Shine Like Silver In The Sunlight
They'd had a class on soulmates when they'd first entered the Academy, sat in little rows on the floor and legs crossed.
She doesn't remember the teacher's name, or face, but she remembers nearly everything that was said.
The teacher had been stern and serious, the wor spelt on the blackboard in thick white chalk. She'd known, as most of the other kids did, what soulmates were. Her parents were specially Marked for each other and the idea of a soulmate of her own was exciting! Most kids had manifested their Marks by now after all, hidden by a coloured patch applied over their skin. Her patch had been pink and glittery with yellow love hearts covering the inky black mark under her hip bone.
"Marks are special," The teacher intoned, "They tell you who you are meant for, who you match with best."
"I'm sure everyone has their Mark by now, but it's important to remember they are not to be shown off. The only person that should see your Mark is the person it was meant for."
"Your soulmate might be a boy, a girl, older than you, younger than you, but they are meant for you, a special person perfectly matched to you."
She remembers trying desperately to commit the words to memory – that a big forehead girl like her definitely had a soulmate out there, who would love her and treat her like a princess – and exchanging excited glances with Ino.
It's because she tried so hard to memorise that lesson that she still remembers the question one of the boys from outside of town had piped near the end.
"…but my mummies aren't soulmates, and they still love each other lots!"
The teacher had had to raise his hand for silence at the outcry. "Yes, it does happen occasionally, that people never meet their soulmates, either by chance or because sometimes soulmates have passed away before you meet them – in which case your Mark will turn white."
As she grows up, eventually the Mark loses its novelty and, beyond comparing the designs of their patches in the playground, the initial excitement fades gradually. The concept is still there though, in the back of her mind and at sleepovers she and Ino would giggle about what their future princes might look and be like.
When Sakura is seven, two years after that lesson on their first day at school, she notices a new boy in class sitting next to Naruto, who once Iruka-sensei finishes taking the register later introduces himself as Uchiha Sasuke.
The following three years after that are spent on sleepovers at her house and two boys squashed in beside her on her pink princess bed playing pirate ships, and running down the street shrieking with laughter and playing ninja-sneak-attack on Itachi with her two boys right behind her, and Ino and Sakura cornering Hyuuga Hinata for a makeover and then capturing the boys for some beautification too.
Their childhoods aren't perfect. One year the circus misses their town completely. There's a small fire that leaves Inuzuka Veterinary closed for a month. The Uchiha's are caught in a three-way car crash on the busiest intersection in the area.
The town is small enough that she knows all the kids her age and their families well, but still large enough that it is the largest town in their county. So all the kids in the region attend the Academy.
For the most part, the kids from the same town stick together. There's typical playground teasing, stuff like "bet your soulmates gonna run at the sight of your forehead!" and "speak up! God, are you even a Hyuuga?" and "Fatty! Oi, Fatty! Gonna cry for mummy?" and "What an idiot! Bet his parents weren't soulmates!"
But Sakura helps Hinata up from the floor, and Shikamaru narrows his glare at the boys in front of Chouji, and Ino tells a group of girls they're not invited to her party. Sasuke launches himself after Naruto, with bared teeth and fists into the throng, and Kiba snarls after them whilst Shino goes for Iruka-sensei, followed closely by Tenten, Neji and Lee.
Beyond soulmates, and the almost mystical idea of a perfect match, Sakura invests in friendship. It's nothing as dramatic or amazing or beautiful, but the ties she has with those twelve kids, with scraped knees, grit behind nails and ruddy noses, is something just as powerful, as the concept of a perfect match for your soul.
Hinoki Imperial Hospital is the largest hospital in the city, and so of course, Sakura's grateful for getting a placement in such a prestigious place. And of course, she's grateful that she gets to shadow the doctors here, and of course, she's grateful for such an opportunity given to such an insignificant small-towner and…
"Yes, sensei." She nods, rapidly scribbling down notes of the patient's condition.
The doctor eyes her sceptically, like he can scarcely believe a nineteen-year-old is taking his notes and actually working in his lauded hospital. "Put them into the patient's records." And that she actually got there legitimately. "Then go to see Doctor Nakamura about Mr Shochi."
"Yes, sensei." The real struggle getting her degree is surprisingly not the work, but the people she has to work with.
He scowls and gives her a once-over look from top to bottom, like she's gum stuck to the soles of his brightly shined shoes. "And no dallying on the way." And yes, the youngest person ever to be accepted into Hinoki Medical School has no prior medical connections and is a girl – get over it.
