A/N: For the record, 'Sozo-Ryoku', Sakura's work place, means imagination in Japanese. The full name is: 'Sozo-Ryoku no Daina' or the diner of imagination. I'll try not to hint too much at what happens but… during the drinking part with Sakura I listened to 'Grow Up' by Paramore. It just came on by chance but it set the mood flawlessly.
I do not claim to own Naruto or any of the characters in this story.
By Disappointment Only
"We're all just looking for someone whose demons play well with ours."
Chapter III
"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
- Hernest Hemingway
"I don't understand the point of a split shift," Sasuke grumbled as he scanned irritatingly over the menu.
"It's because the days Sakura only has two classes she can't work a double like she did during break, so she comes back immediately after to get more hours & good tips from the dinner rush," Naruto replied matter of factly as he toyed around with a salt shaker.
"Still, it's tedious." He stated, taking note of the fact that the menu was several pages instead of the customary one or two.
"What're you guys doing here?" Sakura sighed as she shambled up to their table, miniature notebook in hand.
"Is it a crime for me & Sasuke to wanna grab a few subs before our super hard core study sesh?" Naruto cooed cheekily, teeth gleaming. She rolled her eyes.
"The amount of times you two come visit me at work is starting to worry old man Sozo, he asked today if you guys were stalking me," the pink haired girl joked, leaning her weight onto the wooden corner of the booth. Sasuke frowned.
"Is it so odd for us to come see you at work, especially when I need a break from Naruto's annoying presence?" He denounced coldly.
"Plus we can't pass up free food!" Naruto grinned, ignoring Sasuke's dig at his persona.
"Fine, what do you guys want?" She asked with a heafty amount of agitation.
"Wait, Sakura, do the thing," the blonde beamed. Sasuke rolled his eyes,
"no idiot she doesn't have to do that for us."
"She does, or I'm going to leave a very nasty anonymous review on your guy's website," he proclaimed. Sakura's face was beet red, fists balled at her sides. She hated him for making her do this. So much. After a moment she let out an exasperated sigh, succumbing to her defeat.
"Hold your breath," she began, sticking one arm to the left, "make a wish," the other to the right, "count to three," she held them both in front of her. "Come with me," she sang with a forced cheer as she blushed from the humility, "and you'll be in a world of pure imagination," as she twirled in a circle. "Welcome to Sozo-Ryoku no Daina, Konoha prefecture's premier Western cuisine restaurant. We specialize in any combination you can imagine for sandwiches, burgers, and soup or dumplings. May I take your order?" She asked politely through gritted teeth. Naruto clapped loudly, very satisfied.
"You're a real ass, you know that?" Sasuke hissed. He ignored him.
"Yes you may, valued waitress, may we get two turkey, foot and a half subs with provolone and banana peppers to go?" He snickered. Their usual.
"I'll have that right out," she answered, beginning to walk away.
"Wait, you're not gonna write it down?" Naruto whined. Sakura glared at him deeply on the verge of kicking him out. If looks could kill. "Kidding, kidding," he added nervously. She left to put in their order and tend to her other tables. Sasuke said nothing. "Come on Sasuke, you gotta admit it's funny!" He bellowed.
"You're a truly premature piece," He sighed, eyes attentive on the ceiling with his arms folded over his chest. Naruto continued to laugh.
A good month and a half had passed since Sakura had crushed her laptop over Sasuke's head. It was rather unconventional but, for whatever reason it had been a catalyst of sorts that had led to the three of them getting together regularly. Slowly but surely they were in the process of salvaging some very broken bonds. It started with Sakura needing to borrow Sasuke's computer to put together a powerpoint for class, soon leading to studying for tests together and as of recent alternating helping tutor Naruto. By that odd set of events they were all together almost daily, beneficially lessening their workloads when it came to school. Although it had been greatly more than that, it was never a subject of discussion. Their bonding was still in its substantially early stages and they weren't about to let the beating of a dead horse ruin something good.
