Haha, you'll figure it out soon enough... Um, at least I hope so. :O
Waking up in the mornings was never a pleasant part of Sasuke's routine, but he had long since accustomed to it. He yawned as he opened his window to let in some clean air. Through the opening the quietly bustling streets of Konoha were bright and cheerful. A direct contrast to the mood of room's inhabitant.
"Damn it!" He cursed as he stubbed his toe getting breakfast. Cradling his injured foot, he muttered under his breath about late sensei's and stupid early training. Minutes passed, Uchihas were fed, and clothes were hastily shoved on. Sasuke burst through the apartment door fully prepared, though mildly harried, for a full day of training and D-rank missions. Which he also muttered about as he made his way through the winding streets of his hometown.
"Oi! Teme!" A loud, brash voice sounded, much to Sasuke's dejection.
"What, dobe?" He growled as the loud blonde ran up to walk beside him. Naruto was definitely not the person he wanted to see on a morning so aggravating as this. Well, it was a normal morning, but all mornings were aggravating as far as the Uchiha was concerned.
"I dunno, I just saw you walking and assumed I should join, 'cause we're teammates and all." The boy shrugged. Sasuke very much wanted to roll his eyes, but that was beneath him. A few moments of silence, then--"So.... is this the way you normally take? To get to the bridge and all?" Trust the dobe to not be able to shut his yap more than twenty seconds.
"No. My usual way was blocked by construction."
"Ah, I see. I kind of figured, on account of me never seeing you on my way to training and all." Naruto tapped his chin thoughtfully. Well, it would have been thoughtful had he not screwed up his face into what Sasuke assumed he considered a 'thinking position'. The Uchiha was just beginning to enjoy the silence when the dobe had to interrupt it again. "You must live near that weird office building. You know, the one with the fruit stand in front of it?"
Sasuke neither confirmed nor denied this, though inwardly he was surprised that Naruto had figured this out. The only times he had ever mentioned his apartment was when he was so irritated at Kakashi's late excuses that he argued that his apartment was further from the meeting point than said copy-nin's flat, and this conversation. He was still wondering how his supposedly dumb teammate had ciphered this, all the while ignoring said teammate's one-sided conversation, when they reached the bridge. Oh, how time flies when you're listening to a moron.
Out of habit, Sasuke braced himself for the constant flirting always displayed by his other teammate. Slightly perturbed when this failed to occur, he looked around.
"Hey, teme, wheres Sakura?" Naruto voiced Sasuke's thoughts.
"... I don't know. What do you think?" He decided to humor the other boy, if only to amuse himself.
"Maybe she got abducted by aliens! Oh my gosh, I knew something was wrong with that box I saw her with at the market! It must have been a mind-control device! Oh, poor, innocent Sakura in the hands of those evil bug-eyed freaks!"
"..." Then again, sometimes it was just best to stay out of other's business. Tuning Naruto out, he absentmindedly wondered just where Sakura could be. Probably getting her hair done, or something useless like that. ...Why do girls like that anyways? They should just do something useful, like train, if they have so much free time. That's probably why Sakura's so weak. She should just train more in general. It'd definitely help on missions, sort of. ...Where is she anyways?
Time also flies when you're wondering where your teammate is. Their silver-haired sensei appeared in a puff of smoke, waving. "Yo." Scanning the area suspiciously due to the lack of yelling/berating/overall irate kunoichis, he asked cautiously, "Naruto, where's Sakura?"
Said boy ran up to their sensei, wailing. "She got abducted by aliens! Oh, Kakashi! It's horrible! First the mind-control, now this! When will they stop?" Naruto collapsed to the ground in sheer mental agony.
"... Okay then. Sasuke, where's Sakura?" Kakashi tactfully avoided stepping on his blonde student as he walked towards the Uchiha.
"I don't know." He answered honestly.
"Hmm..." Their sensei stroked the part of his mask where presumably his chin was hidden. "This is odd. Normally she's not late." He eyed Sasuke, who was focusing on not strangling his teammate for being so loud. "Anything... happen lately? That could make her want to skip?"
"Not that I know of." Why was Kakashi-sensei looking at him so suspiciously?!
"Perhaps we should check her house. It's possible she overslept. Training was a bit earlier to-"
"I'm here!" The girl in question ran up from behind Sasuke, forcing him to turn in order to see who was calling. "Sorry for being late, sensei." She huffed, resting her hands on her knees as she panted, obviously having sprinted from wherever she'd been.
"It's fine, Sakura. Just don't let it happen again."
"Thank you, sensei." Sakura finally caught her breath as she straightened up and flashed her teacher a grateful smile.
"Don't mention it." He turned his attention to the running yellow mass that catapulted itself at his female student.
"SAKURA-CHAN! You made me so worried! I thought those aliens had gotten to you! With that box you had yesterday and-"
"That's enough!" Sakura interrupted, her face red. From running or something else, Sasuke could not guess.
