Hi, this is a little story I made, inspired by the phenomenal Earth hour event. It's not going to be too long, I want to keep it short and sweet :)
Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine (D'uh)
Chapter 1: This is the hour
Twenty-two years old Haruno Sakura tapped her hands against her bag impatiently as she waited for the elevator doors to open.
Earlier, she had been in the middle of drowning herself in the sea of medical textbooks when she received Naruto's text message.
'Sakura-chaan I have something important to show you! Meet me at the observatory tower at around 8.15 ish! It's really important! I promise that I won't bug you for food for the rest of the year if you come! Really REAAAALLY important! Don't be late!'
It was so typical of Naruto to put exclamation marks after every sentence. The pink haired girl had sighed as she looked at the watch on her nightstand. '7.30', she had said to herself. She knew that could make it on time if she leaves in 5 minutes and took the train. She was actually relieved to read Naruto's message because any excuse for her to be ridding herself from the awe-inspiring wonders of neurology would suffice. Plus, she had always loved the observatory.
So here she was, waiting for the elevator to come down to the ground floor. If there were something that she lacked, that something would be patient. She hated waiting for any sort of public transportation to come or for her exam results to come out. She hated waiting and that was mainly because of a certain someone who left the city of Konoha for almost five years. When that certain someone left, Sakura waited for him for two years without him giving her news, messages or even a simple phone call.
"Okay, that's it. I'm taking the stairs," she said out loud. She rushed over to the emergency stairs' door and when her hand reached the handle, she realized that it was locked. "Damn it!" she cursed, banging both of her hands on to the door.
'TING!'
"Oh thank god," she sighed in relief upon hearing the sound of the elevator doors opening. She quickly pressed the button for 'Observatory Deck', which was located on level 50. She then quickly cursed herself for being stupid for even considering taking on the stairs.
Tapping her fingers on the metal bars inside the elevator, she looked at the floor numbers on the elevator screen going impressively fast. When it finally reached the deck, she stepped out of the elevator and called out Naruto's name.
There was no one at the observatory deck, at least none in her sight. "Naruto, where the hell are you?" she shouted one more time, this time walking around the two pillars in the room.
"Naruto, I swear if yo-"
Her sentence was cut short right after she saw a tall, dark-haired men leaning casually against one of the pillars in the deck. He looked infuriatingly gorgeous wearing only jeans and a casual grey shirt. Yet, he was the least person she wanted to see, at least for now.
Sasuke.
"Great," she exclaimed, hands on her hips, "Is this your doing? Did you manage to bribe Naruto and told him to send me a text message?"
Sasuke turned his face around to meet hers. "Really, don't flatter yourself Sakura."
"Why should I? Why should I flatter myself after you humiliated me in front of Takeshi and acted like a complete jerk, although I've always thought that you've maxed out your jerk level on a daily basis anyway!"
"I was telling the truth, Sakura. I just didn't want you getting hurt!" Sasuke's voice started to rose.
"Well you sure have a real mature way of handling things Sasuke. And who are you anyway? Thinking that you can protect me!?"
Sasuke couldn't reply. He didn't think Sakura would believe him if he told her the reason why he said all those things. His fist clenched in anger and frustration.
"Aah… no reply. Why am I not surprised? Mr. Uchiha I'm-too-good-to-be speaking-with-you Sasuke," she laughed sarcastically, "This is a joke, I'm leaving." She stomped her heels and head for the elevators.
Just as her index finger were about to touch the down button on the wall, the whole building, no… the whole city, went dark.
"What" Sakura yelped in surprise. She could hear Sasuke's footsteps rushing to her side.
"Fuck," she heard him say.
"What do you mean by 'fuck', Sasuke?" she whispered to him hoarsely. She didn't know why she suddenly decided to whisper, but having the whole room in complete darkness with only dimming moonlight shining them through the glass walls, she felt like whispering.
"What time is it now, Sakura?"
Sakura rummaged through her handbag to find her phone. She flipped it open and read the time, "It's 8.32, why does it matter?"
"It's Earth Hour today"
Sakura gasped in surprised and stuck her hand on to her forehead. "Oh my god, I completely forgot about that!"
"That means we're stuck here for at least one hour," Sasuke said, putting his hands into his pocket and walking back to lean on to one of the pillars.
Sakura rolled her eyes.
'Great… just great.'
***
One month ago
"Sakura-chaaaan"
Sakura took her eyes off the computer screen and found her best friend grinning at her.
"What do you want, Naruto? Hinata is not here today. You know her class is on tomorrow not today," she dismissed him and went back to her computer screen.
Sakura worked part-time at a pole dance studio as a receptionist. The reason why she took a job there was because not only that she received a good enough pay and free pole dance classes, she felt that it was a good hobby to have, to balance her stressful medicine degree.