Sasuke and Naruto happened to find themselves on the eve of another Friday, almost passed the middle term mark into June and waiting for Sakura to get off at eight. Naruto desperately needed his friend's help for his Intro to Muscular Health class while Sasuke had put together a cram sheet of sorts for them to go over in preparation for their test on Monday. Sakura brought them their subs without a word along with two small drinks. They sipped at them boringly, waiting the fifteen minutes until her shift was scheduled to end. Sasuke's eyes followed her from table to table, bouncing around from one to the another in her mostly black, almost maid style uniform. Even from a distance it was blatantly obvious that customers adored her. She brought out their orders quickly, kept their beverages full, and was a cute girl with an amazing smile. It was really no shock to him that Sozo scheduled her so much; she was clearly a very important asset.
"Alright, are you two ready?" Her voice interrupted Sasuke's thoughts. She stood in front of their table zipping up her jacket and stashing her apron in her bag.
"Jeez, finally," Naruto sighed over dramatically. Sakura ignored his comment, turning to walk away as they followed suit. She passed by the hostess quickly to pick up her electronically paid tips and they were out of the diner soon after.
"So, Sasuke, are we going to your place tonight like you promised?" She chirped, cheekily smiling at his side. His attention diverted upwards.
"I just don't understand why we can't go to one of your guy's apartments like normal," he whined.
"Because it's boring! We do that every day! And it's unfair that we haven't been to your flat yet, especially since Itachi's overseas!" Naruto exclaimed while pouting like a child. They were right. He really hated his flat. Despite beintg aesthetically pleasing and huge in comparison to their apartments, it offered no charisma. It felt more like a hotel than anything. Sasuke huffed and took the lead.
They landed themselves on the train as per usual; only in the exact opposite direction of where they would to Sakura's. It was a longer trip as well, taking about 15 minutes. Naruto predictably complained and whined almost every two minutes,
"Are we there yet?"
"Why not?"
"This is boring!"
"Better be worth the wait you bastard!"
Until they finally got off at their stop and he couldn't stop talking about how excited he was. Typical Naruto.
Sakura was relatively quiet sitting on the train, spending most of it people watching as she always did with the occasional story about her day. Upon emerging from the station however she was silent, realizing they were in the upper, business portion of the prefect. Somewhere she had never been; or rather had no reason to be. The buildings towered above them, mostly built with black glass so it wasn't easy to make out anything inside. They reflected off of the city lights outside and caused an eerie glow. It was beautiful however; in a manmade, completely unnatural sort of way. Yet Sakura liked that, one of the reasons that lead here to be so obsessed with New York City since she was young. It had always been so fascinating to her that simple humans could create structures so colossal and idealistically perfect; literally being the epitome of this district. Sasuke lead them for several blocks passed the heart of many major businesses until they reached a block of residential buildings; still looking almost identical. As expected he guided them into the largest, newest looking one as he swiped a keycard at the entrance.
The lobby alone screamed luxury, the floor paved with designed, rich marble forming a star like shape at the center. The whole of it consisted of tints of lime green with subtle hues of purple.
"Whoa!" Sakura gasped, jogging to the middle of it. She looked up eagerly at the ceiling where her eyes met with a shimmering, crystal chandelier, "This is so incredibly beautiful! Those crystals reflect rainbow colored shapes onto the floor, making the green tint purple!" She observed in awe, eyes wide and jaw agape much. This caused Sasuke to smile lightly for a brief second. He sauntered slowly to where she stood, looking up then down at the marble.
"Hm, so it does. I've never noticed that before," he observed.
"Neh, how have you never noticed that before?!" She shouted in disbelief. The 19 year old shrugged.
"I never really look around in here I guess, just right to the elevators or the exit," he answered honestly.
"Jesus, that chandelier's probably worth more than I'll ever make in my life," Naruto stated as he joined them.
"Yeah, that's for sure," Sasuke chortled, causing the blonde to scowl.
"Good evening, Mr. Uchiha," a middle aged man greeted from an auburn, wooden desk to the right. Sasuke roamed over to him, nodding slightly in acknowledgement.
