Disclaimer: All characters and original plot ofc belong to Kishimoto.
Sunlight pierced through his curtains, alerting Sasuke that it was late in the morning, if it was morning at all. He glanced at the clock, finding that it was already noon. It wasn't a second later until he remembered that he, Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Kakashi were supposed to report to the hokage by dawn. Still, he made no effort to rush, knowing that Kakashi most likely hasn't even arrived yet and probably "got lost on the road of life" like always. Rummaging through the luggage he brought from his old apartment, he grabbed a set of clothes and quickly slipped them on. He sighed heavily and set out to meet the team, closing the door to the Uchiha manor behind him.
Naruto, Sakura and Sai waited in front of the Hokage residence, waiting for not just one member of the team, but two. Sakura couldn't look Sai in the eye after such a huge declaration last night, resolving to just look at the floor and fiddle with her thumbs. Sai was the only one sitting on the ground, sketching something in his book with eyes that never once left his paper, even when Sakura arrived. On top of that, both had been completely quiet since they arrived. Naruto observed the two through cobalt blue eyes, inferring that something was amiss. He shifted towards Sakura and was just about to ask her what was wrong when he noted the arrival of their raven-haired teammate.
"Oi teme, you look like a soggy bowl of cup ramen. What happened to you?" Naruto inquired, and Sakura's cheeks burned red because she already knew the answer to his question.
"I couldn't sleep last night..." Sasuke paused, unsure if Naruto was aware of Sakura and Sai's relationship, "... noises were keeping me up"
"What kind of-" Naruto began as their late-as-usual master appeared, his Icha Icha Paradise book still in the same place it always was- in his right hand and directly in front of his face- as he approached them, wearing the same outfit as always.
"Yo. Sorry I'm late, you see there was this little girl that lost her ball and I couldn't find it so I had to buy her another one but a black cat crossed my path and there was this lady-" Kakashi rambled before looking up from his perverted book and realizing the other three were already inside the building. He jogged to catch up with them, chuckling at their impatience and lack of tolerance for his excuses.
The team stood in front of the Slug Princess and took in her usual tell-tale signs of sleep, a reversed stamp imprinted on the side of her forehead and a dried trail of drool trailing down her chin. All these years and her habits still haven't changed.
"I have no missions for you today, you all can take the day off." She announced with her brows furrowed while waving them away.
The door to her office closed behind them, and though they walked further from her office, they could still hear Tsunade yelling at Shizune demanding for warm sake, and Shizune telling her to get all of her work done first. The yelling soon faded as they exited the building, and each member of the team faced each other, wondering what to do next.
"What now?" Naruto wondered.
Sakura perked up, realizing she was running out of groceries at home, and the whole team hasn't eaten a decent meal in a while, she came up with an idea.
"Why don't you all meet at my apartment later and I'll cook dinner for all of us?" Sakura suggested, hoping to eradicate the awkwardness between her, Sai and Sasuke.
"Sounds like a good idea." reasoned Kakashi.
"Can you cook ramen? Pleaasee Sakura-chan?" Naruto urged, blue puppy dog eyes pleading Sakura all the while.
"Baka!" Chastised Sakura as she smacked the back of his head, "You need to eat real food once in a while, not just ramen, ramen, ramen. So at 8 o'clock tonight, be at my house and we can all eat dinner together." Sakura declared.
"Later." Kakashi said before forming a seal and disappearing, a poof of smoke replacing his body.
"Aa." Sasuke replied, relieved that he didn't have to cook dinner tonight.
Sakura, slightly shocked at his acceptance of her dinner invitation, nodded her head before taking Sai's arm and dragging him towards the nearest marketplace. The two walked from stand to stand gathering ingredients she would need for dinner while Sasuke walked opposite them, buying groceries and cleaning supplies for himself. Just because he wasn't cooking didn't mean he couldn't gather some things. Across from him he could see Sakura and Sai talking, her regular expression contorting into a smile and her bubbly laughter filling the air.