Her best friend, Naruto, seemed to agree and gave his full support of Sakura working there. Which means that he gets to drop by in and out 'casually' to meet Hinata, who started joining the beginner's classes.
"Actually, I'm not there for that," Naruto said nervously.
"Oh," Sakura's eyebrows rose curiously, "why are you here then? To annoy me and get me fired?"
"I actually have news for you. I'm not sure if its bad or good, it depends on how you see it… or feel it," Naruto gulped.
Sakura tapped her pen anxiously, "Well, just tell me already!"
"Umm… Teme's back," he said
"Teme? As in Sasuke… teme?" she asked him, her heart started beating unsteadily.
"The one and only," Naruto replied.
Sakura put her pen down and slumped in her swiveling receptionist chair. She really didn't know how to feel or respond. "I don't know, Naruto," she said, biting her nails in the process. She knew this day would come but she never really thought that it would.
Sasuke left the city five years ago, leaving her hanging on the edge of relationship uncertainty for almost two years. He didn't call her or message her or send her any news of some sort for five years.
Sakura and Sasuke had gotten close, weeks before he left to tend to his 'family matters' overseas. But as soon as he flew outside of Konoha, Sakura and Naruto never heard of any news from him. Of course, they heard news of him, of his family corporation gaining an immense success, of Sasuke being, as AsiaWeek said, one of the 'Top 25 business people under 25 to watch."
The only thing he said to her was, "I'll come back. I'm not done with you, Sakura"
Sakura could feel her cheek blushing at the memory, but after she would try to remind herself that Sasuke did not bother keeping in touch with them at all after they left.
"You know what, Naruto?" Sakura said, suddenly standing up, "I'm going to act normally. I'm not going to run up to him and give him the biggest hug he doesn't deserve but I'm not going to act all bitter too."
"Well… okay," Naruto said. He knew Sakura too well. And if anything, she would be the least likely person on the planet to act all normal. Then again, she would be the most likely person on the planet to surprise him too. Sasuke's departure did leave her feeling mixed emotions and maybe she was numbed already. Naruto only hoped for the best.
"You see, Sakura-chan. I think you're going to meet him a little bit sooner than you might be expecting. He just enrolled himself to do an MBA at our uni. He's also one of the dragons now."
The dragons were the nickname given to the members of their university's martial arts team. They don't usually allow just anyone to walk in and be a member. There's a procedure that a future member must follow, one, which includes a semi-hazing event. But since its Uchiha Sasuke, Sakura wouldn't be surprised if they actually changed their team name to the Sasukes. He was that good in martial arts.
And Sakura, just happened to be in the dragon's medic team. She had grudgingly agreed to be their medic after Naruto's continuous whining and whimpering about how unqualified the first year medical students were at being their medic. "They could jeopardize the chances of us winning, Sakura chan!!" she remembered him say.
So how could she say no to her best friend. Especially when martial arts is something that Naruto is extremely passionate about.
But here she was, nervous for tomorrow, for tomorrow would be the practice day of the dragons and as the head of their medic, she had absolutely no reason to not show up.
"Thanks Naruto, that was really sweet of you to be concern about me," Sakura smiled sweetly. "But really, I can handle myself. I just need to get my act together!"
Naruto smiled, "That's good! I know you can do it Sakura-chaaan!" He then proceed to go behind the desk and gave his pink haired friend his velcro hug that she needed.
"Okay, you can go now! Shoo! I've got to give these students a call and ask for that unpaid course fees!"
Naruto gave her a wave and went out of the studio.
As soon as he is out of the studio, Sakura began hyperventilating.
"I need to break something…"
***
Uchiha Sasuke had always enjoyed a good fight. He had fought against Hyuuga Neji and won, not unscathed.
The Hyuuga was a formidable opponent; he could feel his abdomen stinging from where he received a blow from his opponent. He sat down on the floor of the sports hall, leaning his back on the bleachers.
He had always planned to go back to Konoha and after the spar that he just had with the Hyuuga, he knew that at least his move back to Konoha was worth it. None of the opponents he met while he was over at the States were nearly as competent as the member of the dragons.
However, Sasuke was also nervous about his moving back to Konoha. He had to admit that he was scared to face his problems. He was too busy to contact anyone during the first year after he moved. When he was about to contact his friends in Konoha the year after, he suppressed the urged to do so. He felt that it would be too awkward seeing that he didn't call them for a year. 'It's too late,' he had thought.
Haruno Sakura.
He remembered her being the cute 17 years old girl from the Konoha Girls high school. He remembered spending his last two weeks in Konoha being very close to the girl, mostly studying and making fun of Naruto. Sasuke wondered what she looked like now and how she's doing in life.
"OUCH!" he winced as he felt something extremely cold being smacked on to his wounded abdomen. He looked up from his abdomen and found himself staring at a pair of shining emerald eyes.
