruise there. He then peered around the Medical District they soon entered and at the proud banners that hung above it. It was quite quintessential of her as a Tsunade's student to put so much effort into this part of the village, also adding to Otogakure's list of specialties.
Sakura led him to the front of a clinic. She presented it with a grand wave of her arm and an even wider grin.
"Your future awaits."
"I can't believe you said that to me."
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Like I said, smile. Ah, you've gotten so boring." she sighed. Sasuke refused to roll his eyes and made to push the door open.
"Oh, and one more thing."
He looked at her.
"On Mondays and Fridays, Itachi-san works at the Intelligence building. The large gray one close to my office. From Tuesday to Thursday, he's on the pediatric floor of the hospital, which is down this street. It's in a different building from the one you stayed in which is the one on the north side of where you were? I'm sure it is." she informed as she tapped her chin. Sasuke's jaw locked involuntarily and he averted his gaze.
"... Alright."
Her grin softened into a reassuring smile before she turned to leave.
"Take it easy, Sasuke."
::
When Sakura returned to her office, the four on her ground had just about gone into a chocolate coma and were withering away beneath empty boxes and wrappings. Kabuto was nowhere to be found, but the stack of 'Thank You' cards has disappeared from their place. She plopped into her seat with a light exhale and picked up her pen.
That was a good development, at least. All in all, it was a good day for her. Sasuke was getting better about things, the chocolate was delicious, and intel on the drug issue she received that morning had given her more proof than ever before.
She reached down to take some post-it notes from her top drawer, but noticed that it wasn't quite closed like she had left it. Curious, she pulled it open and saw a cup of anmitsu, her favorite dessert, with a perfect scoop of green tea ice cream on the top. The fruits and jelly pieces were carved into little heart shapes that she found just adorable.
But... who was it from?
Tobi and Kakuzu, who were half lidded and on the verge of fainting from sugar overdose, saw the treat in her hands and had the same thought run through their heads.
'You're supposed to put your name, idiot.'