Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, except for the undying love for this ship, my OTP.

A/N: I'm more than happy to announce this year's series of short stories for Tumblr's Sasusaku Month 2015! This year, I think I'll try a different formula than last time and write shorter drabbles, but I hope to succeed on more days than in 2014. So… I hope you'll stay with me through our favorite month of the year! Please enjoy! :)

SASUSAKU MONTH 2015

Day 1 – MATCHMAKER

"Do you think he'll be back from the mission?" Ino's voice got to her through a thick curtain of thoughts and it was only the question that made her come back to the reality of the labyrinth of doubts inside her own head. The two were sat in an office in the Children's Mental Healthcare Clinic, one of the few places undisturbed by the hospital's usual noises, like the patients' lively voices, the best signs of their states' improvement, or the nurses' invaluable hard work the medic ninjas just could never thank them enough for. Sakura shifted in her seat and tried to send her sleepiness away with a swift movement of brushing a few pink wisps away from her eyes.

"You mean... Sasuke-kun..?" the kunoichi replied carefully, not meeting her friend's expectant gaze but being able to note, out of the corner of her eye, the annoyance in the other's posture and quick tapping of lean fingers on the desk's top. Ino stood up suddenly and walked to the bookcase to fetch some new necessary data, her long, glossy ponytail waving behind her and over the curves of her body alongside the skirt she was wearing sweeping the floor with the smooth turn she made to return to their working place. Sakura couldn't deny her own looks had also changed for the better, with the years that had passed, but the amount of classical beauty Ino had was, in her own opinion, never to be obtained by her.

"Of course! Do you think he'll come home to the hanami festival this year?" the Yamanaka heir pressed impatiently, briskly leafing through the files but never taking her eyes off Sakura, who forced herself to look into the sky-blue pools. After a short while of a stare fight, the pink-haired kunoichi turned back to the forms she'd been filling in for the past hour or so.

"He will..." she whispered, even more to convince herself than to answer the question, "I'm sure he will..."

X

"Bye, Sakura-chan! See you there, right?" Naruto was grinning at her all the way until she rounded the corner and him and Hinata were no longer able to watch her go back to her house. It was mere moments before that she'd been forced out of the hospital by the blond hurricane grumbling loudly about how rest was needed for the best medic ninja in the village (he stubbornly claimed that even better than Tsunade, but Sakura wasn't so sure) and how she had no choice but to join everybody at the annual sakura flowers adoration (even more so because of her name!).

She sighed at her friend's obstinacy, she still had plenty of time to prepare, after all! However, Sakura couldn't help but smile, lazily stomping step by step through the sunlit street and seeing the villagers dressed in beautiful, colorful kimonos, excited and cheerful, greeting their close ones on the way to the numerous flower watching points organized all over Konoha.

A small girl in a particularly pretty, creamy-orange outfit with tiny white ume petals painted on the material run happily through the street but just when she was about to pass Sakura, she tripped and fell on the ground, scratching her hands and dirtying the kimono.

"It's ok, I'll heal this for you. Please don't cry," the young woman came up to the child and smiled even wider just for the cause of cheering her up, wiping a few tears away from it's face and placing a glowing palm above two tiny fists with droplets of blood on their insides. Just a few seconds of treatment and there was no sign of the injury ever even present. The girl gasped in wonderment and giggled, wrapping her arms around her new favorite doctor's neck and letting herself be picked up from the ground.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry!" an older woman appeared beside the two, visibly upset and looking from Sakura to the child with wrinkles of worry on her forehead that Sakura found absolutely unnecessary to be staining her noble features. "Thank you so much, young lady," she bowed her head in respect when the girl freed herself from her savior's grip and run to the older woman's side, grabbing her grandmother's hand.

"No, no, it's nothing, really!" Sakura tried to object but the woman wouldn't listen.

"Are you going to the hanami festival..?" she asked suddenly, eyeing the young woman's casual working clothes and frowning, seeming to be forming a plan of some kind in her head that Sakura had no clue of what it could be. Upon hearing a confirmatory response, her face lit up with a smile making her eyes glow happily and before she knew it, Sakura was being dragged behind her to the woman's house with small Hiroko bouncing around them, humming a joyful child tune of some kind.