"Friends of yours?" the man added. The Uchiha blinked for a second, mulling over the words. Eventually he agreed,
"yes, yes they are." He hadn't even noticed Sakura at his side as she reached her hand over the desk.
"Sakura Haruno, sir, it's nice to meet you," she smiled widely. The man stared at her hand oddly, but took it.
"Um, hello, Ryu Miyazaki," he greeted with a look of confusion. Naruto stood annoyed in the distance, not bothering to introduce himself as always.
"That's Naruto; he's bad with this kind of thing." Sakura chuckled, motioning in his direction.
"Oh, alright then." Ryu concluded with a fake smile, still unsure of what to think. Sasuke meanwhile was dwelling on the fact that he had never asked the desk clerk's name; despite talking with him on several occasions and having lived there now for two years.
"We've got studying to do, idiots," Naruto called to them from the center of the lobby.
"Oh, right," Sakura nodded, "well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Ryu! If you're still here when we leave I'll make sure to say goodbye." She turned around, jogging away with her hair dancing around her back. Sasuke stood in shock in the same shock as Ryu.
"Um, right…" he droned, "see you later, Ryu." He bid him goodbye awkwardly as he walked away. How was she so open and friendly with people? He had never understood that. It was just something she'd always done. He concluded it was just a part of Sakura's personality.
The elevator sailed the three of them 45 floors up until stopping, allowing them entrance onto the floor. The hallway was long and seamlessly infinite. Sakura took note that as they walked they passed not a single door. Eventually they came upon one, Sasuke turning to it and swiping a keycard without a word.
"Are you the only person on this floor..?" The coral haired girl asked distantly, walking in and eying the flat in awe. Sasuke nodded silently as he hung his jacket up, prodding to the kitchen shortly after. Sakura gaped at the ceiling and flooring with similar astonishment, though much more excitedly.
"Is this real wood flooring?!" She gasped, crouching down and dragging the pad of her index finger across it.
"Of course it is, what else would it be?" Sasuke quipped as he filled up a glass of water.
"Well I only have laminate in my apartment… real wood was too expensive so…" She answered distantly. That made sense. He had the urge to apologize, often forgetting people couldn't always afford the same things him and his brother could. Sakura didn't act as offended easily anymore; so he left it. "It's so gorgeous in here," she guffawed, inspecting the pillars that attached to the ceiling, also clearly lined with real, auburn tinged wood. The living area was immense and open, decorated by two black leather couches and a large flat screen against the far wall. The kitchen adorned the opposite end, slightly more compact with a medium sized dining table adjacent to it. In the distance was the entrance to a hallway; assumingly leading to the bedroom areas.
Sasuke sat at the dining table as he fished his laptop from his bag.
"Have any food around here?" Naruto asked, not nearly as impressed as their female counterpart.
"In the fridge, idiot," he answered as he typed into his keyboard. Sakura took a seat across from him at the table, digging out her books and computer she had just recently bought. It had been a huge dig from her budget, meaning her haircut would have to be further postponed; much to her annoyance. Her self-titled 'mane' was getting out of hand. "So I e-mailed you the cram guide, it's organized on a spread sheet displaying the key topics we need to go over that are most likely to be on the test." He explained. Sakura sighed.
"Why do you always have to organize everything on spread sheets? Word or powerpoint better display bullet points and topics; plus you can elaborate much easier," she admonised, pink eyebrows raised.
"We use it at the company so I figured it's the most innovative way for organizing information," he commented.
"Sasuke, not everyone is raised within the confines of a fortune 500 company." She spoke with a smile. He frowned at her.
"Um, let's worry about your guy's stuff later, I'm the one with a D in muscular health!" Naruto exclaimed as he sat at the table with a platter of pizza rolls.
"Introduction, to muscular health," Sakura corrected, "it's a sample class! How does anyone fail that?"
"The why of the situation doesn't matter, Sakura, we just have to deal with the problem at hand." Naruto prompted seriously, crossing his arms over his chest. She sighed,
"fine, get out your assignments and text books."
