Summary: It has always been Sasuke. From day 1, Sasuke was the one she loved and the one she was supposed to be with. It has always been him. But has it? An odd pairing.
This is a strange story that I had a semi-dream about, so I had to make it happen.
The sun had been beaming down hard all day. The air was dry, the ground was dry, the streets were dry. Everything was dry. Sakura felt sweat drip upon her brow as she made her way down the streets of the village, heading toward a particularly shaded section of the training grounds. She had received a request to heal an injury at the training grounds, which was strange, given that there were countless ways to transport people to the hospital for treatment. She had never heard of someone who couldn't be brought to the hospital. It was also expressed to her that it wasn't so dire that she needed to rush, however.
As she walked along the grassy fields of the training grounds, looking for her destination, she took a moment to appreciate the wind picking up around her. The heat had been harsh against her skin and she felt uncomfortable with sweat beginning to pool around the pores of her scalp. The wind was a wonderful comfort. As she descended into the trees, the shade also came as a relief from the sun.
"Sakura," a voice called out from the forest. She recognized it instantly as Shino's voice. When she arrived at his location, she was surprised to discover no human injury. Instead she found Shino, standing in the middle of the forest with several butterflies dying around him.
"I need you to heal my insects," He said with a bland tone. The way he stood there, motionless without much expression on what she could see of his face gave her the creeps.
"I thought you could heal most of your insects by taking them inside your body," Sakura spoke back, both confused and annoyed by having to travel in this heat for such a menial task.
"They are incompatible and require a talented medic," she wondered why his voice was always so cool towards her. She had seen him laugh with others and show minor hints of emotion, but never towards her.
"I will see what I can do then," She walked towards some of the injured butterflies and began to delicately heal them. She was careful to be as light as possible as too much chakura would damage them. "How did this happen?"
"They are a breed that will eventually create an aromatic form of medicine. They don't, however, do well in the sun," He spoke as he leaned against one of the trees.
She felt his gaze upon her as she began working on a second grouping of the insects. The ones that began to bounce back began to lightly flutter around. She took a moment while healing to appreciate the beauty of these butterflies. Their wings were lightly iridescent, outlined by a sky blue. She wondered how many different types of insects the Aburame clan had created through breeding.
Once she finished healing, she stood up to face Shino, "It's done. Do you need anything else while I am here?" Before she had even finished her sentence, he was collecting the butterflies into a large container.
She turned her foot to leave when he spoke, "I'm heading back to the village if you wish to walk together. It's a nice day out."
She gave a very confused look, "What about your butterflies?" She placed a hand on her hip as she watched him round up the last of his insects into the container.
"This container creates a specialized environment for the insects that will keep them comfortable for the next 24 hours if needed. I will be dropping them off in the village, so keeping them in for this long is not necessary." He spoke, standing up fully. Looking at his outfit, she wondered how he had been surviving this heat being so covered up.
"I certainly don't mind if you wish to walk with me." Sakura found Shino to be positively creepy at times, but at this moment, he seemed oddly normal. He nodded his head and walked towards her.
They walked in complete silence through the fields. The forest had been so cool, that she had nearly forgotten how hot it was without the shade. She let out a huff as she felt her skin begin to lightly burn.
"Not a fan of the sun?" she was surprised to hear his voice. With the silence between them, she had almost forgotten he was there.
"I hadn't thought to put on aloe before coming here, so my skin is certainly not a fan. I love the sun, just not the heat." She looked up to the sky, squinting her eyes from the sun's light. She stretched her arms into the air, trying to vary which parts of her skin the sun was catching.
"Not many of my insects like the sun, so I tend to avoid it."
There was a silence again. That silence felt more awkward than the one before it. She could feel his eyes glancing over to her. Perhaps he expected more conversation than she had offered.
"Have there been any headway to the efforts of bringing back Sasuke?" Shino asked, placing his free hand into his pocket.
"I don't believe there will be any until Naruto returns. He has been gone a long while." Sakura began to think of Naruto. She wondered what he must look like now. He has been gone nearly two years at this point. Has he matured at all? Has he grown taller? These thoughts persisted until they reached the end of the training grounds and made their way to the west village gate.
Once they entered the village, Sakura began to take the main path up to the hospital. She expected Shino to splinter off on his own path at some point, but he just continued to walk at her side. She wondered if he felt the same awkwardness as she did. Perhaps he didn't at all and had his mind preoccupied with anything but her presence next to him. Somehow that made her feel even more uncomfortable.
She was surprised when they both traveled up the steps of the hospital. Once inside, Shino splintered off to the east side of the hospital and she to the west. No words were said between the two as they split. What could he be doing here today? She then remembered the labs in that wing of the hospital. Perhaps Tsunade had need of those butterflies? Shaking it out of her mind, she found her way to her wing of the hospital and continued with her shift.
To be continued...