X

Delicate pinkish petals whirled gracefully in the air of the warm afternoon. Sakura walked through the park, partially searching for her friends but mostly stuck whole in the magical atmosphere of her favorite festival of the year. Her steps careful, she didn't want to ruin Mrs. Uchida's kindest efforts. It had appeared that Hiroko's grandmother was a well-known kimono maker and, to show her gratitude for helping her granddaughter, she'd decided to lend Sakura one of her finest pieces of art of traditional clothing.

The kimono was simply breathtaking and the kunoichi still couldn't believe she was lucky enough to be awarded with such an honor, moreover, for doing the right thing and addressing her responsibilities as a medical ninja. The soft, navy-blue material rustled with the smallest moves she made, adding further to the dignified feeling of that day's celebration. Big, rosy flowers were decorating the sleeves and the neckline and a crimson-red obi belted Sakura's slim waist. Mrs. Uchida had insisted on pining her hair up by her own, experienced hands and the kunoichi also held a thin paper fan to add to the traditional look.

When she'd been allowed to look at herself in the mirror, Sakura had almost not recognized herself, so different she looked from common days. Usually, she wore what was most comfortable and practical but on that special occasion, she truly felt like a honorable princess of the flowers whose beauty was being celebrated.

And so, her surroundings and her appearance were two things that kept her mind occupied, but they weren't, by no means, what bothered her the most. Out of the clinic and free of work, she had more than enough time to sink into the lane of thoughts she'd been trying to suppress for the longest time of longing, every day since he'd walked out of the village to help in a particularly difficult task in the Land of Iron… She hadn't even had enough time to relish in his presence after he'd come back, having succeeded in finding his road for redemption, and he'd had to go away once again! But then again, it wasn't like any amount of time before parting ways would have been enough to protect her from the ache…

But those were the things of the past right now and the presence nagged her with a question of another kind…

Was Sasuke-kun going to make it to the celebration, after all..?

X

Her hands gripped the wooden bridge's barrier while Sakura's eyes plunged themselves in the picture of light rays reflecting in the rapid flow of the stream's crystal-clean water. Leaving the people's noise of talking and laughing, she took a break from Ino's envious glances at her kimono and joining in her friends' joy to reflect on the smudge of nostalgia inside of her. The sun was setting and she was slowly losing all what was left of the hope she'd harbored for the day.

Sakura understood. It was probably that something very important had happened. Something that made him unable to finish the mission just yet.

She shook her head shortly and smiled, ignoring how hard it was to do with her throat tightening dangerously. But she'd learnt not to be overcome by such symptoms. She'd be back to her normal, cheerful self in a minute. She just needed some space to gather the strength. She just…

"Sakura…" Her head jerked up at the sound so familiar and so awaited that she almost didn't know if her heart would be able to stand the force of the wave of warmth that flooded it just because of that simple one word coming from his mouth.

She turned around slowly, cautiously, almost as if she was afraid he'd disappear if she moved too quickly, like a good dream one wanted to prolong after awaking.

Sasuke stood at the base of the bridge, simple, black yukata with red obi and a large Uchiha crest on the back. His face was calm and collected, like always, but what she noticed and what brought her happiness as long back as after the war was the peace of mind reflecting in the features she loved and which were inseparable from the man she'd given her heart to long before. This state of mind was the only thing she'd always wanted for him, hurting and full of demons from the past…

The man's eyes never left hers but, this time, it wasn't only affection of quite an unreadable kind she was able to see in the obsidian orbs, but also… Admiration..?

Sasuke walked up to her and with every step, she felt her heart slow down its tense pace she'd become so familiar with for all those years. When the unmistakable smell of storm and flame teased her nostrils, she couldn't help but let a smile onto her face, the brightest, most sincere expression of sorts in years, with her cheeks colored pink and small tears of emotion appearing in the corners of her eyes.

He was there. He came back for her, on the day of the hanami festival.

Sasuke had promised he would, after all.

ZJeM, 28.06.15

From author:

So, I'm not sure who, or what, is the matchmaker in this story – the kimono, the festival or maybe Mrs. Uchida..? Please decide for yourself, if you want! ;)

Sakura's outfit was taken straight from the most beautiful Sakura badge I've ever seen and that, thanks to Watcon 3, I'm a proud owner of. 3

Please let me know what you think, it's double the fun with kind readers reviewing! ;)

THANKS FOR READING!