"Of course, Dr Hamada." If she could, her eyebrow would be twitching in fury at the blatant sexism. If Hinata were here, she'd have slapped him already no doubt and if Ino were here, the guy's tombstone would be done with "death by glitter and screaming" perfectly engraved, or something along those lines. But she's a doctor in training, and so professionalism has to win in the work place. She smiles and hopes it doesn't come out as sharp as she feels. "No problem, sir."
Sakura's days usually happen like this. She loves what she does, loves the job she's training for – but some of her superiors she could definitely do without. After a long shift, it's back home to her apartment and some leftover rice and vegetables nuked in the microwave.
Hinata emerges from her room, flicking the lights on with a jab of her elbow and a cracking yawn.
"How was your shift?" She asks, settling into the closest chair. Her long black hair spills out of the sloppy bun its in, tufts quivering as she moves.
Sakura grunts, and crunches on a stalk of broccoli. "I can't wait until I'm out of Hamada's department."
The dark haired girl winces sympathetically. "… that bad, huh?"
She rolls her eyes, "Urgh, he was being such a dick today, even worse than normal." She gestured with her chopsticks. "Mrs Shochi was crying in the hallway and he literally started talking about her husband's tumour in front of her – but not to her."
Hinata's brow furrows.
"He was talking to Nakamura and he goes, 'the patient probably won't last another month before we'll send him down to the morgue'," She rants, sweeping her hair angrily away from her face. "I seriously don't understand how he hasn't had more complaints!"
"I can't believe a senior doctor would actually say something like that? … talk about insensitive."
"Mrs Shochi was hysterical, that is not the way to tell the family the patient's in critical condition! Urgh!" She shoves another vegetable in her mouth. "And then he just walks off to leave me and Dr Nakamura to comfort the patient!"
Sakura sighs. It's true that being a doctor is great and once she's out of training she's sure it will be even better. Mrs Shochi had been so thankful just to have someone sit with her and explain what was happening, compared to the blunt rudeness of Dr Hamada, that she had asked to see Sakura again when she came in for her evening visit to her husband. The couple were both really lovely and had been married for fifty-three years, childhood sweethearts turned soulmates. She stopped by at the end of her shift to chat with them and they were the most adorable little couple.
Oh, that reminds her - green eyes turn to her flatmate. "Anyways, how was your date?"
Hinata bites her lip, twin spots of red appearing on her pale cheeks. "…it was nice."
"Just nice?" Sakura waggles her eyebrows. "Did he kiss you?"
Her blush darkens.
"He did!" She fist pumps, "Good boy! C'mon, tell me everything!"
The red in her face spreads across her cheekbones to her ears. "We went to the Fountain for dinner…"
Sakura whistles, shaking her head. "Damn, boy has money."
Hinata giggles. "He said he'd been saving up for two months."
She gives her flatmate a considering look, "So he's a hardworker, not rich but still knows how to treat a girl, and…" Sakura grins. "You li-li-like him!"
The dark haired girl bites her lip again, looking unsure. " – he's not my soulmate."
The thing about relationships is – they are complicated. It's one thing to have a fling, but if you or your partner finds their matching mark, someone is always left hurt. And if your marks don't match, there's always the possibility of finding the match later and then what would the couple do. Married with kids, a baby on the way and suddenly the husband meets his soulmate and now you have broken families and custody battles. Stories like these pop up all the time. Un-matched couples that stay together after finding their soulmates are an anomaly in culture, society and science. If soulmates didn't exist, perhaps relationships would be less complicated.
Or perhaps not. At least, with the marks there's a psychological and physiological reason for relationships failing.
Hinata's probably scared, Sakura thinks, of being left behind if she pursues her feelings. Of what could happen in the future. Most people their age are galivanting the world, seeking out their soulmate, and instead they are knuckling down to study.
Sakura's first boyfriend was a douche, who drove a motorcycle and shot tin cans in his uncle's barn for fun. Her second was a basketball jock, who got scouted and then ditched her for a prettier girl, who was also not his soulmate. The third was into art and poetry and hipster fashion and spent more time checking out Naruto than going on dates with his girlfriend.
Neither of them, or the guys after them, had matched her mark. But she'd had her friends to pick her back up when she fell down, and at the end of the day, she was glad she at least had crossed those jerks off as her soulmate.