Hn. He has a sense of humor? Sasuke remarked bitterly. A foreign feeling plagued Sasuke at the sight of Sakura laughing with Sai and holding his hand as they walked. Sakura stopped in her tracks, giving Sai a chaste kiss. She pulled away to continue walking but Sai wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back in. Sasuke left the groceries he had picked up and stomped away in the direction of the training grounds.
As Sasuke left, Sai smirked into the kiss and pulled away before asking, "Are you ready to start cooking?"
Naruto was surprised when an angry Sasuke showed up at his doorstep, demanding to spar. Having nothing else to do, he agreed and the two found themselves at the old team 7 training grounds, standing across from each other. Without a word, Sasuke charged at Naruto bringing his fist to Naruto's stomach. Naruto used this moment to swipe at Sasuke, who dodged his punch and sweep kicked him, knocking him onto his butt. Sasuke backed away to do his katon when three shuriken flew past him, each slicing through his clothing and cutting him. Both took out a kunai and charged at each other, kunai and shuriken clashing.
Hours later, the two lay on the grass panting as the sun began to set in the horizon.
Sweat trickled down their faces as Naruto spoke, "So why did you feel the sudden need to spar?"
The response came easily, "Nothing."
"You seemed.. mad. Even more than usual," observed Naruto.
Sasuke persisted, "It's nothing," determined to continuously write off whatever he was feeling as nothing. Because it was nothing. Sakura was dating Sai. It was nothing. He just had to readjust his plans. It was no big deal.
"I don't think it's nothing,"
Doesn't matter what you think, Sasuke remarked inwardly, not like it'd make a difference if I told you.
"Hn."
Naruto's eyebrows visibly twitched with annoyance, "Tell me why you were mad, dammit."
"What does it matter when she -"
"She?" Naruto asked with his eyebrows raised, all traces of anger replaced with curiosity.
"Shut up, idiot." Sasuke said.
Sasuke stood up and left before Naruto could ask him any further questions.
Sakura settled for cooking barbecue, knowing that no one from the team objected meat. On the side she stir-fried some vegetables, knowing that it's unhealthy to eat only meat and rice for dinner. Sai was already there at her apartment sitting at the table, waiting for the arrival of the rest of the team. She was just about to sit down when she heard a light knock on the door.
She opened the door, revealing a battered Sasuke. The sleeves of his shirt were messily torn, revealing bloody cuts and slashes down the length of his muscular arms. Sakura inhaled sharply.
He opened his mouth to speak, "Sakura, can you heal me?"
"What happened?" She allowed him in, motioning for him to sit down at the table so she could heal him.
"Naruto and I sparred."
Nodding, Sakura moved closer to him and put her hands on his arm. Green light began to emit from her hands and the scars turned from an angry red to a pale neutral. Sakura itched to run her hands down his arms, his muscles begging her to touch them. But she knew better than to give in to temptation and she kept her hands limited to the places where kunai or shuriken had cut him.
Once she was done with his arms, she looked him over and noticed a cut on his right cheek. Without thinking, she lifted a hand to heal it. Sasuke tensed at the contact but relaxed as the burning sting in his cheek was soothed. Sakura and Sasuke's eyes met for a second before a rambunctious blonde came crashing through her door.
"SAKURA-CHANN! THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH TEME! I THINK HE'S HAVING GIRL PROBLEMS!" yelled Naruto as he blundered into her apartment, immediately noticing Sasuke and Sakura.
"What are you doing here teme? Why does Sakura-chan have her hand on your face?" Naruto scratched the back of his head.
Sakura dropped her hand immediately and replied, "I'm just healing him, and it looks like you need healing too"
She sat Naruto down in a chair and began tending to his wounds.
"So, girl problems Sasuke? Who's the girl?" Sakura asked curiously as she healed the blonde idiot.
The reply came fast and as insistent as ever, "No one."
