Human
Summary: And even though he didn't understand, it's proof that he is still human.
Author note: Just something I thought up one cold-filled day. Sakura's POV
I liked the unexpected; only when it was good, of course.
My days usually consisted of hospital shifts or missions with the team. Today had been no different, only I had to skip half of my lunch with my best friend because of the recently returned ANBU team and had to stay behind an extra two hours to finish treating Ms Colin's surgery. She downright refused to do it the simpler way, through chakra. She and I quote, 'didn't want that glowing stuff inside of her'.
I couldn't see why not; most patients said it felt like nothing they'd ever experienced before. Naturally, they weren't ninjas to understand. Her reliance cut two doctors (including myself) and several nurses from their social life, and none of us were feeling too pleased about that. We called it ungrateful, and selfish, since we had other patients to treat too.
I forced my thought away from work, and hurried along the streets towards Ichiraku (heaven forbid). It was the only place which would still be open in the twilight that had just began to fall over Konoha.
When I entered, I made sure to check for signs of blonde hair and amazing chakra levels. Thankfully, Naruto wasn't here tonight, and so I took the seat I usually sat in with Team 7. Don't misunderstand now, I love Naruto very much, but after a long, long shift and half a lunch break, I was downright tired, and he usually zapped all of my energy.
Hmm…
"Something wrong?"
"I was just wondering if Naruto were some kind of leech. It would explain how just watching him makes me tired and where he got all that energy from," I responded, glancing over my shoulder at the number one in our three-man-cell. My number one…
I didn't make any move to suggest what I'd been thinking, and smiled at Sasuke while he sat down two seats away from me. Naruto always sat in the middle of our little threesome; I guess it was a hard tradition to break. I'd felt him enter; well, I'd felt him approaching from a little down the street and tracked him as he entered.
I turned and faced Ayame, who had walked over to take my order; our order. What was he doing here? "Beef, please."
She nodded and looked towards Sasuke, who replied, "Same."
"Ichiraku, huh? I thought you only came here because Naruto dragged you along?" I asked.
He shrugged, seemingly not sure of the answer himself. I would have teased or spoke more while the topic lasted, so the silence we usually shared was lesser than usual, but I'd spotted two children beyond him; the two I'd seen earlier that day.
I sat with Ino, exhaling a loud moan as I rested my feet. She scrunched up her nose at me, "You sound old."
"I feel old, too."
On cue, two children pushed open the chipped wooden door and sprinted up to the counter, where a nice young man smiled down at them. Seconds later, the door opened again, not giving the bell above a chance to rest from its constant ringing.
She followed after the young boy and girl, who were dressed in similar little outfits. Dungarees and a brightly coloured top. The little brunette boy had shoved a cap over his tight curls, pushing them down by his ear with the force.
"Five ice-creams!" He demanded from the man, who raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Three," his mother, I presumed, corrected with an exasperated, motherly tone.
Ino leant over on her arm and grinned, "Ah, to be young again."
"Now who's old?" I retorted, sipping down my hot tea while it was still, well, hot.
She pouted almost sexily and moaned, "Well I can't help it, I live with some kind of old man."
Shikamaru, of course. I hid my laughter in my cup, and slurped noisily so she wasn't suspicious. It didn't fool her, but she was watching the children for the time being. I was in the safe.
"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you looked a little, well… jealous?" I probed gently, with a sly smile.
She blushed and turned her head to glare out of the window. "Don't you dare tell Shikamaru," she warned.
That she wanted kids? No way was I dragging an unconscious Shikamaru back to her sorry house. He'd surely faint on me there and then. "Your secrets safe"
When I glanced back around, the mother had taken up a small table not too far from our booth by the window. The kids knelt on the surface of their stool and leaned over the table to slurp on their ice-cream.
"Tell me another one," the little girl said, all starry eyed.
I leant over on my hand, a little curious what she had requested.
"But I'm running out," the woman laughed. It was a graceful, content laugh, and out the corner of my eye, I noticed Ino's attention had drifted back all too quickly.
"Please?" Puppy eyes, I'd used them myself once upon a time.
"Alright, let me see," she placed a finger to her lip thoughtfully, and then smiled down at the girl. "Once upon a time…"
I chuckled and leaned back in my seat, crossing my arms over my knees. Stories. Ino pouted again, "I want that." She said longingly.
