Two: A Sound Hangover

Sakura woke with a pounding headache. That was only to be expected considering the amount of sake she downed last night…and how strong it was. Blinking her eyes to adjust to the light of the morning sun streaming through the window, she sat up in her bed…only to find that her head hurt even more with this action and that she was not in her bed.

What the…

There was no way she was still sleeping. Her head hurt waytoo much for that to be an option. She struggled to remember what had happened last night, if she'd accidentally gotten laid or something like that, but the mental exertion made her head hurt even more (if that was even physically possible) and she couldn't remember a damn thing.

Maybe it is time you gave up this habit, Sakura

She vaguely remembered someone saying something like that to her last night. It couldn't have been Naruto. Firstly, he knew better if he still wanted his head to be attached to his body. Secondly, that would mean she would be in his bed which was just gross. Not that she hadn't slept in the same bed as him before, but not hisbed! It was the single most repulsive thing she'd ever seen (though she hadn't looked inside his fridge yet. She was afraid she would catch some incurable disease just by inhaling the air from that place)! She could practically see the bacteria and germs crawling all over it…because there was so damn many. And besides, this didn't look like his bed or any bed she was familiar with (which wasn't all too many). So either some random guy walked into her house, noticed she was drunk, and decided he wanted a quick screw or she'd wandered out herself and the same thing had happened. The first one couldn't have happened coz she'd locked the front door and why would the guy take her to his place and take her there when he could just do it in her place…and why would a random guy just walk in anyway? So itmust be the second option. The only logical explanation.

Does it even matter?

It wasn't worth the extra pounding in her head. However she got there, all she had to worry about was getting back.

She clutched her head as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. Whoever she'd screwed last night, it must not have been on the bed coz the covers she was sitting on were perfectly neat. And black. Or was it a deep shape of blue? Weird. Who was psychotic enough to sleep in sheets this color? And this person wasn't even decent enough to put her under the covers but had just laid her on top. Didn't they think she'd get cold in these flimsy pajamas?

Oh crap!

How the hell was she supposed to get home in these?

Talk about the most embarrassing situation ever!

At least she wasn't naked. She was infinitely glad that she decided not to sleep naked. But she still felt like crap. Probably looked like crap too. If the guy she was with last night walked through the door he probably would have been thinking "CRAP! I screwed that?" Ha. Some small semblance of revenge for taken advantage of a drunken woman.

Sakura slowly surveyed her surroundings, still blinking repeatedly at the imposing light. The room was impossibly dull. There was a bed, and small table next to the left side of the bed (if you were facing it) which was probably the side its owner slept on. On that table was a lamp and other than that the room had a chest of drawers. And that was it. The walls were the same color of the sheets and so was the carpet, making the room seem incredibly dark and foreboding, like its owner didn't like happy things. Like he wanted to be reminded of all the bad things in the world. Again, totally psychotic! How didshe get herself in these situations? Well, at least the owner had made sure all the blues were the same. In that particular shade, any other blue would have completely ruined the overall affect. At least he had somesense of color coordination, even if he was psychotic. Talking about color coordination, Sakura stuck out like a rose in the midst of thorns (she's always liked using that metaphor while referring to herself), what, with her pink hair and blood red pajamas.

Sakura attempted to stand up, but immediately fell back down on the bed again as a wave of nausea washed over her. She noticed the bed was very hard. So unlike her soft bed at home.

I just want to go home!

But how could she go home if she couldn't even stand up? Tears pricked her eyes and she blinked them away just as quickly as they'd appeared. She couldn't remember the last time she'd cried and she sure as hell wasn't going to start again over as something as trivial (albeit embarrassing) as this. She could handle herself. She could handle this. Just as she'd vowed to herself that she would become strong enough to handle anything as soon as she realized Sasuke wasn't coming back…ever.

Sasuke?

Why had his name popped into her head after so much time? She couldn't remember the last time she'd said it, even in her thoughts. And why did a mental image of him leaning towards her pop into her head, more like it was a forgotten memory rather than an imagination?

This is just too weird…

She glanced around the room again, noting that it was probably exactly how Sasuke would decorate his room…

STOP! What are you thinking? You've come too far to fail now!

