Hey people! This is my new Sasu/Saku! I just posted a new chapter to "birthday kiss" and should be coming very soon with something from "is this really love". I should also stop posting so many fics or I'll be over my head.
Disclaimer: Don't on Naruto.
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Sakura heard the news all around konoha that day. She first heard it coming from the whispering mouths of two gossiping old ladies. She just rolled her eyes and moved on, not thinking much of it. She had gotten a tip off from Shizune that an old herb collector had found a very rare and powerful healing herb off the border of Konoha. The herb was good for almost any medicine and was said to double the effects of healing when used properly; she wasn't about to pass up such an opportunity for such a trivial matter as gossip. But she couldn't help but hear snippets of whispered conversations slipping past the creases between the fingers of her fellow villagers' hands. She finally gave in and eavesdropped on four konoha kunoichi who seemed to be giggling a fair amount. They were situated by the corner of a food stand and Sakura made herself look busy by looking at the carrots.
"It's him, Sasuke Uchiha!" Exclaimed an excited redhead.
"Well, did you see him?"
"Well… No, but Kiki did!" The redhead squealed. "Go ahead, tell them what you saw Kiki!" She gestured to the tallest of the four girls.
"Well, there was a big crowd, right around the Hokage office, so I peeked my head over," the three other girls snickered, "Stop that!" They all stopped. "Anyways, all I saw was the back of his head as a few ANBU escorted him up the stairs towards the Hokage's tower." She finished.
"Were the ANBU taking him as their prisoner?" Asked a pinch faced blond.
"Not that I know of… They actually looked really excited about seeing him." Kiki responded.
"Did he look good?"
"I don't know!" Kiki yelled, but Sakura wasn't interested in their argument, she headed straight for Ichiraku Ramen where she would find Naruto and ask him if the gossip was true, he would be the first to know and if he didn't, it would be a good idea to tell him what she had heard.
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Sakura spotted her destination and instantly recognized a small speck of blond hair, poking out from the restaurant side. Her fast walk became a slow jog and then evolved into a full run. Ichiraku ramen became larger and larger as she grew closer and then finally became a size bigger than herself as she stood next to it. She heard the unmistakable sound of Naruto slurping up his noodles and babbling on about who knows what to the ramen waitress.
"Naruto," She panted. Naruto whirled around and gave a quizzical look regarding as to why she was in such a rush. "They keep on saying it…" Naruto creased his brow. "HE'S BACK! SASUKE'S BACK!" She yelled.
Naruto jumped out of his stool, disregarding his ramen as if it were the last thing he ever wished to see. "What?" It was a dimwitted response but Sakura would've found herself saying the same thing if someone had broken the news to her in the same way.
"The villagers, they keep on saying it. They say that Sasuke is at the Hokage's tower right now!" Sakura exclaimed, the beating of her heart pushed the words out of her mouth a little too fast. Never once in her life had she felt so many emotions at once. It wasn't like the time when Sasuke left and all she could feel was sorrow. It was more confusing this time. She could have felt sad, happy, scared. She didn't know what to feel.
Naruto grabbed her hand immediately and dragged her onto the street, towing her towards the general direction of the Hokage tower. She didn't need his hand on hers but he kept on pulling her and she was only glad to comply. As the two raced towards the tower, people turned their heads in confusion.
"Hey! Watch where you're going," came the shouts and bellows from shopkeepers and shoppers. Sakura didn't stop to apologize; neither did Naruto. Sakura couldn't even recognize the shouting; all she could hear was a quickened yet steady, "Thump, thump" in her ears.
The pair made a sharp turn for Tsunade's work place and sprinted up the stairs. They ran down the familiar halls and finally reached the Hokage office. Without even a knock, they both barged into the room. Sakura leaned her hand on the wall as a support so she could catch her breath. When she felt well enough to stand on her own without collapsing, she looked around the room.
Tsunade sat at her desk not looking one bit angry or surprised in the least. Sakura respected her sensei for understanding the rude entrance. She inched her gaze towards Shizune who was standing behind Tsunade. She looked a little mad, but that was understandable. Kakashi-sensei stood in the far corner of the room, looking as if he had died and gone to heaven (probably because Sasuke was back) and Jiraya stood nearer the desk with one of his rarer serious expressions. The room was a mix of different emotions that all seemed to have been rolled up into one when Sakura had first heard the news that day.
She searched the room for that familiar stance, that familiar stoic expression that she used to ogle at in her pre-teen years. She spotted him, in the middle of the room looking at her with his piercing eyes. It was almost alarming to feel them on her face, to know that they saw her, that Sasuke saw her. She wondered what she looked like; confident, smart, annoying… She found herself plunging for him as tears spilled from her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his middle, while her knees rested on the ground and her face pressed into his stomach, stifling her sobs.