"So trick him," I laughed.
"No way!" She sounded appalled at the idea, and turned back around. The expression didn't take long to twist in consideration as she mentally planned something I wish I hadn't brought up. "You think…?"
I cut her off before she started up, "It was a joke. No."
"Was the princess pretty?" She asked giddily.
"Of course, she…" the woman paused and looked around the café, as if searching for inspiration. I watched her head turn, and felt myself stir when she came to a resolve. "had the most beautiful pink hair."
I stiffened up and feigned disinterest, while Ino turned to snicker out of the window, so the small family couldn't see. The little girl gasped and leaned into her mother. "Is that her?" She whispered with wide-eyes.
The woman leaned in, "Maybe it is," she whispered back with a knowing smile.
"You're getting girly," her brother complained with a deep frown. She stuck her tongue out at him, and turned back to her mother.
"Was there a prince?"
If only, I thought sourly, while Ino lost her smile and glanced towards me. I ignored her, and continued to pretend I couldn't hear their conversation. "Why yes, he was very, very handsome."
"Good old fairytales," Ino sighed, taking her first sip of tea. She liked to let it cool considerably before tasting her own.
"I heard most from you, rather than my mother," I spoke, distracting myself from the family beside us.
"You were lucky; otherwise you would have missed out. Your mother is terrible at stories," she laughed. "Just think, some kids don't get to hear any fairytales…"
It was a sad thought, and when we both seemed to stop ourselves and look in opposite directions, our thoughts turned to just some of which we knew. Naruto, Neji, Tenten… Sasuke.
With no shame whatsoever, and complete honesty, Ino spoke up, "I wonder if Sasuke has some sort of 'happily ever after' in mind." I snickered with her, "He doesn't really seem the type, huh?" She corrected herself.
I could only hope. The thought didn't sound right, but to my deep logic, I found I really did hope he didn't believe in it… it would prove to me, that he was still human. Still like the rest of us.
Something buzzed by my hip, and I looked down to the little device Shikamaru had designed thanks to Ino's pestering. 'ANBU returned; some critical.'
Ino looked down at the same message, and just as I spotted the little girl rise and grin at me, as though she had a question, I'd already finished my hand signs along with my friend, left the money and then vanished.
The little boy was pouting again, and fidgeting with his chop sticks as their order was placed in front of them. The little girl spoke up, "Do we have to go back, tomorrow? I like Konoha!"
I smiled and listened in once more. Sasuke seemed oblivious, yet it seemed odd that he was here to listen into the family's murmurings in Ino's place.
"Daddy wants us to return; he misses us."
She pouted and looked out of the window silently, hoping her attitude would have an affect on her mother, who shook her head with a smile.
A warm heat brushed up against my face, ad when the snapping of chopsticks was heard, I turned to find my teammate already dipping the long wooden sticks into his ramen. I turned to look down at mine and did the same.
"Ever heard any fairytales?" I asked before I could help myself. He glanced over before taking his first bite, and shook his head. I laughed at the noodles which swished back and forth from his mouth, and he scowled gently while slurping them up. "You're missing out," I pointed out.
"Hn," he managed through a mouthful of noodles.
"Well since you asked, I'll start with Cinderella," I spoke up eagerly, taking grim satisfaction from the speed of which his head turned and the worry he clearly expressed. "Well, once upon a time…"
"Hey, look it's the princess again!" I frowned and dared to glance over at the table the little girl had been sat. She was no longer there, but rather running my way in case I disappeared again. When she approached, she twirled around Sasuke's chair, drawing his attention to the small scene, and then jumped in front of me, from where I swivelled.
"Hey, are you the princess from far, far away?"
I almost laughed, but then remembered how embarrassed I was. A couple in a booth behind me started to laugh, and I noticed a small smirk forming on my teammates face.
"Uh, no, not me. She lives, uh, far, far away, you see…" I was bad at this; how did I expect to tell stories to Sasuke, if I couldn't explain them to a little girl?
Her mother rushed up to her and took her hand, with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry; I was telling her stories…"
"At the café, right?" I asked politely, with a reassuring smile. "That's alright."
She sighed and nodded, but her little girl was still pouting and I felt bad for not playing along. I ducked down to her level, conscious of her little brother standing behind her with his arms folded crossly.