She stands up to put the dishes in the sink and then pulls Hinata into a hug. "Even if he's not your soulmate, isn't it worth going after anyways?" She grins and bumps Hinata's hip with her own. "He kissed you after you guys talked about Marks anyways right, so he's already got it bad for you."
Hinata giggles.
"But you better at least bring him round so I can interrogate him." Sakura smirks, cracking her knuckles mockingly. "Neji has me on protection detail."
The boys skype her late on Saturday morning, the only day she has off. The only day she has to lie in, and they wake her up to the loud blaring of the Skype jingle and their tinny voices.
"MORNING!" Naruto shouts on the screen. Both she and Sasuke wince at the same time.
"…unghhhh," She half-heartedly rolls over and chucks her pillow over her head. "Dear god, why are we friends?"
"Because you love us ~" He singsongs from the other side of the country.
Sakura rolls her eyes fondly, lifting her head off the pillow to glare at the screen. "I love you when you don't wake me up at…" She squinted at the time in the corner. "Bloody twelve in the morning."
"It's lunchtime!" Naruto protests.
Sasuke yawns and shoves the blonde with his shoulder. "I tried to stop him." He clutches his coffee cup like a lifeline. "You see what you left me to deal with?"
"I'm sorry, it was you or me," She smirked back at the screen, "Survival of the fittest, you know?"
"It's not the Hunger Games." Sasuke deadpans.
"No, it's Darwin." She laughs.
Naruto blinks furiously next to him and pouts. "Is this group bullying? Are you both bullying me so deeply I got confused?"
"Hn." Sasuke snorts, eyes bright.
"You know it's our favourite hobby," Sakura teases. She chucks the duvet off her and gets out of bed. "Is wittle 'Ruto-chan upset?"
Sasuke ducks his head with a growing smirk.
Naruto squawks. "I'll have you know, as of last month I am taller than both of you!" He throws his hands in the air. " – So it's YOU TWO that are really the wittle ones now! Mwahaha!"
She laughs, leaving the laptop on her bed to head to the bathroom to get ready. She talks with her parents just as much as she talks to Naruto and Sasuke, sometimes even more if her schedule will allow. Having Hinata around is great and it's not that she hasn't made friends at uni, it's just that it's comforting to know that it doesn't matter how far she goes from their trio, they'll never lose this connection. And talking to them is so freeing, she doesn't have to act so serious or be the mature, protective one like she has to do at work or with Hinata sometimes, and sometimes the hospital shifts are awful and it's just nice to be able to forget for a while.
When she emerges from the bathroom, she can hear their squabbling through the laptop speakers. It's not the same as being at home, but it brings a smile to her face regardless.
"I'm ordering pizza for lunch!" Naruto announces, getting to his feet. "The usual for everybody?"
He disappears from the camera's view, but even through skype she can hear him bounding towards the telephone like the Energizer bunny.
"Why's he so hyper today?" She chuckles, "What did you feed him?"
Sasuke sighs, "He let himself in at six AM this morning, he was like this when I woke up." He shot her a wry look. "Or rather, when he woke me up, belting Ariana Grande."
"Oh dear, that's our 'Ruto."
"Preach." He deadpans.
"…he's okay right?" She asks, as she does every time they speak alone. The fact that Naruto was born without a soulmate makes him a biological marvel and part of only a tiny percentage of the world of which there are only eight others in the whole world. He had told the both of them the separately the summer before she left for university. She had cried, sobbed for the missed chance to find the half of his whole, the fact that there was no half to his whole. And he had smiled a tiny smile, and said it wasn't as bad as it sounded. Her heart had felt like it was breaking for him. It was so unfair, that their sunshine boy, the most brilliant and warm and accepting and kind person she had ever met had never known his parents, given up the chance to move in with his godfather and all this time, she complained about the boys she'd kissed and the marks that didn't match and the lack of 'the one' and her best friend had smiled and comforted her and promised to beat those jerks up.
Naruto had been in hospital once when he was thirteen, with a deep gash in his thigh. The matron at the orphanage had found him passed out on the bathroom floor, blood pooling around him. Sakura had never been so scared. The pale boy she'd found in the hospital bed had laughed at her terrified face and then laughed at Sasuke's when he too stormed in trembling from head to toe. "I slipped and fell on one of the girl's razors in the shower." He'd said, voice light despite the bandaging around his head, and stitches on his face and leg.
