Rendezvous, a naruto fanfic

Chapter 1.

"Rendezvous"

"Okay, meet me there tonight?"

"Yeah."

"Great," she said, kissing him on the cheek.

He grimaced from her slightly, but she didn't notice.

He further grimaced when he heard her voice once more as she was exiting.

"Ahhh, Sasuke-kun, this will be our first date in a long, long, time, ne?"

"Hn."

Again, she failed to notice his morbid lack of enthusiasm. Instead, she only giggled.

"Heehee... see you tonight, Sasuke-kun!"

With that, the door closed behind her.

Only then did Sasuke allow himself to roll his eyes and sigh.

Annoying.

"At least," Sasuke said aloud, speaking to the silence.

"...." Staring at the picture of his family, turned face down, Sasuke began to doubt his motives. But a snide grin grew on his face as he eyed the picture across the room of Team Seven.

"At least I'll be the winner in the end. I'll finally put that cocky dumbass in his place...."

Naruto's angry image stared back at the dark Uchiha man.

As if he could guess his intentions.

Haruno Sakura's step had a happy, hearty bounce to it this Konoha morning. She couldn't remember the last time her and her boyfriend had been out together.

What's more, the sun and wind seemed to approve. The sun shone brightly over the treetops, while the wind graced her face and bare arms with its gentle breath, carrying leaves with it, scattering them about. Wispy fog hung low to the ground, making it appear as if Konoha were soaring through the clouds... yet another beautiful Konoha morning.

Sakura took notice. Even though a beautiful, lucid smile was plastered on her face, she felt somewhat lonely. How she wanted to share this morning with some one.

Though she knew it would prove pointless, she began scanning the streets for a body with dark hair. However, as she very well knew, she most likely wouldn't find Sasuke out and about. Especially not at this time of day.

Night, most likely. But what more could you expect from him?

Sakura's smile faded.... but returned when she saw a face she recognized well.

"Shikamaru. Good morning!"

The lazy Jounin responded with a half-assed grunt. But it's not like he was too lazy to even politely give a proper greeting... something was on his mind.

"Shikamaru, something wrong?"

His eyes widened for half a second, then he turned away, tilting his eyes downward.

"N, no, no."

Sakura eyed him suspiciously.

"Really?"

He sighed. Over the years, he'd become a little more open.

"Actually...."

But not by much.

"No, every thing's.... I'm all right."

She nodded slowly, then decided to start a conversation before he walked away. Though he didn't look like he was really trying to go anywhere.

"Have you seen Ino?"

He looked up suddenly.

"Ino? Um, yesterday. You two still talk?"

"....Uhhhh, yeah? Why? Is she alright? She's not avoiding me, is she?"

Shikamaru stared at the rosette dumbly for a while, then shook his head.

"No, I just... haven't seen you two together in a while."

Sakura went a while without speaking, but when she finally, Shikamaru looked back up again.

"Yeah. Maybe I should talk to her... is she at the shop?"

Shikamaru cast a glance to the sky, over the horizon.

"Dunno. Maybe."

Sakura sighed.

"All right. Thanks."

"Mmm."

Sakura watched quietly as Shikamaru continued on his way.

Well, she thought, at least I've got plans now.

Sorry -- We're Closed.

Sakura glared at the sign on the door of the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Annoyed, she studied the operating hours.

Kinda sad, really. Didn't she know where to find her friend?

"Oh! Sakura. Looking for Ino?"

Sakura turned around to see Chouji smiling widely at her. She smiled back.

"Chouji. Good morming. Actually, yes. have you seen her?"

Chouji shook his head.

"No, sorry. I'm looking for her too."

Sakura wilted. Damn. Even her team mates didn't know where she was? Was she dead or something?

She'd almost lost all hope, walking the roads of the village looking for the girl. It was already noon, and she was still searching.

Sakura stopped walking. Would Ino even want to talk to her? After all, Ino shared Sakura's affections for Sasuke. And, after all, Sakura was the winner, and Ino was the loser. Sakura knew she would avoid Ino if she had been the one who had won Sasuke over.

That's when Sakura stopped looking for her blonde friend.

And when she decided to go find her other blonde friend.