The three of them had arrived at Sasuke's flat at around 8:30 pm. Before they all knew it, the clock ticked 11 as Sakura closed Naruto's text book with several papers inside. She had spent all of that time helping him while Sasuke reorganized his cram sheet into a bulleted word document. While that had only taken 45 minutes he was now halfheartedly checking emails and aimlessly surfing the web.
"If all of that doesn't get your grade up to at least a 'B' then it's hopeless," she groaned, leaning back in her chair.
"My brain hurts," Naruto drooled with his head on the table.
"That's why I gave you those notes so you can look them over if you forget anything. Do not lose them!" She ordered, smacking him lightly. Naruto stood up wairily, exhausted as he stretched in place.
"Well, I'm out of here for the night. Hinata wanted me to come over and watch movies when I was done," Naruto began as he loaded all of his stuff back into his bag, "you two losers will just have to continue without me." Sakura glared at him.
"So you're just ditching us now that I've put all of this time into you?" She griped. He nodded dumbly,
"of course."
"Whatever, get out of here you useless dummy," she waved him away. Naruto bid goodbye to Sasuke with a few colorful insults and he was gone, leaving the two of them quietly to themselves.
"Alright, so you're going to have to explain to me how to read this spreadsheet," Sakura stated as she pulled up the document.
"Check your messages again," he spoke boringly. So she did, downloading another attached file. It pulled up in a word document.
"Oh, Sasuke, you didn't have to do that!" Sakura insisted, a guilty look on her face.
"Tch, not like I had anything else to do with you giving Naruto his dose of special education," Sasuke retorted, causing her to giggle.
"Yeah, you're right I guess." Sasuke observed her as she scanned through the document, reflecting in the lenses of her glasses that she wore on occasion. Her new laptop was surprisingly nice for being such a brash purchase. Surprising since she claimed to be on such a strict budget. Then again he did see the amount of tips she made even from one short shift, so that had to help. Yet it lead him to question why she was so stiff with money when not only she had a decent income but had her parents as well; even if she wasn't living with them.
"So, did your parents give you money for your laptop?" He asked suddenly. Not until after the words filtered out of his mouth did he hear how improper it sounded. Sakura simply smiled at him, a shade of pink tinting her cheeks.
"Oh, no, I just had to work religiously for a few weeks and dip into my rainy day fund," she spoke shyly.
"Why didn't they? Did you not ask them?" Sasuke prodded. She redirected her emerald eyes downward.
"Um, no Sasuke," she laughed nervously, "my mom left us not long after you did. Then my dad lost his job so… I'm entirely on my own. Including financially." She went on to explain. Shit. He shouldn't of said anything.
"I'm sorry I shouldn't of asked," he said anxiously, pretending to be engrossed in something on his computer.
"No, I don't mind talking about it really, and you didn't know so it's fine," Sakura assured him with another winning smile.
The beeping sound of a correct keycard being swiped interrupted their conversation, Sasuke's eyes widening. The tall figure of Itachi pushed through the door, suitcase in tow along with a folded newspaper in his free hand.
"God damn stupid suitcase," he cursed under his breath, the spaciousness of the flat causing his grumbles to echo. After successfully getting in he closed the door behind him, attention focusing on the kitchen. His eyes widened as well, a smirk forming on his lips.
"Oh, Sasuke, you have a friend over?" Itachi sounded, his overly sharp canines showing.
"I thought you weren't coming home till the end of the month," Sasuke growled. Sakura growed increasingly awkward.
"Well, we sealed the Berkshire deal in Manhattan without a sweat so, I figured I'd come home early," he replied soothingly as he propped his suitcase against the wall, "what's little Sakura doing here?"
"We were just studying," Sakura responded before Sasuke had the chance, standing up from her seat.
"Oh yeah, studying?" The older Uchiha rhetorted with a wink, causing her to blush.