It was only after he told her about his soulmate status, that she confronted Sasuke about her fears. That maybe he'd been thirteen, and all anyone could talk about at school was dating and relationships and soulmates, and that maybe his voice had been a tad too light and his face a little too pale, the scar far too deep to have been entirely accidental.
Sasuke's silence when she'd asked him was telling enough.
On the screen, her other best friend huffed fondly, a far cry from the moody teen he'd been only a few years before. "Doing good, eating all my food and spending my money as usual."
They both knew what she meant, and she asked it every time she could. Not because she didn't trust Naruto, but just for some reassurance. Even thinking about Naruto hurting himself deliberately was enough to make her eyes smart and her vision blur.
"…is he coming to the city with you this year?" She questions, pushing negative thoughts away. "You both have to come for a visit!"
"I'm coming up in August, the directors want me to take over the city's branch." He says. Something in his tone makes her frown. Sasuke is usually so proud over the Uchiha Corps and taking over the city branch is something he's been working towards since he started high school, to the point where every summer since he was ten had been spent jetting around and following Itachi on business, instead of pool parties at Ino's.
"Is Itachi okay with that? He's proud right? Is he doing alright?"
Sasuke rolls his eyes. "He's fine, Doctor Haruno." He says with a dismissive shrug. "His doctor suggested this new drug that's being trialled right now, Kisame isn't keen but Itachi says it might give his eyes more time."
"Oh, I think I read a bit about that the other day, Loratidamintryplin, right? I think their halfway through trials, at the moment."
"He didn't tell me the name, but it sounds like it would be called something gibberish like that."
"So, if it's not Itachi, then why don't you sound as arrogant and proud as I thought you'd be about finally becoming a big boss?" She frowns. "Are you nervous?"
He shook his head. "Not really." Sasuke gulps the last of his coffee, air whistling through his teeth as he downs the last dregs. "…it's just… Naruto doesn't want to move."
Sakura tilts her head. "…what do you mean? He's literally always asking to come and visit, why wouldn't he want to move here?"
"Says he doesn't suit city life."
"He's never even been to the city, how would he know?" The doorbell rings and Sakura rises from her position cross-legged on the bed. "Ah, well, we'll double team him and wear him down. That boy would be fine anywhere, he's just being stubborn I bet." She sighs fondly, "Besides, when has he ever been able to refuse us both?" She tosses over her shoulder.
By the time she has opened the door for the pizza guy (who was pretty cute, by the way) and has taken it back to her room to eat, the boys have their pizza boxes open on their laps and sauce on their faces.
"How is it that you can order and pay for my pizza on the other side of the country and they arrive at the same time as yours?" She plops down on her bed and flips the lid open. "If there are anchovies on this, I swear to god, I'm coming back down there to punch you."
"That was once! I only did that once!"
"…"
"…"
"…Okay, twice."
"You're an idiot
A/N: Hellooo all! It's been a while hasn't it? *laughs nervously*
My excuses for my absence are the following:
a) UNI EXAMS OMG CUE PANIC CUE FREAK OUT UNI EXAMS
b) new job! yay!
c) I don't have much of a social life, but I do have the occasional pal who likes to use the hols to drag me out of bed...
d) WORD SHUT DOWN ON ME LITERALLY WHILST I WAS TYPING 'IDIOT' AND THEN IT LOST MY AUTOSAVE FILE
*also may have forgotten my account existed for a while and only uploaded to AO3 - whoops!
This part has been sitting half-written on my laptop since March, I know, I'm awful. But since I'm sick this weekend I thought I should get stuck in and finally finish it. It was really hard, at first, to write Sakura because if I'm honest it's been a while since I watched Naruto and I don't think I got that far into Shippuden before I stopped. So I'm sure I missed a lot of character development. And my only other contact with the Naruto fandom has been through SNS fanfiction (I AM SO TRASHY BUT I LOVE IT) and the occasional episode of Rock Lee and His Ninja Pals... so...
This chapter is also, in part, inspired by a lovely comment on the last part by SusanStone99 who asked if I would consider writing Sakura's POV. Well, you asked - and I hope I delivered!
The song this time is what the series was named for so essentially the theme tune! ;) But if I'm honest it's really only a few lines in the song that match the tone and mood of this chapter, only I couldn't find a more appropriate song that was about friendship that wasn't dead cheesy *ahem reach for the stars ahem*
If you have any suggestions pop 'em down below, I'm always looking to expand the playlist XD
Hope you enjoyed reading, keep an eye out for the next part soon!