CHAPTER ONE - What Sweets Taste Like
Sasuke Uchiha has returned to the village a few months ago. What made him come back? The defeat of his older sibling. Yes, he has finally defeated Uchiha Itachi. With that, he has felt satisfied and decided to live a normal life back in his hometown. Though Sakura was sure she was over her obsession with the Uchiha, when she saw him come back, she felt something rise up within her. Happiness and completion. Seeing him to be able to smile was enough to complete her. But why? It looked like she had to find out the hard way...
'Tuesday today... Sasuke might be in the hospital for his monthly check-up.' the young kunoichi had thought to herself. She released the calendar from her hands and got up from her bed. She dressed up and went out of her apartment.
On the way to the hospital, she bumped into Hinata and Kiba along the way.
"Sakura-san!"
"Kiba. Hinata. Ohayo."
"Sakura, where are you going? The hospital's closed today."
"Closed?" she looked at the dog-lover.
"Y-yes." Hinata stammered. "Due to Sasuke-kun's visit, they had it closed. A lot of reporters have been snooping around his apartment lately and Godaime-sama had even ordered ANBU to protect him."
"Anbu??!"
"Yeah. But I'm sure that the hospital will let you in. Tsunade-sama is inside and if I were you I'd hurry."
"Are they still not over it yet?!"
Sakura just smiled at the couple and ran off to the hospital. When she got there, the gates were closed so she gathered chakra to her feet and jumped over. She ran inside the halls to look for her master. And when she bumped into her...
"Tsunade-sama!"
"Sakura! What are you doing here? The hospital is closed."
"How's Sasuke?" she said while panting.
"Sakura, we went over this last week. No matter how many check ups we need, he's fine. We just need to make sure he stays that way."
She put her hand on the pink haired kunoichi and gave out a big, heavy sigh.
"Well, he's in room 82 in case you want to see him."
"Thank you, Tsunade-sama."
The Sannin just nodded at her and walked towards the exit of the hospital while Sakura, once the Hokage had been out of her sight, started running to room 82. Upon reaching the wooden door with the big number '82' carved in the middle, she opened the door and squeezed her head inside to peek. She saw a dark blue haired boy sitting on the edge of his bed, looking outside his window.
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura had entered the room and closed the door behind her.
"S-Sakura?" he stood up straight and fixed his shirt. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm just... Checking up on you, as usual. Haven't you gotten used to it?"
"N-No."
"Are you feeling okay, Sasuke-kun?"
Well, it was the first time he stammered around her. What did she expect? She put her palm on his forehead to check his temperature but he faced away so Sakura wouldn't be able to be in contact with his forehead.
"No, I'm fine."
"Are you sure? We could go and take you out for a walk or maybe you'd rather stay here and be alone as usual, which ever's your pick."
He fixed his feet in his sandals and headed for the door. Sakura only had realized he had left when Sasuke was already in the hallway. She ran out of the room and walked fast so she could catch up with the Uchiha.
"Sasuke, where are you going?"
"Outside. We're going for a walk."
'We...' the word echoed inside of Sakura. Come to think of it, it's been a while since he used that term. Honestly, she didn't even think he used that word since their first training with Kakashi when they were still Genins. They've reached town and walked the streets, passing by civilians and other shinobis. They even passed by some of the Jonins like Kurenai, Gai and Genma.
A few minutes later, Sasuke felt something familiar in his stomach.
"I'm hungry. Let's go."
"Where?"
Sasuke ignored her question and started running, leaving the medic he was with. Sakura ran after him and tried to catch up but then, he stopped in front of a certain store.
"Sasuke-kun?"
Sakura had finally caught up with him. She put her hand on his shoulder and tried catching her breath. She was breathing harshly. Looking up, she tried reading the sign beside them.
'Chocolate Emporium?' she thought to herself.
"Sasuke-kun, you don't like sweets."
The shinobi she was holding onto looked at her with a smirk on his face. He walked inside the store leaving Sakura outside, trying to catch her breath. With her hands on her knees, she panted. Sasuke peeked outside once more.
"Are you coming in or not?"
Standing straight once more, Sakura walked inside the shop and sat in the stall she had been lead to. There was food on their table already which made Sakura wonder.
"Sasuke, how long was I outside?"
"Long enough for me to get some food. Now eat up."
He rested his back against the chair he was sitting on while Sakura started scarfing down the food in front of her one by one. She paused and released the sweets for a while the minute she noticed something.
"You're the one who dragged me here." she pushed one of the plates slightly towards his direction. "At least eat one."
He shook his head.
"Don't you remember? You just told me a while ago." he pushed the plate back. "I don't like sweets."
"Can't you at least taste it?" she grabbed one of the chocolates and held it in front of Sasuke.
"No."
"Please?" her eyes widened and her lips started pouting.
He shook his head. He grabbed the sweet piece of food from Sakura and set it on the plate.
"No. I am not tasting it. I am not eating it either."
"Aren't you even curious how it tastes?"
"No."