Sakura nodded to herself in silent agreement and was secretly thankful for Inner Sakura. Most of the time she just felt like a freak. No one else she knew had inner selves, but times like these she was glad she had it. Whatever 'it' was.

So Sakura sat on the bed, absentmindedly tapping her feet on the floor in some random rhythm, wondering if she'd be able to walk before the guy returned and things became incredibly awkward.

Knowing my luck, it'll probably be any second now.

And sure enough, the door slammed open, revealing the psychotic guy she'd been with last night.

---

It only took one quick look at Sakura for Sasuke to know that she wasdefinitely not expecting him to walk through the door. Well, it wasn't his fault she got drunk. It made his job easier at any rate. From what he remembered of her, she could be very loud when she wanted to. That had probably just gotten worse with age. He hoped she wouldn't start screaming now. But surely she must have picked up some dignity as she grew up. He winced as a mental image of Sakura fainting as she saw him buried in the ground popped into his head. Okay, maybe she'd faint instead. That seemed like a probably reaction. But what was it that she'd said to him last night?

Things change…

Well he certainly hoped that in this case it had. The fact that she obviously wasn't infatuated with him was…annoying. All the time he was with her he'd wished she'd just get away from him and leave him alone, but when he actually wanted her to love him, she didn't. That just figured. He was pretty sure she pretty much hated him now. A typical response he'd expect from anyone but Sakura. Even if she didn't love him anymore, he'd at least expected her to accept him. This was Sakura. She'd yelled at Naruto when he'd stomped on an ant hole! Her kindness knew no bounds, which was why he she was a pathetic ninja. At least she could heal now. That fit into her apparent goal of 'helping everyone.' And apparently she was exceptionally good at it. He grudgingly admitted to himself that that wasn't too much of a surprise. Her chakra control had always been perfect. And that was why she was here, in his bedroom, sitting on his bed, staring at him like he was a ghost. Well, to her, he probably was.

"Sasuke?"

---

Sakura blinked once…twice…and again and again until she could be completely sure that Sasuke Uchiha had just walked through the door. And she knew it was real. This was just not possible. After telling herself for so long that she'd never see him again, the sight before her was just too hard to grasp.

Okay, Sakura. This is a new one.

So what the hell am I supposed to do!!!

Well, how should I know?

But you always know what to do!

Okay, okay let's think her for a second…

It's already been, like, a minute since he walked through that door! I probably look like a gaping idiot right now! Notexactly a display of my immense hatred for him!

Good point. He's here. So be it. Just accept it. Take strength from your hatred of him. That's always kept you strong in the past.

A logical suggestion. But Sakura knew she was in deep emotional and mental trouble. Talking to herself was a telltale sign.

"Sasuke?"

He was still looking at her with that blank expression he always wore.

"I told you this would happen."

"I'm sorry, what?"

He smirked. "Last night. You were drunk. You didn't believe it was me. I told you that you'd believe it in the morning."

Did that mean they'd…? Nah…

What the hell, Sasuke's probably still a virgin…and he sure as hell wouldn't do that with me of all people. If he did, I'd castrate him in a second.

Sakura racked her brain for any memories of last night and all she got was the mental picture of Sasuke leaning over her…

"I can only remember one thing."

He waited for her to go on, clearly not seeing the need to let any of his precious energy go to waste by talking to her any more than he had to. She felt the old anger creep past her shock and panic and surprise.

Let the loathing begin.

"I remember you leaning over me in an attempt to be intimidating and failing miserably. But that's all."

She applauded herself silently when his impenetrable mask of stone slipped for a moment to reveal his surprise. She guessed he wasn't used to her hating him yet.

He shrugged, "Well then, I'll just have to give you a little visual reminder."

He walked over to her and stood in front of her, forcing to look up at his towering frame from her seat on the bed. How she wished she could stand up.

"Stand up."

"Don't tell me what to do." Once upon a time he just had to say the word and she'd jump off a cliff for him, but not now. Not anymore. Not ever again.

He shrugged, "Have it your way." He leaned down on top over her, bracing himself up with two hands on either side of her as her back was forced onto the bed. She refused to be in such a vulnerable position and used her elbows to keep herself somewhat upright. Sasuke didn't seem to care or notice either way. She certainly hoped he didn't notice the brief stab of arousal at his proximity before she squashed it down furiously. Once upon a time she would have died a thousand deaths to be in this kind of position with Sasuke, even if it meant nothing to him, but not now. Not anymore. Not ever again.