"N-No, really," she corrected anxiously, smiling as she turned her computer towards him, "Sasuke wrote up a spread sheet for me because I had missed a few periods due to work. But I'm terrible with spread sheets so he was explaining it in a way I could understand for our test Monday." She went on to lament. He inspected his brother suspiciously, glancing at the computer monitor as he made his way to the kitchen.
"Sasuke's always had the habit of organizing everything in spread sheets, I'm surprised you understand it at all," Itachi concluded, walking to the sink and grabbing a glass of water. Inwardly she sighed with insurmountable relief while Sasuke looked like he was doing everything in his power not to scream.
"Yeah, it's been difficult, that's for sure," Sakura agreed, followed by a moment of silence as he sipped at his beverage. "Um, Mr. Uchiha, did you say you were in New York, just now? If you don't mind me asking?" She questioned nervously, eyes focused on the ground.
"Why yes, I have been for the past two weeks, working on a deal with Berkshire Hathaway," he replied, "why do you ask?" She smiled awkwardly,
"oh, no particular reason. I've just got an odd fascination with New York you could say."
"Well," Itachi began, pulling his phone from his pants pocket, "do you wanna see some of the images I took on this last bout?" Sakura's eyes widened, sparkling with admiration.
"Oh my goodness yes, if you wouldn't mind of course, Mr. Uchiha," she chided whilst standing on her tip toes.
"Mr. Uchiha was my father's name, Sakura, call me Itachi," he corrected, rolling his eyes, "but yes, of course. Come over here." And so she did. Sasuke simply watched in disbelief as this completely alien scene played out in front of him.
"Is that Wall Street?!" The roseate haired girl gasped at Itachi's side as they sat on the leather couch in the living room.
"Yup, that's where we did most of our meetings," he replied in a montone, eyes focused on his phone screen, "this is an authentic Italian deli about eight blocks down from Times Square in the residential neighborhoods of Manhattan. I have to go to every time I'm there. Seriously the best pizza I've ever had, even beats Chicago; and that's saying something." He went on to say as he swiped his finger across the screen. Sakura ogled at every picture, hands balled underneath her jaw as if she were watching some spectacular movie.
"Everything just looks so amazing, like right out of a film," she drawled, mouth agape as she spectated.
A strange irritation bubbled within Sasuke as he watched them getting along famously.
"Isn't it getting a bit late, Sakura?" Sasuke hissed. Her gaze shot up immediately, glancing at the time on her phone.
"Oh, yes, you're right," she agreed, standing up, "thank you so, so much Itachi. I haven't gotten to look at any close up photos of the city since my father brought me photos when I was little. So really, thank you!" She proclaimed graciously with a genuine smile.
"No problem, Sakura, I'll be in town for the next week or so. You'll have to come over for dinner. With or without Sasuke since he's such a stick in the mud," Itachi laughed, patting her on the head and causing her face to heat up.
"Um, sure, if I've got the time off from work," she replied as she got her stuff together. "Well, thanks for helping me Sasuke, I'm off tomorrow so if I end up getting lost again I might give you a call." Sakura continued, pulling her tote over her shoulder. Sasuke glared, refusing to make eye contact with her.
"I don't think that'll be necessary," he stated harshly. Sakura blinked, very clearly confused with a slight bit of hurt flickering across her expression.
"R-Right, um…" she stuttered, "well, thank you two for having me over to your home. Have a great rest of your weekend." She subtly left without another word.
Silence filled the room, Sasuke returning to his computer.
"So, little Sakura isn't so little anymore," Itachi narrated as he rummaged through the fridge.
"Don't be dumb, she's the same height she's been since sixth grade," he quipped.
"Don't be dumb, Sasuke, that's not what I meant," he said with a grin, pulling a container of tupperware from the fridge.
"That's illegal, I'll have you arrested." He fumed, eyebrows furrowed. Itachi chuckled,
"she's legally an adult now so it's pretty far from." To this he offered no reply. "I'm just joking Sasuke, don't get your panties in a bunch," he laughed, patting his little brother on the back and leaning in to his ear, "you did a pretty fantastic job of being an asshole to her though, so I'd give her a call unless you wanted that to be your last 'study session.'"