Deciding not to pry any further, Sakura stayed quiet. After healing Naruto, she stood up and took a seat next to Sai, with Naruto on her right. Kakashi finally arrived, thankfully only a few minutes late as opposed to his usual two or three hours. He sat between Sasuke and Sai, and everyone muttered itadakimasu before they began to eat. To their disappointment, the dinner didn't last long. Everyone had scarfed down Sakura's cooking so quickly they didn't have the time to process that it quickly disappeared. They all expressed their gratitude for the meal and helped clear the table before taking their leave.
Once the three were gone, Sakura set to clean her apartment. Sai offered to wash the dishes, to which Sakura thanked him, grateful for his help. But he did so without saying a word, and worry began to prickle up Sakura's spine. Sakura noticed that Sai had been unusually quiet once the team came over for dinner. He never spoke out, calling Naruto dickless and Sasuke a traitor or remarking on how the two should "engage in coitus" to let out all their pent up tension. Sakura's eyebrows tensed together as she wondered if he was still hurt from her lack of response to his declaration of love, being that it was the most recent hiccup in their relationship. She straightened up the chairs at her kitchen table as Sai came up behind her.
"Sakura, we need to talk." He breathed calmly into her ear.
"Yes?"
Sai turned her around to face him, coal orbs meeting jade.
"I think it's time that we break up."
Sakura walked to her light orange couch and slumped into it, burying her face in her hands. He just broke it off and left. Not a single word after, and he left so quickly that by the time she made a sound to speak, he was out the door. The same way he left after he declared he loved her.
Warm tears dripped from her eyes onto her hands, guilt flooding her entire body. Why didn't she just say something back then, when he told her he loved her?
Of course you'd lose the one man who actually loves you, you were never worthy of love to begin with.
A bile-like bitterness arose in the back of her throat, and she found herself yearning for a drink.
She removed her apron, wiping away her tears, and hung it on a chair before she walked into her room to change her clothes. She wore the usual red shirt and pink skirt, knowing that any situation could turn ugly, and a dress would only hinder her movements and possibly get her killed. Although, it did provide a nice little distraction if she didn't wear her usual shorts under.
Once ready, she grabbed her apartment keys and locked the door on the way out.
A bar that recently opened across the street from her apartment came into view in the moonlight, with wood stained a dark brown and a single long horizontal window on Sakura's left. Sakura pushed the black door open and stepped in. Dim lights illuminated the tables, and the long marble island glowed with a bright neon blue light.
Sitting on one of the stools at the bar was a woman with breasts as big as melons and light blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail who was bringing a glass of sake to her lips. Sakura walked over and sat on the stool next to her master.
Tsunade turned to squint at Sakura , "Sakura? What are you doing here? You usually don't drink."
"I just felt like getting a few drinks tonight," Sakura replied.
"Something's up. What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Sakura explained nonchalantly, "Sai just broke up with me, that's all."
"I seeā¦" Tsunade lowered her sake glass from her lips and set it onto the table, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really," Sakura muttered honestly. There was nothing much to say anyways. Sai loved her, but she couldn't say it back, so the one man that was able to love her deemed her as unworthy of a relationship and of love as she deemed herself. The pink-haired kunoichi chuckled bitterly, staring at the empty glass in hand. Pathetic.
"If you insist.. One more bottle of sake and another glass over here!" Tsunade waved to the bartender.
The bartender gave them another bottle and Tsunade poured Sakura a glass. As soon as it was full, Sakura brought her glass to her lips and threw her head back, downing the entire glass like it was a shot of something as harmless as water.
Tsunade's eyes watched Sakura with concern, "I know you must be hurt right now, so you're relieved of your duties at the hospital tomorrow."
"Arigatou." Sakura thanked her after downing yet another glass of sake as if it was water.
"But Sakura," her mentor spoke sternly, "Please take care of yourself. Don't let yourself return to-"
"TSUNADE-SAMA!" Shizune blasted through the door of the bar with a pile of books and paperwork in her arms, stacked all the way up to her shoulders. Kotetsu and Izumo followed suit, also carrying loads of paperwork in their arms.
