How it all came to be

Chapter one: Enter Haruno Sakura

I own nothing.

Monday, March 6, 2006

''Naruto, I don't think that it's a good idea..''

''Oh Sakura-chan, come on. I mean, what've you got to lose? It's a great place, it's on the third floor and the building has an elevator.''

Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto were currently sitting in a little café found in the big city known as Konhagakure. Naruto was in the middle of trying to convince his friend to check out the apartment in the building his godmother owned. Sakura, on the other hand, was getting annoyed at how bad Naruto wanted her to take the apartment and about the fact that Naruto was techincally saying 'You're lazy' .

The young woman raised an eyebrow. ''Are you implying that I'm lazy, Uzumaki?''

''Not at all, dear. I'm trying to convince you to consider my offer.''

Sakura let out a breath as a sign of not wanting to listen to her friend's rant. ''Fine. Give me her number and I'll can set up a meeting.''

Naruto laughed nervously before drinking his hot chocolate. ''She's kind of expecting you tomorrow at five-thirty.''

''What?''

''You can't get out of this one, Sakura-chan. Your shift at the hospital ends at five. It's perfect, is it not?''

''I don't have a car, I'm still getting it fixed. How do you expect me to get there in time during rush hour, whilst riding the subway as my transportation?'' she voiced a question while her eyes glared at him

''Get Sasuke to give you a ride.'' Naruto suggested, resting his chin on his right palm.

''He's probably busy. I can't bother him with something as trivial as this.''

Naruto let out a deep sigh with a roll of his eyes. ''Okay, I'll give you a ride.''

''With your driving skills? I think I'll ask Sasuke, thank you.'' she continued to read an article in the morning paper about said friend.

''Make up your mind, woman. And for the record, I can drive perfectly fine,'' he glanced at his watch, his eyes widening. ''Shoot, I have to go,'' he proceeded to put on his jacket, wrapping his scarf around his neck and got up. ''give me a call if something comes up, okay?'' and with her nod and a kiss on the cheek, her blond friend from college was gone.

Later that night..

''Haruno-san, there's someone here to see you.''

Sakura nodded after hearing one of her nurse friends come and go with news. Walking down the hall, she held onto a clip board, checking if it was safe for her to go home, she didn't notice the fact that she was walking straight into someone. ''Sorry..!'' she looked up to see none other than Uchiha Sasuke, president of Uchiha & Co.

He stood there, looking dashing as ever, wearing a suit with a tie hanging loosely around his neck. ''Busy night?'' he asked, his face showing no emoition whatsoever.

''Sasuke-kun,'' she smiled, putting down the board and wrapped her arms around the young man. ''Hi .. Busy? Not very.''

''Well, since it's around,'' he glanced at his watch. ''Midnight, I figured your shift was over so I decided maybe you'd like to get a late dinner.''

Sakura sighed, ignoring ogoling eyes from a couple of nurses. ''I don't know, it's pretty late..''

''My treat, Sakura.'' the said young woman laughed. ''Well, if it's your treat, I'll let them know I'm leaving right away..'' she said, sarcastically. Sasuke smirked at this before she walked away.

After letting her boss know that she was gone for the day, she said goodbye to her friend working front desk and left with Sasuke.

''So, I heard from Naruto that you're thinking of getting the apartment he's been bothering you about.'' Sasuke looked up from his bowl of ramen and to the young woman sitting in front of him.

Sakura nodded, swallowing. ''Yeah, I figured if it shuts him up, why not?'' she smiled after seeing him smirk one of the smirks he always put on back in High School. ''Besides, I need a change of scenery. I'm getting kind of bored looking at the same boring white familiar walls.'' she grinned. Sasuke opened his mouth fo suggest something, but Sakura cut him off. ''I am not buying a plant.''

''You need a ride then?'' he asked.

''How do you know?'' she asked, confused. Sasuke shrugged. ''Well considering the fact that Naruto cannot drive like any other normal person..'' she laughed and nodded. ''If you're not busy..''

''Hn.''

''Some things just don't change, huh Sasuke?''

''What do you mean by that?'' he asked, a questioning brow raised. She shook her head, ''Never mind.'' she said. ''So, anything new with you? Girlfriend? Knocked up a girl again accidentally?''

He glared, a mouth full of ramen making the glare not look as scary as it usually did. ''First of all, no girlfriend and second, that was a rumour, she said that for attention. You?'' he asked after swallowing a mouth full of ramen.

Sakura sighed, thinking back if there were any specific events big enough to talk about. ''No, nothing. My life is still as boring as it was in High School.'' she grinned again. ''How's Itachi-nii?''

''He's .. annyoing as ever.'' he thought for a moment. ''Seriously, I can't figure out who's more annoying; Naruto or Itachi.''

''It's Naruto.'' she let out a laugh as Sasuke smirked in agreement.

The following day..

''Thanks, Sasuke.'' she smiled before getting out of the car. Sasuke grunted his famous 'Hn', following with a sentence, ''Call me if you need someone to pick you up.''