Sakura opened her mouth to ask him what the hell he was doing and if he could, please, get the hell off her, but before she could, he activated his Sharingan, immediately casting her under its spell. Her body was paralyzed. All she could do was look into those eyes…

…and see the events of last night play out before her. It was weird seeing herself like she was. In little red pajamas, half-wet, half-dry pink hair with no apparent style to it, and guzzling a bottle of sake. Quite frankly, she was appalled. She couldn't believeshe'd let her dignity stoop to such a low level, even in the privacy of her own home. It was shameful. And completely embarrassing (she could have at least drunk out of a glass and sat on a chair like a civilized person). Sasuke had seen her like that! And she had been in that state because of him!

Stupid, insolent…

Her thoughts trailed off as she heard him say he wanted her to heal Orochimaru's arms. Like hell she would. Nothing in Heaven or Earth could make her heal the arms of the bastard that stole her Sasuke…

Wait…

Oh for Kami's sake, did you just say my Sasuke? Get a grip, Sakura! You're losing it! Just coz he happens to be in a slightly compromising position with you! And anyway, hechose to go! Don't forget that! And even if Orochimaru didn't exist, he'd still leave anyway.

By the time she'd finished her little conversation with her Inner Sakura, the scene had played out, leaving Sakura under Sasuke.

"Okay, you can get the hell off me now."

As soon as Sasuke pulled himself upright the paralysis was gone.

Sakura sat up and attempted to brush down her hair, like Sasuke had messed it up (like it wasn't already messed up).

"Oh, and by the way, if you think for one second that I'm going to heal that bastard's arms, you're seriously delusional and in need of mental help. Wait, you're probably already in need of that."

"Whatever."

Oh, just great. There was that answer of his that was supposed to say all but instead said absolutely nothing. It seemed as though he was as talkative as ever, though that wasn't really surprising. She doubted there were many people to talk to in the Sound village, where she assumed she was. Oh man, she was going to go psychotic herself! She'd probably only have Inner Sakura for company! How sad!

Well, Sasuke didn't seem like he was going to say much about anything, so Sakura took charge.

"Look, I hate to inconvenience you after dragging my ass all the way to Sound. I'm sure you must be so tired, but could I possibly have a shower so I resemble a human somewhat?"

He gave her what was possibly the most bored look she'd ever received from him, and that was saying something!

"Whatever. I don't care."

She assumed that was a yes and that he wasn't planning on saying anymore so she stood up with as much grace as she could, tried hard not to stumble from the nausea, ignored the pain in her head, and walked to the bathroom. Upon shutting the door behind her, she braced herself on the counter and waited for the nausea to pass.

I am never, never drinking sake again!

Once it had passed, she stripped (remembering with horror that she didn't put any underwear on) and turned the taps on. Kami knew how long she'd be stuck there for, and she had nothing at all. Not toiletries, no brush, no shampoo or conditioner, no facial wash, no underwear, no decent clothes, no toothbrush (GASP)…nothing that could be of use to her but barely-there silk pajamas!

She forced herself not to think of this as she stepped into the inviting shower, letting the warm water sooth her nerves and anxiety. She found it faintly weird that she was naked, having a shower inSasuke's bathroom, in Sasuke's shower, but refused to dwell on it further as she unwittingly got a mental image of him in the same shower! It was like his sudden reappearance had set all the old feelings of desire she had for him in motion, with a strange mixture of absolute, pure, unadulterated hatred and loathing with it. What a messed up situation!

She immediately got out of the shower upon realizing that that disturbing mental image would not go away. She tried herself off with a towel, stopping abruptly when she realized Sasuke could have used this very towel himself…and what if he hadn't washed it!

EW! Germs! Bacteria!

But that wasn't the only thing she was thinking about. In shock, she dropped her towel and looked around for clean clothes, only to figure out, whoops, she didn't have any. She couldn't get back in those pajamas. Not only did they stink of sake (which she wanted to forget ever existed), but they also stunk of sweat. And she could just see all the bacteria and germs crawling all over them, probably as drunk on sake as she was from the residue on her pajamas. They were microscopic…it wouldn't take much to get them hammered!