"That's impossible." Sakura's eyes widened in amusement. She had never met anyone who wasn't IN to sweets.
She just kept quiet and continued munching on the food Sasuke had taken earlier. Sasuke was just watching her silently as she ate herslef through the sweets. She raised her head to look at the shinobi in front of her.
"Well? You're paying."
"I don't have any money on me." he shrugged his shoulder and went back to watching her eat. But she stopped and crossed her arms. "You pay."
"You dragged me here!" she stood up with her hands resting on the table. "I'll pay if you eat at least one piece!"
Sasuke released a heavy sigh and ordered Sakura to sit down again and she did. He remained quiet. Still, Sakura was waiting for him to grab a piece but he just sat there right in front of her.
"Well?" She had asked him.
As if scheduled, Sasuke rolled his eyes as his hand reached for the half empty plate of sweets. Picking up a small piece of chocolate, he slowly placed it in front of his mouth. Sakura was already in suspense, eager but also nervous to find out how Sasuke would find it. He was shaking, not knowing why, but he was.
He opened his mouth a took a small bite of the food in his fingers. Slowly letting his tongue dwell on the taste and his teeth chew on it. Next, he swallowed the tiny chewed up pieces.
"Well...?"
Sakura gripped on the edge of her skirt, feeling uneasy because Uchiha Sasuke had eaten one of the most things he had despised throughout his life as a shinobi. He gave out a small smirk and released the rest of the food he was handling back to the plate it came from.
"It'll do."
After that, he had called one of the waiters and told him to wrap up the rest of the food in two different bags. Both shinobis walked out of the shop and started strolling to the direction of Sasuke's apartment.
"Wait... So you like sweets now?"
"No. I'll just munch on these whenever there's nothing to eat at my place."
He placed his other hand in his pocket while the other one held the bag of sweets by its edge. Sakura, on the other hand, was hugging the small bag of sweets against her chest. Thinking of Sasuke's face back at the Chocolate Emporium, she giggled a little. Sasuke looked at her with confusion.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing..."
They've reached The front of Sasuke's apartment a few minutes later. He opened the door and invited Sakura in.
"N-No thank you. I still have to go to Naruto's and drop something there."
"Okay then."
Sasuke was just about to close the door when Sakura had used her foot to block it.
"Are you sure you don't really like sweets."
He opened the door once more while Sakura had set her foot back where it was before. Sasuke stepped forward until they were just at least 3 inches away.
"No..." He kissed Sakura's forehead and headed back inside. "But I might be in love with someone who made me eat them."
She stood there, frozen, surprised from what she just had heard. He closed his door, leaving Sakura on his front door.
'WEll... This is....' she couldn't find the word to describe the moment. She was a bit too confused how it happened.
'NEW IS THE WORD, SAKURA...' her inner self had told her. She nodded and headed to the rooftops. She figured that it would be better if she had just literally dropped of something at Naruto's. On the way, she saw the blonde shinobi who lived in the apartment she was heading towards walking down the street.
"Naruto!" she yelled as she landed on one of the roofs.
"Sakura! What are you doing there?" He looked at Sakura as she sat squated on one of the rooftops.
She grabbed something from her pocket and threw it to Naruto. It was Tsunade's necklace. She had forgotten to return it for quite sometime since she took it off while healing the minor injury on his chest.
"Thanks! I almost forgot about it!"
"Well, that's it. I still have a lot of preparations for next week."
Naruto thought about it. Was there something special next week?
"Ne, Sakura-chan!" He waved at the kunoichi.
"Hmm??" she gathered her chakra to the right area and jumped from the rooftop and in front of Naruto. "What is it?"
"Am I missing something? What's with next week?"
"It's Christmas, baka!" she slapped Naruto's arm.
"Christmas? Where did November go to??!" He stated as he rubbed the arm that Sakura had just hit.
"Right past your empty head, Naruto." She tapped Naruto's forehead lightly.
"Well, what would you like for Christmas then?"
"I wouldn't be expecting anything from anyone this year.. If ever you're giving me something, just surprise me."
"Okay, then, bye!" Naruto waved at the kunoichi and took off with the necklace in his hands.
Sakura walked home and started taking out the decorations from the closet of her apartment. In the middle of putting up the decorations, someone knocked on her door.
"Sakura!"
She knew that voice. That girly and extremely annoying voice. She opened the steel door and there she was.
"What do you want, INO!??!"
"I heard from Naruto that you're getting ready for Christmas. I was just going to see if you needed some help!"
'Naruto... That figures...' she closed the door as she let the blondie in. Ino looked around her apartment and scratched the back of her head.
"Sakura... You're just getting started? But you have a big home and so much decorations?"
"Why are you even willing to help me out this year? You're always busy during the week before Christmas." Sakura reached for the box beside her and pulled out a streamer with "MERRY CHRISTMAS" written on it in big letters.
"Well," Ino grabbed the other end of the streamer. "My family just finished decorating. We had to start early since we still had the flower shop to decorate. But we got some help from Chouji and Shikamaru this year."