Frowning, he tried to sate his curiosity. "Where were you?" He questioned the girl, fully expecting an adequate explanation, and perhaps some request for a date.
What he did not expect, though, was for her to snap, "None of your damn business!" and stomp after Kakashi, who had begun walking towards the training grounds. Quite confused, he ignored Naruto's relieved chatter and followed suit, wondering why exactly the fangirl he knew was being so... un-fangirly.
At the training grounds, Kakashi had them all run some laps, then a few quick spars. Pretty basic training, they had been doing it every other morning in alteration with early missions. The only difference today was that the female counterpart of their team ran ahead, completely avoiding the object of her affections. Regardless of this strange behavior, Sasuke was somewhat surprised when, in the middle of Naruto's and his spar, he heard Sakura cry out in pain. He looked over towards his sensei and his sparring partner. When Kakashi proved to be as clueless as the Uchiha himself, the Uchiha in question glanced at the girl. She was clutching her abdominal area in discomfort. Perhaps she failed to block a kick?
The Copy-nin soon appeared by her side, talking in a low tone that Sasuke couldn't discern. After a whispered conversation, Sakura left.
"What was that about?" He voiced his curiosity. If Sakura was injured, shouldn't Kakashi have taken her to the hospital himself? It was general procedure for her to have an escort, no matter how trivial the injury may be.
"Nothing to worry over. Continue your spar." The gray-haired man shrugged it off, seemingly unconcerned. The two remaining students exchanged glances, but otherwise followed through on their orders.
In the back of Sasuke's mind, he pondered over the slight crease between the brows that marred his sensei's face as he read his book.
The distress proved to be for nothing, though, as the pink-haired teammate silently returned, an hour or two later, just in time to go to Hokage Tower with the rest of them to retrieve a mission.
Not wishing to be yelled at again, the Uchiha didn't question just where she had been. Instead, he faced the Hokage as missions were offered.
"There's a communal garden that needs some tending to out near the woods-" Iruka began, eager to get Naruto out of the Tower and away from the piles of paperwork that were so delicately stacked with care.
"Would you mind if I were to request a mission near a more... urban setting?" Kakashi interrupted. Sasuke stifled his look of surprise. His sensei had never requested a specific type of mission before. Did this have to do with Sakura's outburst?
"Uh, sure. You could help out the Inuzuka's dog kennel. A few workers are out for a funeral."
"We'll take it." Again, Sasuke wondered why his sensei was acting so strangely.
"Gah!" Naruto 'gah'-ed as a puppy made to rip his nose off. "What the hell are you doing, you crazy animal?!"
Kakashi looked up from his novel. "Naruto, you should treat the dogs with more respect. The more you respect them, the less likely they are to try to maim you." He lazily turned a page.
Another odd thing. Usually, Kakashi ditched first thing when the team was assigned a mission involving patience and gentle precision. A thing that every member lacked. Even more oddly, Sakura was not yelling at Naruto for "being an idiot".
Not that Sasuke missed the extra noise, it was just unsettling that she was acting so differently. Not once had she talked to him, and not once had she even looked at him, instead opting to glance at the clock every few minutes. Sometimes she grimaced, and Kakashi would look up, and occasionally pat her head. That was probably the strangest thing of all. He'd never thought Kakashi and Sakura's relationship to be... almost familial. But there he was, seeing his sensei offer a banana to his teammate, insisting that she needed it.
Heck, even Naruto noticed something was up. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei, why're you acting so nice to Sakura? Is she bribing you with porn or something?"
"Naruto! No I'm not! How dare you suggest that?!" Sakura pounded her antagonist's head to the ground. Well, one thing hadn't changed. Or... had it?
Sasuke watched in absolute disbelief as Sakura helped up the blonde idiot, tears welling in her eyes. "Oh, Naruto... I'm so sorry! I didn't... I... I'm so sorry! I'm always so mean to you! Oh, Naruto!" She cried as she squeezed the living daylights out of the bewildered boy. "I'll never hit you again! I swear! I'm so sorry!"
"It's... Okay... Sakura-chan..." Naruto croaked as he suffocated. That girl was really strong when she wanted to be.
"Sakura, it's okay. I think he understands. Would you like a break while you calm yourself down?" Kakashi offered gently as he pulled her away. Sakura nodded shakily, still sniffling, then turned around to hug her sensei. The uncanny thing was, he let her, before quietly suggesting that she wash her face in the bathroom.
If Sasuke wasn't confused before, he sure as hell was now.
Days passed, and Sakura's strange behavior kept up. What the hell was going on lately, he really just did not know. One day her Uchiha teammate even spotted her at the park speaking with Yamanaka Ino and Hyuuga Neji. Naturally, he didn't really care either way for the first one, but the latter of her acquaintances...
"Sakura." Sasuke frowned, appearing before the trio.
Ino cheered brightly, "Sasuke-kun!" but did not make any move towards the boy in question.