"Welcome back, Sasuke," she plainly said.
"Sakura…"
Her familiar smile was missing; nevertheless she looked mesmerizing as ever. Her pinkish blonde hair tied in a messy ponytail with wild strands of hair adorning her face. Her green eyes shining as always, while right now it was furiously looking at Sasuke's abdomen.
The said girl then pressed the ice pack that was already sitting on top of his stomach.
He winced.
'Mesmerizing and slightly annoying, as always', he grunted to himself.
"So how are you these days? I mean besides gracing the pages of weekly Asian magazines. What brought you back to this little town of Konoha?" she asked menacingly.
Sasuke pressed his lips together, "Konoha is a big city."
"I'm aware of the actual size of Konoha, Sasuke. It was merely an expression of words when I said it was little. Gosh, you haven't changed one bit," she said.
"You too," he replied. Sakura was as feisty and sassy as ever, albeit slightly sarcastic. Nonetheless, he, out of all people should understand her sardonic tone. He had left her in uncertainty and he won't blame her if she verbally abused him right here, right now on the bleachers.
'That sounds so wrong,' he thought.
Sakura rolled her eyes at his short replies. Apparently, he was still unable to participate in a full discussion and give her only one or two words answer. Hell if he can, she knows that he would give her the answers in abbreviation!
"Whatever, I'm now going to apply ointment to your leg. It will help alleviate the aches and pains of your muscle," she explained.
He nodded as he saw her fingers applied the ointment on to his calf, smoothing it out evenly and began to slowly massaging his legs. Sasuke tried his best to stifle a groan and to keep his eyes open, no matter how good and comfortable he was feeling.
'He suddenly felt a small jolt of pain when Sakura's finger reached the lower half of his right calf.
"Your muscle around the area here is really, really tight. I'm going to loosen them up but next time remember to give extra attention to your right leg when you warm up," she said.
He nodded slightly, not paying attention to the full meaning of her remark, instead he found himself looking at a curled strand of pinkish hair tucked behind her ears, down to her smooth long neck and finally to her chest, heaving up and down as she tried heartily to loosen his leg muscle.
Haruno Sakura had grown up.
There was, of course, still traces of her 17 years old self in her ferocious personality. But physically, she had grown into a real stunner.
"Sakura," he softly called, only to meet the icy gaze of the pink haired girl, "I need to talk to you about everything."
"Why?" she asked, looking down at her massaging fingers.
"Because I'm sorry. I really want you and Naruto, but most importantly… you, to hear my explanation," he said.
Sakura looked up and he saw a glint of sincerity in Sasuke's usually deep dark orbs. She couldn't help but be just a little bit tugged by it.
"All right, we'll have lunch after," she said.
Sasuke was relieved. He only hoped that she would understand his reasons, because as great as he was, one thing Uchiha Sasuke lacked was the ability to convey his thought into articulate words.
***
Sakura slipped into a small booth in one of her and her friends' favorite Izakaya. While waiting for Sasuke who was parking his car, she took the liberty of ordering food and drinks for the both of them.
The car ride on the way to the Izakaya was really really bad. The word 'awkward' would be a big understatement. Sakura decided that both she and Sasuke would need plenty of help from alcohol to help them get through the 'conversation'.
Soon, Sasuke slipped in front of her. "I'll get anything," he said, without even looking at the menu.
"Oh good, I've already ordered everything for us," she replied, "so, what do you want to say?"
Sasuke leaned back on his seat and folded his arms against his chest. "I was very busy…"
Sakura made sarcastic noise, much to Sasuke's dislike.
"…I'm not finished yet," he said firmly, "I was busy, both my parents were admitted into the hospital's intensive care unit for almost a year, me and Itachi were left to take care of the business…"
Sakura's gaze softened, "What happened to you parents, Sasuke?"
Sasuke moved closer to the table, resting his arms against it. "They got into an accident. Itachi was driving the car, he had injuries but nothing serious. But our parents had to stay in the hospital for a year and then recover for another year."
"Oh no…" Sakura murmured, her hands softly touching Sasuke's hands, "I'm really sorry. It' must have been hard for you."
Compassion was one of the most amazing things about Haruno Sakura. Just when he was about to do one of the hardest things in the world, that is to apologise, she apologized first, completely disregarding that he was the jerk who left for five years.
"Don't apologize. You're being annoying," Sasuke said.
Sakura immediately pulled her hands from on top of his. "What do you mean? I was sincerely tryi-"
"What I'm trying to say is, I should have called you guys. I was about to call you the second year I was away, but I felt like it was too late. I thought that there would be no use anyway."
Sakura smiled sheepishly, "It's never too late Sasuke. It's me and Naruto you're talking about."
"So, now, it's still not too late?"
The pink haired girl flashed a smile at him. The first true smile that she gave him since he got back. "No, it's not. Oh look… here are our drinks!"