"Oh yeah, because you know so much about relationships," Sasuke rolled his eyes with his tone cloaked in sarcasm. Itachi ambled over to the hallway entrance with the tupperware container in hand.
"I know more than you think, little brother."
Sakura was angry, and because Sakura was angry, she attempted to divert her attention to a game on her cell phone. And because Sakura wasn't paying attention to where she was walking but to temple run, Sakura was now lost. It had worked. She wasn't mad at Sasuke and his completely improper rudeness aynore; but as instead at her incompetence when it came to direction. She was surrounded by bass heavy music and lit up signs, several girls pushing passed her in heels that were as long as her forearm. Guessing she was probably in the clubbing area between her residential area and the business district. That still put her miles and miles away from home.
"Sakura?!" A loud, clearly intoxicated female shouted from down the block. She turned around abruptly, eyes wide. "I thought that was you! Not many girls with naturally pink hair!" She only saw black before being brought into a huge, suffocating hug. After a long embrace the culprit stood back. Sakura gazed at Ino's light blue eyes as they inspected her from head to toe. "What in god's name are you doing here?" She laughed at her fragile friend. The roseate haired 18 year old sighed in relief. Maybe Ino could tell her how to get home.
"I'm lost, actually," she admitted dumbly while scratching the back of her head.
"What? Where did you come from?" The blonde asked quizzically. Sakura had to come up with an excuse quick. She couldn't say Sasuke's because Ino would have a heart attack, and she couldn't say Sai's because she knew they were done.
"I was temping at this bar up the road," she lied.
"Oh, that explains the uniform," Ino chuckled, having never been to her real place of work so not being able to call her out on her bull shit, "well since you're out, you should come to this club with me! My date bailed anyway!" She announced cheerfully. Sakura eyed her oldest friend; dressed in a tight black cocktail dress and heels, blond hair falling passed her shoulders in loose curls.
"I can't Ino, I'm so underdressed," she spoke lowly with a fake smile.
"Nonsense! You can borrow my makeup and you simply look like you're wearing some cosplay! Especially in this club it's more normal than you'd think!" The blonde insisted, pushing her along. On the inside the pinkette finally admitted her defeat. It would successfully get her mind off whatever Sasuke was mad at her for. Additionally she hadn't been out in god knew how long. She was also off tomorrow; and that was really the only excuse Sakura needed.
A good half an hour later the two girls arrived at the club, Ino predictably attracting insane amounts of attention as she always did. As result, Sakura found herself fetching drinks at the bar.
"But Ino, I'm not twenty! I'll get carded!" She had yelled for lack of being able to whisper with the music throbbing in her ears.
"Non sense," Ino slurred, "you're a cute girl. That's all it takes." At first, she had been unbearingly nervous, ordering herself just one drink for a trial run. The bartender only glanced at her for a brief moment before serving up her order. A tall, straight glass of tequila; her favorite spirit, on the rocks. Voilà. It was done. And her motivation to go back to awkwardly serve Ino and her muse of the night a round of shots was now nonexistent. She perched herself on one of the high, oddly shaped stools and took a swig. It took a mere hour for Sakura's night to go from bad to worse.
"Fucking asshole," she slurred underneath her breath, taking a shot of yellow, lemon flavored vodka. The bartender glanced at her in horror. "Things were good, great the past month! But does that mean anything to him? Nope. The second it suits him he's had enough with me. As always!" Sakura shouted. Very, very intoxicated.
"Have you tried calling him since you left?" Another drunk girl at her left proclaimed. She thought about it for a second.
"No, no I haven't," she realized, "what a great idea!"
Twelve blocks down, a phone chimed several times. Sasuke heard it but chose not to answer it, rolling over to the right side of his bed and away from the obnoxious device on his nightstand. It rang again not once, but twice. Rolling back over, he glanced at the name spread across the top of the screen in white letters,
'Sakura Haruno'.