Sakura thought that hair color was a little odd... blond hair wasn't all that common amongst the shinobi or kunoichi of the village.

(Then again, neither was pink.)

But that doesn't mean she thought any less of him. In fact, all of the blonds she knew she happened to be close to.

Naruto, Ino, and Tsunade.

Tsunade... suddenly, Sakura felt an urge to go see her master. She really had nothing to do until tonight.

"Yeah, no, I'm, I'm free," Lied Tsunade as she peeked over a huge stack of papers strewn slovenly about her desk.

"What d'you need?"

Sakura turned around to face the door.

"U-um, Tsunade-sama, if you're busy, I can..."

Tsunade waved a hand at Sakura.

"No, I am not busy, I just..." she stared at her student.

"Um, I'm free. Hurry up, what do you need?"

"Uh, I-I wanted to talk to you..."

"About what?"

"I... don't know... I kinda just wanted to kill time... 'til tonight..."

"Tonight? What's happening tonight?"

Sakura brightened up with a smile.

"My date with Sasuke-kun!"

Tsunade looked at her student blankly for a while... then forced a smile.

"Oh. Sasuke... that's good."

She was silent for a while.

Finally, when the silence had gone on long enough, Tsunade stood up.

"Sakura, lets go to the Hokage room, alright?"

The room had a comfortable ambiance, despite the portraits of the former Hokage with their hard glares hung up on the walls, which were graced with soft ebony wood. The black sofas sitting parallel to each other were large and inviting, and the blinds were shut, giving the room a closed feel.

Sakura stepped over the matching ebony coffee table and sat down, facing the portraits.

Funny, their looks were all the same.

Angry and stoic. Sakura smiled a she thought of how Naruto would look up there; happy, smiling, defintely brightening up the room.

Tsunade cleared her throat, and Sakura realized how long she had been staring.

"Sorry, I was just..."

Tsunade followed her gaze, which led to the portrait of the Fourth Hokage.

"That guy... that's Yondaime-sama?"

Tsunade smiled and nodded.

"Handsome, isn't he?"

Sakura nodded. He... was probably the best-looking one up there (besided the beautiful Tsunade).

"So... that's what he looks like? I'd only seen him up on Hokageyama. He looks... a lot like Naruto, actually."

Another smile, from both females.

"He does. They actually have quite a bit in common."

(Like blood.)

Sakura cocked her head and looked at her master briefly, her gaze returning to the Fourth's.

"Really? He looks really pissed."

Tsunade closed her eyes, shaking her head and smiling.

"No. He was quite lively, actually. He brought youth to the village. His alias... was Konoha's Yellow Flash. Bright and alive..."

There was a somber tone to the woman's voice. Had he lived through that...

"Bright and alive, eh...? You couldn't tell from the picture."

"Being declared Hokage gives you a sense of duty... responsibility... maturity.... Naruto's picture would end up looking like that, too. The job changes people, Sakura. Feh, I used to be young," she joked. Sakura giggled.

"Yes. But I cannot see Naruto ever having that look on his face, especially not if he was taking his Hokage picture!"

Tsunade laughed along with he student. She was most likely right.

The laughter died down soon enough.

"So... a date with Sasuke, eh?"

"Yep! Can't wait!"

Though she would never say it aloud, Tsunade despisedthe Uchiha boy for, not only causing her student so much pain and stress, but doing the same to Naruto. Uchiha were always bad news.

"Is... something wrong, Tsunade-sama?"

She raised her gaze to Sakura's slowly, not blinking. She looked her dead in the eyes.

"Be careful with him, Sakura."

Before Sakura could say anything, Tsunade stood up.

"I have work to get back to."

She left her student in the room alone.

As the sun continued to coast across the sky, and as the day grew older, Sakura's conscience continued to gnaw at her.

What does that mean?

However, she never really got a chance to analyze.

The sky darkened, and Sakura returns home to freshen up before the date.

She pouts into the mirror, glaring regrettably at her hair. It was so nondescript.

Plain...

She decided to tie it up.

Donning her prettiest dress and best hairstyle, Sakura stepped out into the cool evening air.

She got to the restaurant a little early, so it was no surprise he hadn't shown up yet.

But minutes grew slowly into hours... no Sasuke in sight.

He hadn't stood her up, had he?