Sakura thanked the waitress as she handed Sasuke his beer and Sakura her peach flavored chuhai.
After gulping her drink, Sakura started to chat animatedly about college life, her girl friends and mostly Naruto's weird antics. Sasuke didn't say much. He remembered that this was the way their conversation would go. He would listen at her talk for hours and occasionally comment on a few silly things.
From just a short amount of time, Sasuke already knew so much of her current life. That she's doing very well at her degree and that her best friend, Ino is planning to marry her on again off again boyfriend, that Nara guy. He also found out that she's doing pole dancing, much to his surprise and offhand approval or that she dated Hyuuga Neji for 6 months before it ends because she couldn't handle being with someone so polite.
"What about you mom? How is she?" he asked casually, sipping his beer.
Sakura's face went a bit pale. "Oh, she passed away last year."
Sasuke nearly choked on his beer. How come Naruto didn't mention this to him before? He knew that Sakura's father passed away when she was little and that she had been living with her mom. But now?
"Sakura, I'm sorry to hear that. What happened?"
"That's all right. It's a long story, Sasuke. She had stroke but it was the complications that lead to her passing. There was nothing that we can do," she answered weakly.
"Are you okay? Don't tell me you're living by yourself now?"
Sakura smiled at his concern, "Yes, I'm renting out the house for extra income and I'm living in an apartment that my mom bought before she passed."
He then remembered that Sakura was the one to always do idiotic things like this. How can she study and support herself financially at the same time?
"What about the rest of your family?"
"Well," she started with a sigh, "Both my parents were only child, so there's no aunt or uncle I can turn to. But my grandmother is supporting me, and Naruto, Ino and my other friends are a big help too."
Sasuke flinched upon imagining the sight of Sakura's grandmother. Her grandmother is a drunken old lady with a short temper; nevertheless she was a medical genius.
"If you need anything…"
"Thank you, Sasuke," she smiled.
***
Sakura got home at around 10pm. She turned on her computer and changed into her nightwear. She opened her email account and after getting annoyed at several pop-ups on the upcoming Earth Hour, she was finally able to read her inbox messages in peace.
From: Yamanaka Ino
Sent: Monday, February 1, 2009 14:05 PM
To: Haruno Sakura
Giirl, I'm out of crediiitttttt. This is especially for you, I went to the library just to send this email to say : YOUR UCHIHA SASUKE IS BACKKKKKKK?!?!?!?!?!? you need to tell me everything…like NOW. Pick up that phone. NOW!
Kisses,
Ino
Sakura shook her head as she dialed Ino's number on her home phone. Ino picked up her call in her usual high tone chirpy voice. "Hell-loo?"
"Ino, it's.."
"SAKURA! You have to tell me everything. How is he? Is he still hot? Yeah I bet he is, huh?"
Sakura rolled her eyes. Ino knew that Sakura wasn't really happy with the way Sasuke and her leave things off, five years ago, and yet the first thing that she asked her was whether or not Uchiha Sasuke looked hot. And as if, it would change anything! But yeah,
"He still got it"
Ino let out a loud squeal, "I knew it! Your knees went weak and you melted instantly when you see him and you now have completely forgotten how you hated him for a while!"
"Actually no, Ino, I'm much stronger than that! I'm not you!" Sakura hissed as she threw her back on to the bed.
As Ino threw her more and more unbelievable questions, Sakura's mind couldn't help but wander back at her and Sasuke's encounter earlier that day. There was the slight awkwardness, still. But she thought that, it's normal. They had an 'almost' relationship before he left and now that he's back, it's hard and confusing.
She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about him now. From their encounter, it seems like Sasuke still retain his trademark annoying silence and those one-two words he occasionally threw at her. He also showed his care in the most unthinkable way or through the most unusual words. He used the term 'annoying' at her so much, that she's beginning to think that it's a term of endearment.
"So, are we going or not?" suddenly Ino's voice resurfaced back into her train of thought.
"Wha-? Sorry? Where?"
Sakura could hear Ino growled in annoyance, "The Angel and Devil party!!! Are we going or not?!?!"
Sakura waved her hand in the air, "Sure, whatever, why not."
"Okay, I've got to go now and cook something for my Shika, but remember!!! I'm going to be the Devil, so you can't be the Devil! Bye!"
"Bye Ino, say hi to Shikamaru!"
Sakura put the phone on her nightstand and wanders whether or not Ino would actually get Shikamaru's approval for wearing the sluttiest devil costume. Ino had been looking forward to this party for such a long time, she had bought her slutty costume last month. And then a thought crossed her mind, 'Sasuke would definitely be the hottest devil…'
The pink haired girl turned off the lights on her nightstand and let those thoughts brought her to a good night sleep.
YAAYY Please click that review button :) and I will see you next week for an update!
Love, DB