"Ah.... Sasuke..." Sakura looked away, towards the Hyuuga's feet.
"...Uchiha." Said Hyuuga greeted icily.
They stood there in silence. Actually, Sakura and Ino were leaning against a tree trunk, with Neji somewhat hovering over them, but close enough.
"... Is there a reason you're here, Sasuke?" His teammate asked gingerly, but with a slight warning tone.
"Just curious as to what you're doing. You've been acting oddly lately. It's been a hindrance to our team." And he was. Curious, that is.
Sakura made to answer hotly, unfolding her arms from around her waist in preparation for some sort of pain Sasuke really did not want to experience, but Yamanaka beat her to the punch. "None of your business, Sasuke! Leave Sakura alone, if all you want is to pry into her personal life and insult her!" The suddenly enraged blonde spat.
Sasuke blinked. He had.... never been spoken to like that by a fangirl, at least not by this particular fangirl. Looking at the girl's fuming face, he pondered why exactly Yamanaka was so touchy about Sakura. Maybe this thing had something to do with Ino? Walking away slowly (he could sense when he was not wanted) Sasuke heard Neji's nonchalant voice.
"Hn. Uchiha. Anyways, Sakura-san, about those particular pains..."
What in the world...?
The mystery just got deeper.
Finishing his shower, Sasuke made his way to his room, thoughts full of his latest puzzle. It was almost like an obsession, actually. He just needed to know what was happening to his teammate.
Though he would never admit it, Sasuke began taking a mental log of the girl's peculiar behavior, because even if it wasn't life-threatening, it was really bothering him. So far, he had-
Moody, violent, in some sort of pain, Kakashi knows about it, for some reason is better or easier to deal with in an urban setting, and has to do with Yamanaka and Hyuuga. Well, that last part may be debatable, but at the very least, they know something about it.
Even having it (mentally) laid out in front of him, he still could not understand just what was going on with Haruno Sakura. Does she have a kekkei genkai? No, she comes from a civilian family, it can't be that... Did somebody die recently? But why would she be in physical pain from that? She doesn't seem depressed at all, either, so it's not that... Maybe an injury? Why keep that a secret?.... Something doesn't add up.... Why do I even care? It's not like I'm... worried... Am I? Am I worried about her? Why? Because she's my teammate? Is that why? No, as long as it didn't affect me, I wouldn't care, if she was just a teammate. Maybe this is because.... I think of her as.... a friend?
Sasuke stopped short, in the middle of his hallway. He'd never acknowledged anybody as a real... friend, since the night of the massacre. Naruto, well, obviously, seeing as he was just too insistent and it was just easier to let him break through the barrier, but... Sakura. Now there's a different thought.
Friends.... Look out for each other, right? They did that, her even overly so. They also try to help each other. She did that, and even if he was a bit tenacious in regards to his pride, he did do things with her growth in mind. Almost, like he was trying to guide her to the right answer. In hindsight, perhaps he did think of her more as a friend, rather than an ally of convenience. A... friend. His second real friend. A slight smile graced the Uchiha's lips. Well, that was enlightening. But what now? I still don't know what's wrong with her. He frowned again. Maybe the answer would come tomorrow.
Waiting for his lazy sensei to show up was like waiting in line for a shot- you wanted it to be over with, and be done for the day, but they always take so damn long. Luckily, even though the universe was still out of whack, time still flies when listening to a moron.
Not expecting anybody for at least a while, the Uchiha was idly twirling a kunai around his finger, trying to make sense of what Naruto was saying.
"-and so then she said 'I'm sorry I've been so moody' and I said 'It's alright, now that I understand. I was worried, Sakura-chan, it was like you were an alien!'-" Whoa, there, hold on! What was that about Sakura?! Sasuke listened in more carefully now. "And she said 'Yeah, I was pretty out of it, and I apolo-"
"Naruto! I told you not to tell anybody!" A familiar voice rang out. Sasuke turned to see Sakura rushing to cover his other teammate's mouth. "You baka! That's personal, not even you were supposed to find out!"
"But why's it such a big deal that you got your-"
"SHUT UP! Please, Naruto.... please..." She pleaded. Naruto looked skeptical, but stayed quiet nonetheless. Damn it! He was about to day it, too! Now I'll never know!
Kakashi finally showed up and training went on as usual. Usual, as in, before the whole Sakura incident.
Afterwards, Uchiha Sasuke was turning to leave, when-
"Ne, Sasuke-kun... Sorry for my strange behavior. It's no big deal, I'm sorry for worrying you."
"Hn. Who says I was worried?" He left, a scowl in place.
Haruno Sakura smiled softly, whispering gently, "Thanks anyways..."
Well, this must have happened at SOME point, considering their ages.
I don't know, I just thought this could be fun to write about. You know, because it must have been damn confusing for her teammates while she was all mood-swing-y.
Poor, poor Sakura. Those cramps hurt like a ... *inappropriate word.... /rant*
Please review! :)