Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
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day one
She is a civilian, he thinks abruptly. As much as he distances himself from everyone, he does more so in the presence of civilians because their naiveté is irritating and their comments about violence is unwarranted; the peace that they so desire is only accomplished through the work of shinobi. His father, and Itachi for the most part, always reprimand him for this. He is one of the many faces of Konoha's Police Force—and to seem biased against civilians would only heighten animosity toward the organization and especially the Uchiha clan.
With a stifled sigh, he wonders how he got into such a position in which he let a civilian bump into himself but he knows what it is: the house is feeling particularly stressful. His father is dealing with clan matters and although he is the clan head, he is having a hard time keeping a cool head with the Uchiha elders—they believe that Itachi should be given the title of Hokage much sooner than has been stated. While Itachi is busy dealing with matters of importance in regards to becoming Hokage, his mother is frantic with worry about his added stress and that he will never be home now. Thankfully, his mother has the company of her friend, Uzumaki Kushina, and she knows very well what it is like to have someone in the family being the Hokage.
As for Sasuke, he prefers the peace of walking through the streets of Konoha, seeing the peace and calmness of the village, knowing that his role as a shinobi and member of the Konoha Police Force helped to achieve this. It's enough to soothe the stifling atmosphere some days.
Although while seeking Naruto for a spar, he was not expecting to encounter an oblivious civilian not looking where she was going.
And she would make an awful shinobi, he adds to his thoughts, staring at her sprawled all over the ground with her paper bag of groceries dumped upside down—all her fresh produce becoming stained with dirt. She has pink hair. She would be the most impractical comrade because she sticks out as much as the blaring red center in shuriken target practice.
But still, Sasuke thinks, she is a civilian, so he helps her up with a sigh and begins the process of helping her pick up the groceries that he has unintentionally knocked over when she bumped into him.
"Oh, I am so sorry!" She exclaims, and her voice is pure, untainted, so feminine, but Sasuke ignores it. She bends down to pick up the items that have rolled some ways away. Her pink hair flows in the wind and elegantly rests down the end of back. When she straightens up and extends her arm out for him to shake, he is alarmed by the brightness of her eyes. They are an emerald green and so innocent and happy.
She is his age, he notices.
"Thank you, sir, for helping! And I apologize again for bumping into you. I wasn't paying attention—clearly!"
He is at a loss for words because she is a stunning figure before him, with soft pink hair, fair and smooth skin, and her eyes are bright with wonder and curiosity.
He grabs her hand and quickly shakes it, noticing that her skin is as soft as he imagined.
She smiles brightly—everything about her is magnifying and intense and warm, her teeth are perfectly straight and white, her skin is not marked with any scars from training—and then she's off to her designated destination, leaving Sasuke standing there alone.
He shakes his head minutely, washing away the thoughts of the strange pink-haired beauty—no, civilian.
Konoha is a large place, and he is never going to see her again, so he too heads to his designated destination and forgets about the encounter.
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day three
"Okaa-san isn't getting any younger, Sasuke-chan," his mother says gently and Sasuke resists rolling his eyes behind her back. Although she cannot see him, she has senses that rival anyone he has ever met—or perhaps it is because mothers know best—and she would surely slap him upside the head for his cheek.
"It would be pleasing if your poor Okaa-san did not have to worry about her youngest son finding a respectable wife," she continues, and Sasuke sighs.
"Shouldn't you worry about your eldest first?"
"I already worry enough for him since he is being groomed to be the next Hokage after Minato-san retires."
It is at that moment that Itachi walks through the entryway to the kitchen, catching wind of what his mother says.
"You will have nothing to worry for, Okaa-san. Peace is on its way and shall continue through my years."
Sasuke watches his mother spin around quickly and exclaim, "Then perhaps it is time you find a respectable wife with whom you settle down. I would like grandchildren, Itachi-chan."
Itachi hums noncommitantly and plucks a dango off the counter, dutifully closing his ears off and pretending he has not heard anything.
Then he walks out of the kitchen and Sasuke sputters and feels his mother's attention head right back toward him, so he scrambles out of his seat without the grace of the reputable class of the Uchiha and more so with the thump of an elephant falling to the ground.
"Ah! Aniki, wait—wait up. I've been trying this new jutsu and could use a pointer or two…." He fumbles with the excuse and all but runs from his mother's persistent questions.
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day seven
Sasuke has one friend: Uzumaki Naruto. It was practically predestined from the moment they were born, seeing as their mothers are already best friends.
While Naruto is the polar opposite of him, Sasuke will admit to only Itachi that Naruto is his best friend. He is loud, brash, and illogical but somehow his choices are always morally correct, and he is loyal to Sasuke to a fault. He has always believed in Sasuke's abilities to be strong and smart and has never once compared him to Itachi, unlike many of the other individuals in his life.
Because they are opposites, they make the best team and go on missions as a unit more times than Sasuke can count, and he prefers it that way.