"But you see this guy?" I asked, gesturing to Sasuke, who glanced over his shoulder at me, curious as to what I was getting at. "He's the King's warrior, from far, far away."
The little boy uncrossed his arms and leaned forward, suddenly interested. I noticed Sasuke's 'I'm-not-impressed' expression, but ignored him anyway. "Yeah, he fought off one hundred men all at once."
He turned in his chair a little more, looking down at me as the little boy spoke. "No way, one hundred?"
I smiled and nodded my head, noticing their mother cross her arms and smile. She was probably relieved they'd have a resolute story to stick to, so she wouldn't have to keep making up new ones.
"He's the princess's daddy's warrior?" The little girl asked in a quiet voice.
"Very kind, very loyal to his kingdom," his Konoha. He returned two years earlier, successful in everything he set out to do and firmly loyal to Konoha, when he heard of it's time of need. A battle had broken out between the remnants of the attacking sound ninja, and he'd wiped them out before they even reached the main gate.
I smiled, understanding what children could never; they seemed star struck as they slowly looked up to Sasuke, who had swivelled in his chair like me. He was leaning back against the counter, listening but apparently uninterested.
The little boy looked up and bluntly stated, "He doesn't look like a warrior."
"Want to see my sword?" Sasuke asked with a quick, sinister smile, which shut up the little boy. He took a step back to his original place while the little girl looked up at me.
"You still look like a princess, though," she tried once more, clasping her hands together.
I blushed and laughed nervously. Not knowing what else to do, I leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "Keep it a secret." When I pulled back, I winked at her bedazzled expression and stood up.
"Come on, you two. Time for bed, thank the young lady now."
"Thank you!" They chorused, turning around and running off with their mother quicker on their tail, now that it was dark outside. I looked up at him, finding him still watching me. He appeared interested by my talking with them. Though I wasn't sure on which part. He glanced away too quickly; as though he'd never been staring.
"Oi, threatening a kid?" I asked when I took my seat, and finished off the remains of my ramen. He shrugged and pushed away his empty bowl.
"I didn't threaten him; I merely asked if he'd like to see it."
Right, I thought in defeat as I pushed away the bowl and stood up. Sasuke seemed to follow, and when we reached the curtains, he pulled it aside for me to walk through first.
"Thanks," I said, looking up at the sky then down both ends of the street. He usually took the right route, while I took the left. So it was a goodbye I was missing. I turned, finding him already setting out down the street. "I never did get to tell you Cinderella," I stalled, calling out to him.
He glanced over his shoulder and paused, "Some other time."
I nodded, and asked another question before I could help myself. "Hey Sasuke," no –kun. It made him uncomfortable, and his safe homecoming was enough to keep me happy… for now, anyway. He looked back at me, still so patient; so vigilant.
"Do you believe in happily-ever-afters?" I asked, trying not to sound hopeful.
His face expressed how puzzled he felt, and after quickly searching my own expression, wondering how he could hurt me no doubt, he answered truthfully. "No."
I sighed, and nodded. "That's good."
He seemed eve more confused; as if he expected me to be upset about that, but I didn't give him long enough to consider asking what I'd been getting at. "Bye, Sasuke."
I walked down the street, ever aware of his chakra signal slowly walking away. It was at a slower pace; he was thinking, no doubt. You see, it was a good thing he didn't believe in all that kind of nonsense.
If he had believed in such a thing, didn't it mean he expected it to happen to himself? I didn't want him to have a happily ever after, because to do so meant all traces of what kept his heart beating and returning to our training grounds each time we met up was gone.
And even though he didn't understand, it's proof that he is still human. It is proof that he still loved Itachi, and killing his brother, despite all the wrongs he had done, despite having killed the entire clan, still cut him deeper than I could have imagined.
In killing his brother, Sasuke killed his right to have a happily-ever-after, because memories of what he had done meant he couldn't be truly happy. So I didn't wish him a happily-ever-after. Doing so would be praying that he became a monster; a demon. I wished him peace-of-mind and the ability to go on and find new love and happiness.
Love was harder to shake free from than anybody realised. I smiled sardonically and linked my fingers behind my back. I'm sure he didn't want freedom, just like I didn't.
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