Sakura nodded at her friend before waving 'bye'. As Sasuke drove away, she stood in front of the apartment building. It looked normal. Seven floors, including the first floor. The building was painted with the combination of blue and white. It looked fairly clean, too.

Sakura walked into the main entrance of the building to meet a man whose hair defined gravity. He stared at her at first but then, shook his head and smiled. ''You must be Sakura. Hello.'' he reached out his right hand for her to shake.

She shook his hand and smiled. He was polite. ''Hi, I'm looking for Tsunade-sama. Could you tell mer which apartment is hers?''

''Yes, third floor, apartment B.''

''Thank you.'' next thing she knew, she was in the elevator, on her way to meet the landlady.

After hearing the simpl sound, ding the doors opened and walked into the hallway and towards the apartment. She sighed deeply before knocking. After hearing a faint 'come in', she turned the knob and looked in. The living room looked to be clean except for the desk piled up with papers and folders. She walked in, closing the door behind her. ''Tsunade-sama?'' she called out.

A woman who looked to be around her twenties walked out of, what Sakura would've guess, kitchen and into the living room. ''Hello, you must be Haruno Sakura, yes?''

Sakura nodded and smiled. ''Yeah, that's me. It's nice to meet you, Tsunade-sama.''

''Please, have a seat. Would you like something to drink?''

''No, thanks. I'm good.'' she smiled.

Tsunade took a seat on the couch and reached for a file on the coffee table. She stared intently as Tsunade's eyes scanned the paper. ''You're in medical school?''

''Yes. How did you know?'' Sakura asked, confused.

Tsunade smiled. ''That really doesn't matter. So, when can you move in?''

''So, what do you think?'' Sakura asked, biting her lip. Sasuke scanned the living room after he had taken a VIP-tour from the new apartment owner herself. ''What I think doesn't really matter, Sakura. As long as you have a kitchen and a bathroom, you're all set.'' he took a seat on her couch and crossed his arms.

Sakura smiled before bursting out in laughter. ''You opinion matters to me, Sasuke.'' she said, a grin on her face.

Sasuke sighed before looking around the living room. ''Let's see.. You have a fairly big living room, the kitchen looks good, the bathroom looks like a bathroom and you have an okay veiw from you balcony. The place is great, Sakura.''

Sakura threw herself on the couch next to him. ''Thank you. That's all I needed to hear.'' her eyes fixed on the brown path on her friend's neck. ''Why do you have a band-aid on your neck?''

Sasuke's right hand went straight to the brown patch and he shrugged. ''Nothing.''

''Sure, I'll believe that.'' Sakura said with a sarcastic tone.

''Crazy fan girl in my building. She just moved in.'' Sasuke sighed as he remembered how it all happened. ''These fangirls get more and more crazy every year.''

Sakura giggled at her friends weird yet serious situation. ''I'm sorry you have to put up with that. That's what you get for choosing to live in an apartment building.''

Sasuke scoffed after glancing at her. ''It's better than living in a place where I look like I own a money tree in my living room. The last place I was looking at had the elevator doors open right into my living room.''

Sakura's eyes widened. ''You said no to living in a penthouse?'' Sasuke shrugged while he rested his head on the couch. ''I don't want people to forget how to knock everytime they visit me.''

Sakura giggled and silence took over. It wasn't an awkward silence. They were way past that in their friendship. Sometimes, as Sasuke would say, silence is the best conversation. Sakura cleared her throat. ''There's something you should know though..''

Sasuke turned to her while letting a low, ''Hmm?'' escape his throat. ''I've been having these fee-'' Sakura was cut off when Sasuke's phone rang. He pulled the thing out of his pockets and looked at the caller-ID. He rolled his eyes before handing it over to her. ''It's for you.''

She looked confused but that look vanished as soon as she got the phone in hand and glanced at the screen before smiling. ''Hey, Naruto.''

''Hey, beautiful! I heard from Sasuke that you got the apartment, congratulations!''

Sakura laughed and got up from her couch. Sasuke, on the other hand, kept sitting where he was sitting and didn't utter a word. With Naruto, a conversation was never short. ''It's hardly something to celebrate about.''

''Are you kidding me? That apartment's to die for, Sakura!'' Sakura looked out her window and noticed how the view really was beautiful with the sunset setting over the city like that. ''It really is.''

Sakura was unaware of this but Sasuke's eyes never left her while she paced the room and talked to their mutual friend. He really did care about her. She was, after all, the person who changed his view on life. She was very dear to him and he would torture anyone who'd hurt her in any way. He looked at a framed picture on a table by the side of her couch. It was a picture of him and her back when they were in high school. Back then, he wouldn't admit it, but damn it, he loved her.

And he still does.

Nothing much to say, really. A little background on how everyone moved in.
Feel free to tell me what you think, constructive criticism is highly appreciated, thank you!

Next up: None other than the prince of all stoic looks, Uchiha Sasuke!

Stay tuned,

-eam eibef :)