Chapter 2: Inert - Irked
Sasuke walked out of the bar, Sakura held loosely in his arms, her head lolling back and forth.
He looked down at her pale face, adjusting her so that her head was tucked safely against his chest, and cringed inwardly at the drool she was spreading on the gray flak vest he now wore as a part of his everyday uniform. The disgusting scent of vomit wafted up to his nose, and he was lucky she had kept her hair short after all these years. But she was light. Carrying her back wouldn't be too hard.
Tch. Must've knocked herself out.
He frowned slightly at himself. He should have been paying more attention. He knew she had seemed a little off, but when he had seen Ino buy her a drink, he hadn't though much of it. He hadn't exactly expected her to end up in this state. A drunk Sakura seemed close to impossible. Almost unheard of actually. In fact, Sakura was always the one berating Naruto and him for their supposedly horrid drinking habits.
"That beer'll go straight to your stomach, guys. I'm telling you, it's really not healthy!" she would warn.
He smirked as he imagined her waking up, realizing what had happened, and then beating her head against the wall out of pure humiliation.
As he rounded the corner in the direction he knew to be Sakura's apartment, he suddenly realized how suspicious he looked. He, an ex-criminal of the leaf, carrying a clearly out-cold Sakura.
He sighed inwardly as some of the street passers gave him distrustful looks. It was long ago that he had resigned himself to the fact that there would always be some distrust geared towards him. There would always be those few wary looks, the fearful glances, and the protective mothers that steered their children the opposite side as he walked past. Some of the villagers, the ones that knew him more than "the last Uchiha boy" or "that Sound criminal guy," gave him a polite nod as he strode by, which he had no problem returning.
He had proven himself to the Hokage and the Council, both of which had approved him to become a member of the ANBU, but the same couldn't be said for the rest of the village.
He thought back sourly to the pub, when he had offered to take Sakura home. He knew he had changed. They knew he had changed. But the little things they did still left him with a slight feeling of frustration. For instance, their surprised glances had bothered him. What? Was it so surprising that he do a small favor? Everybody else seemed to be enjoying themselves, so why have somebody else unnecessarily cut their free night short?
He couldn't deny the fact that he wasn't involved in some of the "fun" activities they did. Well, he did pretty much just sit in the corner and sulk. But, despite how bored he seemed and the annoyance he showed when Naruto would yell at him to meet at the bar, he actually did somewhat enjoy being there. There was something about just watching everybody bustle around and socialize that he found almost… calming.
Still, Naruto's long lecture about Sakura's safety definitely irked him.
Alright, bastard, you better bring her straight back to her apartment. Ya hear me? No weird detours or nothing. If I find out something went wrong, that so much as one of her pink hairs is out of place, it'll be your white ass on the line. I swear—
It hadn't been until that Hyuga girl had laid a small, pale hand on his shoulder that he had backed off. The hyperactive blonde had stepped back and given him a small grin.
Careful there, bastard.
Sasuke had given him a slight eye roll and left with nothing but a short "Hn." What? Did they think he was gonna fondle her in the dead of night? He knew it wasn't necessarily that Naruto didn't trust him with Sakura's safety, rather a way for him to boss him around. He knew he was probably overreacting, but that didn't stop it from bothering him.
He thought back to that Hinata girl. It was initially quite surprising to see that there was something between the two. Well, he supposed he should say it was surprising to see that Naruto returned the feelings. Even as beginner-genin, anyone with eyes could see the shy girl with the indigo hair had a ginormous crush on the blonde. Naruto, however, notorious for being glaringly clueless, had taken about three years after Sasuke's return to catch on.
His thoughts were interrupted as he realized he had arrived at their destination. Leaping up the flight of stairs, he lifted up a pot of violets and retrieved the set of keys he knew to be there. With some difficulty, he managed to unlock the door, Sakura still in his arms, and walked in.
He took his time. Despite their long time teammate-ship, it wasn't often that he was invited into her apartment. The majority of the housing had a green and cream theme, with dark wood furniture and a potted plant on top of almost every surface, leaving a distinct floral scent throughout every room.
Striding through the hallway that led to her bedroom, he reached for the door.
The room was surprisingly simplistic. A bed covered with a dark pink comforter was placed next to a window, a shelf stacked with medical books and romance novels on its side. A wardrobe stood on the opposite end of the room, along with a small closet. Placed on one of the white walls was a large mirror, its reflection making the room seem bigger than it was. Despite some dirty clothes and a few empty water bottles, the room was unsurprisingly tidy.
Setting the unconscious girl on her bed, he covered her with the magenta duvet and rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt.
"Mmmmggaawrrrehh..." she moaned, starting to stir. He froze, not wanting to wake her up, but she turned over and continued sleeping without a problem.
With a quiet sigh of relief, he moved back towards her shelf and browsed idly, picking out a book.
"The Autumn Romance: an Adventure of Passion and Longing," he read aloud in a low voice, making a face at the cover of a muscular, bare-chested man holding a skimpily-clad redhead.
Sakura reads this crap? he thought, shuddering as he hastily put the book back where it belonged.
His eyes railed further up the shelf and landed on a couple dusty photographs. A few pictures of her and her parents, a couple silly photos of her, Ino, Ten Ten, and Hinata, and a photo of her medic training with Tsunade. Apart from all the others, however, was Team Seven's old genin photo. Picking it up, he noticed there was an absence of dust on the plastic. Something tugged in the back of his chest, and he felt the sudden urge to put the frame back down and wipe his hands.
He didn't like to think about his leaving had caused. How it affected the village. How it affected his friends. How it affected Naruto. Sakura.
A quiet moan came from Sakura's bed, and he whipped his head back to see her stirring, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.
She looked up blearily, rubbing her head and groaning.
"Whaa happened?" she mumbled. Looking up at where Sasuke stood, she blinked in confusion.
"Sasuke? What're you doing here?"
"Just go to sleep," he said shortly. "It's a long story."
It really wasn't. There wasn't anything particularly long about saying she got drunk out of her mind on a free night, but he wasn't about to explain it to her now.
She looked as though she wanted to protest, but then decided against it, apparently too tired to push it forwards.
Flopping her face into her pillow, she managed to garble out, "Arrighty den. Gudniighh."
He gave her an odd look, but stayed there, waiting until she was completely asleep before turning out the lights and walking out the door.
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