Something wasn't right. It was two am. Picking it up urgently he swiped the screen to answer.
"Sakura, what's wrong?" He asked urgently.
"What, you answered?" She drawled in bewilderment.
"You called four times, of course I did. Or I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep," he answered coldly.
"Of course, that's the only reason you answered," Sakura sighed on the other end, her words crammed together.
"Wait, what? Are you drunk?" He accused in shock.
"Maybe. And lost. Drunk and lost. Yeah. A bit of both," she laughed halfheartedly, "I'm sorry."
"How'd you get lost and drunk?" Sasuke questioned tiredly, sitting up on the side of his mattress and running his hand through his messy black hair.
"You made me mad, and you're leaving, so I played a game on my phone to distract myself. Then I walked way passed the train station and to a club place, where Ino was. And she took me in then I didn't get carded and I drank a thing of tequila which was suuuuper good, then the bartender asked if I had ever tried a lemon drop before. Then I tried that. Then tried like four more. Then I thought about how mad I was at you again. Then I left. And now I have no idea where I am," Sakura explained hurriedly, Sasuke having to focus to understand what she was saying. He sighed deeply,
"can you find a street sign?" He asked her, exhasperated by just talking to her.
"Um, hold on," she said. He could hear the clacking of her shoes against the pavement. "it looks like double u 39th and… Yamamato? Yamamoto? Am I saying that right?"
"West 39th and Yamamoto, yes, that's not far. I'll be there in a second," he sighed exhaled again, standing up warily, "do not move." Sasuke ordered quickly and hung up.
Taking a minute to throw on a shirt but taking no time to change out of his sweats, the aggravated Uchiha made his way down the hallway of his flat attempting to rub the sleep from his eyes. He could hear the echo of voices and vibrations on the sound system in the living room. Turning the corner he found the typical sight of Itachi in his boxers watching his favorite television show, 'Big Brother'.
"Where are you going at this hour?" Itachi prompted as he stuffed his face with a handful of popcorn.
"Sakura's inebriated several blocks down," Sasuke answered boringly.
"Not taking one of the cars?" His brother prodded.
"No, I'm not about to risk her puking in it," which was sad but true.
"Tch. Good luck with that one."
The most innovative way of getting around metropolitan Japan was usually by train or vehicle. However it was late enough there would hopefully be close to no traffic; and he was not about to take a drunk Sakura on the train. Especially when it was close enough to his flat. Upon walking nonchalantly out of his home Sasuke found his theory to be surprisingly accurate for a Saturday night in one of the many clubbing districts. There was almost no one around, vehicle or otherwise. In a way it was fortune for after a good ten minutes of walking, it took nothing at all to spy a pink haired girl spinning around the body of a lamp post.
"Come with me! And I'll take you to a world of puuure imagination!" The drunk 18 year old sang her work anthem terribly off key. In that moment the exhausted Uchiha was so very thankful there was not a soul in sight. She caught sight of him immediately, putting her hand over her eyes as if blocking the sun to see better. "Wait, is that you, Sasuke?!" She exclaimed, still at a distance.
"Who else would it be?" He sighed while walking towards her.
"Whoa, you actually came," Sakura spoke to herself, shocked. He was relieved to see she had somehow managed to keep ahold of her bag. Her posture wavered as she stood and giggled. "You're a walking contradiction, you know that?"
"Yeah, am I?" Sasuke came closer and closer to her. Sakura scrunched up her nose in confusion. He proceeded to do the last thing she could have imagined. Sasuke picked the pink haired girl by her waist, effortlessly throwing her over his shoulder.
"What the hell Sasuke?!" She shouted, pounding on his back. "Free me now!"
"You can barely stand, let alone walk. This will be much quicker," he stated in his borish tone.
Minutes passed as he waited for Sakura to fall asleep, but it never happened. She shouted and complained the whole way, undoubtedly drawing some much unwanted attention. As they entered his building Ryu watched them with confusion.