"Damn. They found me," Tsunade cursed.
Sakura giggled as she watched the Hokage being dragged out of the bar by Shizune, Kotetsu and Izumo. Sakura continued to drink and the edges of her vision began to blur more with each glass. Glasses later, Sakura laid her head down on the island, and her vision blacked out.
Sasuke was just about to lay down in bed when he heard knocking on his front door. He strode towards the door and opened it, revealing a panting man he did not know. Sasuke waited for him to speak.
"Sorry to bother you, but one of your teammates has passed out at our bar."
"Which?"
"The woman with pink hair."
Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, "Have you tried to wake her up?" Dumbasses.
"Yes... You see, we tried to wake her up but she punched one of our workers through a wall. Since you're her teammate, could you.. maybe... you know... retrieve her before she causes anymore damage?" The man asked hesitantly.
"Hn. Irresponsible." Sasuke muttered under his breath before proceeding to follow the man to the bar.
Upon arrival at the bar, Sasuke immediately understood why the bartender had to call him in to retrieve Sakura. He shook her shoulder once and met her fist instead of her emerald green eyes.
He backed up and narrowed his eyes at the sleeping mess on the floor of the bar. This was a very sensitive case. He tried twice more to wake her up by nudging her but both attempts failed and Sasuke would have been punched yet again if it weren't for his quick reflexes.
Slightly irritated, Sasuke opened his mouth to ask for a glass of water before he stopped. No. That wouldn't be a good idea. Although it would successfully wake her up, her anger afterwards was not something Sasuke had enough energy to deal with tonight.
He maneuvered around Sakura and met her sleeping face with eyes that swirled red. He used his fingers to open one of her eyelids and the arm that moved to hit him instantly fell limp.
He turned with his back facing her and knelt down. Sasuke pulled Sakura up using her arms and hoisted her onto his back. He felt her soft front press against his back as her arms wrapped themselves around his neck, almost suffocating him. Holding her up by the backs of her legs, Sasuke began to walk towards her apartment with Sakura's head bobbing against his shoulder with each step he took.
"Mmmphrngrph" Sakura mumbled against Sasuke's back.
"Sai...phrngthrngm...bastard" Sakura lightly hit him, thinking he was Sai.
Sasuke chuckled inwardly at Sakura insulting her boyfriend.
"How dare you...break up... with...me..."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Sai broke up with her? Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? The mix of emotions that followed this revelation confused Sasuke to no end. There was a tinge of relief, as he realized a single Sakura meant he didn't have to change the plans he had. There was concern, the worry for Sakura's health and well-being reigning supreme in the mix of emotions. Both, he understood. What confused him the most was the anger he felt towards Sai, for hurting the kunoichi in the first place.
He arrived at her apartment door and unlocked it using her keys. He walked into her room, noting a sweet but faint scent that was so distinctly Sakura and laid her down on her bed, covering her with a blanket. He turned to leave when she tossed in bed and whimpered.
He looked at her and noticed the rapid movement of her eyes under her eyelids. Concluding that she might be having a nightmare, he sat next to her and patted her leg the way his mother used to when he was little. After a few minutes of this Sakura began to calm down again, and she sighed with content.
Sasuke observed her as he slowly rose from her bed. Her cotton candy pink hair was splayed across the bed, spreading in all directions. Noticing a stray hair covering her face, Sasuke gently moved it back behind her ear. His eyes trailed down her face, pausing at her plump pink lips. She looked so peaceful, like she hadn't just been broken up with. Like Sai hadn't caused her enough pain for her to get drunk and pass out at a bar.
He exited the room, leaving her to rest.
It wasn't until a few minutes later that he realized he was being hypocritical. He had no right to talk, he reminded himself, as he remembered the night she tried to stop him from leaving, the night she professed her love for him. The night he left her.
I didn't leave her. I chose a different path that required me to leave, momentarily.
He locked the door to her apartment and closed it gently behind him.
Never again.