The old Sakura was pouring out in her every action. She hugged him like she used to when she was either worried or scared for him. She realized that this hug was no different from the others as it was one-sided; Sasuke hadn't budged, he just stood there. She sobbed for a couple of seconds more when she felt a pat on her back. She found herself cheering up now that Sasuke had made a gesture of kindness towards her but turned to see Naruto who was attempting to comfort her. She stood up and nuzzled her tearstained face into her best friends neck as he wrapped his arms around her.
Once Sakura had calmed down, she realized her embarrassing mistake and sat down on the sofa in the corner of the room with Naruto to listen to the discussion that had been taking place before they had arrived. She felt her cheeks warm in embarrassment as she watched everyone resume their discussion.
Tsunade was currently telling Sasuke that he was not to be punished because he had killed off three S ranked criminals in the time he was gone. She thanked him but of course reassured him that he would be doing only D and C ranked missions within the village until he proved he was here to stay. When the meeting was over and Sasuke had been given the terms as to which he would live by, Tsunade asked Sasuke and Sakura to stay behind. Sakura fidgeted with her black skirt at her place on the sofa. Sasuke pulled up one of the chairs so that the two were on the opposite ends of the room. Tsunade who remained at her desk looking a little annoyed as she eyed the door as if expecting something.
After a few moments of awkward silence, there came a knock at the door and Shizune popped her head through the door. "There is an urgent message from the council."
"Coming! Sasuke, Sakura, you both wait here," She marched off, looking a little proud of herself with a slight smirk on her face.
Sakura looked up to see Sasuke looking the other way. It wasn't the type of determined effort that people usually had in awkward situations. He looked away in genuine disinterest. It was as if Tsunade and Shizune hadn't planned this whole thing to get the two of them alone, and Sakura knew that Sasuke had noticed that, he wasn't stupid after all, he just didn't care!
"I'm sorry about earlier," she sputtered out awkwardly.
He sighed, "Sakura, it's only what I expected from you." Sakura cringed a little at his words. She looked away defiantly; only looking forward to the minute Tsunade re-entered the room. Nothing had changed. No. It was by far worse than it had been before. At least the old Sasuke had demonstrated some sort of humanity.
"I missed you," she couldn't bear to face him while she said it. There could still be hope for him and her. After all, he had come back. He was probably putting his old life behind him and was ready to start a new one. Sakura herself couldn't picture Sasuke choosing another woman over herself. Even if he didn't love her he would probably marry her just to restore his clan. After all, Sakura was the girl that was always there for him before. She knew about the secret curse on his neck, and kept it a secret. She recalled when he was in a coma due to his meeting with Itachi. She had stayed with him as long as the hospital visiting hours permitted and maybe even longer. She couldn't remember a time that she had ever left him alone when he was in need. She always did what was in her power to help him.
She looked up to see his reaction to her truthful words, but he was still looking away. "Why can't you just say something? Anything! I waited for you for five years Sasuke! I never thought of anyone else in those years! Ever since the day you left… I felt empty, why can't you see that? Please!" She looked his way desperately. "Say something! Make me whole again!" She begged.
The door opened to reveal Tsunade. Sakura abruptly regained her composure. Tsunade still noticed there was something amiss so she sent Sakura home to take the day off, telling her that she would send Shikamaru to search for the special herbs she needed instead.
Sakura was escorted to the door by Tsunade and left to go find Naruto so he could comfort her. She had never felt so weak and vulnerable in her life. Especially these last five years of her life. She was an accomplished healer whose skills rivaled Tsunade herself. She could use her fist to break the ground but she couldn't face a silly boy.
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Once Sakura had left the office, Tsunade turned around to see Sasuke, sitting in the very same position he had been in when she had left the room only 20 minutes before. She strode to her desk, sat down, and faced him.
"I am very interested in your new goal Sasuke, and was wondering on your progress. Our village could definitely see some new Uchihas running around. It definitely takes me back to when your clan was at its prime. How are you doing on that goal Sasuke?" She asked him out of sheer curiosity. She was just as curious as everyone else in this village.
"I have already begun," he replied. Tsunade's eyes widened in surprise, "how?" was the only word that came to mind.
"I have a wife… And she's pregnant."
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DRAMA!!! Anyways, hope you enjoy. I've had this idea in my head for a while now, and then yesterday I read a sad one-shot that just pushed me into writing it. I've been getting sick of all the fics where Sasuke comes back, falls in love with Sakura and all is happy. I wanted to read an angst filled story. Well not too much angst…