So when he meets the Hokage and Itachi for a mission briefing, he is surprised to discover he is slotted for a solo escort mission.
"No offense, Hokage-sama…" Sasuke begins, "But why an escort mission?"
"Consider this mission, if successful, your in to ANBU." Itachi says, standing behind Minato.
"I know how much you and Naruto would like to be Itachi's guards when he takes over," Minato says with a smile. "Don't worry too much, Sasuke. Naruto has his own solo mission. Upon completion, you'll both receive training together and begin the journey to ANBU, then Itachi's guard."
Sasuke blinks once, then twice. He had been waiting for this moment since he heard Itachi was going to take over Naruto's dad's position. Sasuke and Naruto spent many nights planning their future and outlining the steps they would take.
He supposes that Itachi must have heard them discussing it while passing by his room and passed the information along. Then Sasuke brightens up and his mood inflates—this means Itachi wants them to be his personal bodyguards.
"The details of your mission, Uchiha Sasuke," his brother begins in an authoritative tone, and Sasuke cannot help but let out a small smile at what Itachi would be like as Hokage. Strong, kind, caring, still his brother. "A-rank solo escort mission. Expect this mission to take two months, potentially a few weeks longer. You are to protect and assist our client to collect herbs and supplies all around the nation to restock the hospital shelves."
Sasuke nods, thinking that it seems easy. A simple escort for one individual. Relative danger risk is probably slim to none—the only deciding factor of the mission's rank is the importance of the supplies. He will just set some ground rules and stick to himself and the two months will pass by relatively fast.
He feels his fist clenching together in anticipation, thinking about how soon it will be before he is an ANBU operative.
"She is a civilian, Sasuke, but you must treat her with the utmost respect and protection. She is highly valued in the hospital for her intelligence and skills, despite not being a medical ninja." Itachi warns, aware of his little brother's feelings of annoyance for the civilians. "Bring her in!"
The door opens, and Sasuke's throat goes dry.
In his line of sight, it is all pink and fair skin and sparkling green eyes—the pretty civilian he met last week.
"Hello, it is nice to meet you. My name is Haruno Sakura, please treat me kindly!" Sakura finishes off with a sharp 90 degree bow and then straightens up.
Her name is so fitting, Sasuke thinks, and apparently not entirely useless as a civilian.
Then he groans mentally. He is going to be protecting the only woman with pink hair, which is just as easy as saying 'hey, notice me! I'm a walking target.'
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day eight
"Sasuke-san, thank you for escorting me." Sakura says politely, walking down the path that leads out of the village. Since their official meeting yesterday, she has been nothing but polite. She also recognized him from the market square when she jostled shoulders with him and apologized again for that.
Sasuke says nothing, staring at her form walking a few paces ahead of him so he can keep an eye on the road ahead and still protect her should something creep behind them.
Not that he believes they are in any real danger. They are collecting herbs of all things. It is not some top secret scroll with forbidden techniques. Hopefully, she doesn't think this is some sort of fun field trip.
"Let's stop for a moment." He says abruptly, and he watches her spin to face him with a questioning look.
He ignores the way her long pink hair swishes around her form before settling down the length of her body elegantly.
"We're going to be travelling together for a while, so I want to set some ground rules. One: don't talk unless necessary. It is hard for me to focus on my surroundings and protect you if you're chatting nonstop." He watches her face scrunch up in confusion, he thinks—maybe even annoyance? He resists the urge to scoff; what is there to be confused about? Surely, she can't be annoyed. He is the one that has to protect her!
"Two: we will not be spending money going to inns every night. We will sleep and make camp outside. Three: Don't annoy me. I took this mission to get the promotion I have been wanting all my life, and if you make me fail this mission, I will not hesitate to end your life." He threatens with a hiss.
Sakura stares at him with a blank expression now, then she sets her lips in a straight line with determination.
"If that is all, here are my rules for you, Sasuke-san. One: do not interrupt me while I am collecting herbs. Two: do not object to my instructions when I need to go to a certain place or be somewhere at a certain time to get the supplies needed. Three: if you stay out of my way, then I will stay out of your way. You may be strong, from a prideful clan, and good-looking but you are arrogant and have the social etiquette skills of a potato, Uchiha Sasuke." She jabs a finger at him.
Sasuke blinks uncharacteristically, thinking that she certainly has sass and an attitude for someone who seemed so well-mannered a moment ago. He watches her spin around and stalk off and being her escort, he follows her dutifully to their first stop: Valley of the End.
She is certainly annoying.
And then he comes to a startling realization and hides a small smirk.
Amongst the insults, she called him good-looking.
This could be a good trip.
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Fair warning, this is a one shot but might potentially escalate into an AU multi-shot. I have no plans but would love to explore this world with Sakura as a civilian and Sasuke the shinobi falling in love with her. Perhaps get some sneak peaks of their mission, warming up to each other, becoming friends, Sasuke and Naruto ANBU antics… ah, the possibilities.