Ino helped her friend in decorating her whole apartment. From the banners in the living room up to the decorations in her bathroom. All that was left to decorate was her room. Ino looked out the window and it was past noon already.
"I think I better go home for lunch. I'll be back, okay?"
"No need. I'll decorate my room by myself. I don't wanna be a bother."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"Okay then. Merry Christmas, Sakura."
Ino had left her unit and Sakura slumped onto the leather couch behind her. She turned on the TV with the remote beside her and decided to see what was on. Seeing nothing had caught her interest, she turned it off and decided to cook lunch. She was eating her homemade meal by herself when she heard another knock on her front door. She opened the door and found Genma with a bag clinging onto his shoulder.
"Telegram for Haruno Sakura." he pulled out an envelope from the bag and handed it to her.
"So you just deliver mail these days?" she grabbed the letter from the Jonin in front of her.
"It has a good pay. Anyway, Merry Christmas." he walked away.
Sakura closed her door and sat back in her kitchen. Leaving the letter unopened, she decided to read it after she was done eating. So she finiished up quickly and opened the rectangular envelope.
Dear Sakura,
Sorry I didn't get to greet you this morning. I was just wondering... What would you like for a gift? I never really asked anyone about it. So what do you think will satisfy you this year? Merry Christmas, Sakura-san.
Signed, Uchiha Sasuke.
Seriously... Was this Sasuke? She never thought he'd be that... Considerate to give her a gift. Was it because of what happened today?
The sun was already about to set when she thought she could give a note to Sasuke. She was thinking about it and maybe she could tell him what she had told Naruto. She took a piece of paper from her desk and wrote on it.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Meanwhile, Sasuke was at home watching movies in his room while eating away the sweets he had taken home. Though it was true that he had nothing left to eat at home, it was also true that he had developed some liking for the chocolates.
He was waiting for Sakura's response to the letter he had sent her. Someone suddenly knocked on the shinobi's door. He stood up but then he heard the knock again. He went out of his room and headed towards the door. The person outside knocked once more.
"Oii, I'm coming."
He twisted the knob of his door. Feeling the cold breeze that passed him when he had opened the door, he realized no one was there. He was about to close the wooden door when he noticed a small piece of pink paper attached on his door.
Sasuke-kun! I don't really expect anything from anyone this year. If you're thinking of giving me a present, just surprise me! Anything will do!
Merry Xmas !
Sakura Haruno :)
He closed the door behind him and went back to his room. He was almost out of sweets when he sat on the edge of his bed, still holding onto the note the kunoichi had left. He placed on the table beside his bed. His eyes shifted from the piece of paper to the frame he had displayed there. It was a picture of him, Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura when they were still Genins. He smiled at the thought that the girl who was weak before had finally made his heart beat for her own. Although, he knows it wouldn't last long... The happiness she had given him wouldn't last long...
"Fuck..." he had stated to himself as he slammed the table the note and the frame were on. "Why me, Itachi??!"
A teardrop fell from his dark eyes as he continued to curse his condition. He lay on his bed, taking note that it was already night and he hadn't eaten dinner yet. Tsunade and Shizune swore to keep it a secret from his beloved pink haired kunoichi, Sakura. His head flashed back to the moment he talked to Tsunade and Shizune when he had just arrived form the village an few months back.
"You're fine, Uchiha." The Fifth Hokage flipped through the papers on the clip board in the palm of her hands.
"That's good to hear."
"We just have to find a way to cure Itachi's cut on your chest. Or else..." Tsunade pointed at the shinobi's chest with her index finger.
"Itachi said... Before he died... I wouldn't last long with this cut on my chest..." Sasuke covered up the big wound on his chest with his ragged and wounded hand.
"Well, Sasuke. I can't tell you anything but this... You will only last a year of less..." Tsunade placed the clipboard on the table beside her patient's bed.
"But... Godaime-sama! There is an operation that we can-"
"Shizune! That operation is now obsolete. We used it too many times and we most definitely cannot use it any longer."
"It's okay, Tsunade-sama... I never really pictured myself living long..."
The two medical ninjas faced Sasuke with blank faces. Tonton, on the other hand, was just snooping around Sasuke's room. All three shinobis felt a slight breeze come from the window.
"I can make the most out of my life before I die... But I want a favor."
"As long as we can do it." Tsunade dipped her head into confirmation that she would do anything she could.
"Do not tell anyone about it. Only the three of us will know about this... I don't want getting the others worried. I just want them to think that I'm back to living a normal life... And I want to believe that myself..."
"We understand."
"Do not tell anyone about this wretched condition! Not Kakashi! Not Naruto! And especially not Sakura!!!"
He hit his chest lightly as tears suddenly piled up in his eyes.
"We promise."
And with those final words, the medics left him alone in his room to let him cry out alone.
"Fuck..." he stated once more as he fell asleep through the night...
I think I went too far with this... THere's too much drama. It's fine. I'm a dramatic king of person and I'm sorry if I ever caused you any trouble on wasting your time reading it... I wouldn't blame you if you didn't like it... R&R please!!! Teehee!