That's it. She had no choice. Tentatively picking up the towel, she wrapped it around herself, hoping that Sasuke wouldn't get turned on by her walking out of his bathroom with only a towel…his towel wrapped around her. But come to think of it, the chances of Sasuke getting turned on by anything with two breasts and a vagina was as likely as Suna getting snow. Not freaking likely.

Thoughnormal guys seemed to be turned on by it. She'd discovered that when she'd been in a similar situation at Naruto's house after a mission. When she emerged from his bathroom with a towel around her, he'd stammered, saying to wear whatever she wanted while trying to inconspicuously put a pillow over his erection as he sat on the couch, failing miserably. It had only served to freak Sakura out more when she put some of his clothes on in the bathroom and wondered how he was going to take care of it. They'd never spoken of the incident and she sure as hell wasn't going to bring it up. So if Naruto, who was like her brother/best friend, got turned on by it, pretty much every guy was susceptible to it. She didn't know what they found to be such a turn-on. Most towels were long and went to the knees. It sure left a bit to the imagination. Maybe it was the fact that a towel indicated that they'd just come out of the shower, therefore giving them a mental picture of them in that shower. Or maybe it was the fact that they knew they had nothing underneath that towel, therefore presenting another mental picture. Or maybe it was the fact that they knew the towel was so easy to remove – not like bras and panties and troublesome things like that. No, you didn't even have to do anything with a towel. All the girl had to do was lift her arms and, whoops, there she goes! It was probably all of those things. And even if those things passed through Sasuke's mind, she was sure he'd observe them like one observed a tree swaying in the breeze.

---

As Sasuke stood in his bedroom waiting for Sakura to get out of the shower, he couldn't help but feel a bit weird about her being in there. She was in his shower…the very same shower he used everyday. A mental picture of her in there, rubbing her hands down her wet, naked body sprung into his mind before he could stop it. He winced as he pushed the image aside. It was Sakura, for crying out loud! That was more than a bit weird. He blamed the pajamas. He'd definitely have to get some new clothes for her. They revealed more of her than he wanted to see. Like when she leaned back, she unconsciously pushed her breasts up and they in turned strained against the flimsy material. She might as well have nothing there at all! And those tiny shorts! He was sure they were more like underwear, which probably meant she wasn't wearing any proper underwear. Just great. No, he definitely could not have her walking around Sound in that! It would cause a riot! Sure, the men here saw girls on a daily basis, but these girls were hard, tough Sound ninja, not the type of girls that actually stir the imagination. Sakura and everything about her was soft and stirred the imagination. Even when she spat out insults at him, she could tell her feelings for him were the only thing that had really changed about her (well, that and her body).

His thoughts were interrupted as the door opened, revealing Sakura in nothing but a towel…his towel. He forced himself to suppress whatever feeling that sight had aroused and gave her a carefully bored look, not intending to speak, lest his voice betray him. But he couldn't stop the images. The shower image came back, along with an image of what was underneath that towel (or lack of what was underneath) and the fact that it was so easy to take off. All she had to do was lift her arms and… And he had a pretty good idea of what she'd look like naked. He'd already seen more than enough to fill in the gaps.

Damnit. Ignoring her was somuch easier when she didn't have boobs and an ass, and didn't wear little, silk pajamas, and didn't come out of his bathroom in nothing but a towel.

She looked a little embarrassed herself. Obviously she never thought she'd be in this strange position either.

"Um…I don't have any other clothes than the ones I came in."

He looked at her as though what she was saying was utterly inane. He'd now figured out that talking to her would arouse her obvious disdain for him and she'd vocalize it. By staying silent and pretending that she wasn't even worth opening his mouth for (which she really wasn't), he annoyed her even more, but she didn't annoy him by opening her mouth. She just glared. That he could handle fine.

"Well, I need some clothes."

He lifted an eyebrow. "I hardly think you're in the position to make demands, Sakura."

"Well, it was you who brought me here in nothing but those little pajamas, and unless you want me walking around in those…"

Enough said. He sure didn't want to have to stomach that image for however long she had to stay here.

Without another word he walked to his drawers and searched for some appropriate clothes, only slightly disturbed that she was going to be wearing his clothes…without underwear. He suppressed a shudder. He'd have to get them washed thoroughly before he got them back.