"She's drunk," Sasuke spoke to him as the elevator doors closed in front of them, like it was a normal excuse. Ryu simply shrugged, turning back to the papers he was reading over.
"You truly are a bastard, Sasuke Uchiha! D'you know that?!" She shouted as they pushed into the door of the flat.
"Between you and Naruto I think I'm aware," he answered simply. She shrieked in frustration.
"How do you do that all the damn time? Act like you don't care about anything?!"
"Hey Sakura," Itachi called with a smile from the couch, somewhat calming her for a second. She grinned as Sasuke continued to haul her into the living room and towards the hallway.
"Hi Itachi!" Sakura waved, her face then diverting back to seriousness, "why is your brother such an ass? You're cool! Why can't he be as cool as you?" She drabbled.
"I don't know, little Sakura, I've been asking myself that my whole life," Itachi chuckled, waving back in their direction. Sasuke ignored his brother's comment, taking the drunk girl into the hallway and kicking open the door of his room.
He tossed her on his bed, standing with his arms crossed over his chest.
"So what in the hell compelled you to get belligerently drunk?" He asked, scowling.
"Free drinks. And Ino. And not getting carded," Sakura shrugged simply.
"And I did what to piss you off?" He continued, her pink eyebrows furrowing.
"You're leaving again and want nothing to do with me," she replied honestly, clearly due to her intoxication.
"What? I'm not leaving?" He commented, clearly confused.
"You are, though," Sakura began, face calm, "you said you didn't want me to talk to you. You acted that way before you left. So it has to be the same reason, right? It makes sense." Sasuke sighed at her reasoning.
"I was angry at Itachi, I'm not leaving," he corrected, wandering over to his dresser and flicking on a medium sized flat screen.
"So you get mad at Itachi so you get mad at me…?" Drunk Sakura asked, trying to make sense of what he was saying. To that he offered no reply. It was an accurate observation. Sasuke grabbed the remote and sat on the opposite side of the bed in silence. "Doesn't it get tiring? Always being mad at the world?" The nursing student inquired after a lengthy breath of silence.
"I'm not… mad at the world," Sasuke drawled, head down.
"Then why do you act like it?" She interjected immediately, eyes watering. "Because it's pretty shitty, you me and Naruto having a fantastic month spending time together. Feeling like you're back, then you're not. Then you assume being all melancholic and self-loathing simply because Itachi shows up." Her words weren't filtered in the slightest. He had no response to offer as he took in every syllable. "Things got bad, and you left. Which I understand. I would have too. But things have been bad for Naruto since day one, and things got bad for me after you left. Then worse when the one person I thought would unconditionally love me, didn't. I know it's nothing in comparison to losing both of your parents, but my Mom chose to leave me, and that hurts a lot too. It's not right to belittle people's suffering just because it isn't on par with your own. Empathy is something I would think you out of all people would feel." Sakura threw it all out on the table, tears cascading down her flushed cheeks. Minutes passed as she cried to herself, yet offering not a single noise. Honesty was not a thing Sasuke was accustomed to, especially when he was the exact opposite.
"And I don't want you to think I want your pity, I detest it. It's disgusting to me. But a little reliability isn't too much to ask I think, considering what we've been through together and apart…" Sakura continued with a sniff, wiping the tears from her cheeks despite their steady flow. "I'm honestly surprised we get along. You live in your memories, and I in a fantasy I guess that you'll actually stay by my side." After another moment of silence when he offered no reply, she laid down slowly, bracing herself as the room swirled around her. Sasuke continued to sit opposite of her, hands gripping tightly at the sheets,body unmoving. Minutes fell off the clock as Sakura slowly lulled herself into a drunken sleep.
"I do empathize," he began lowly, her hearing none of it as she dozed. "I empathize with every single person who has left you, who has taken you for granted, or belittled you. Because we all realize that upon letting you go, we also lost the most important part of ourselves."
A/N: Yes, I went there. Long chapter, big character development. I know drunk Sakura came out of nowhere but, I've literally been there. Most emotional drunk sessions aren't planned. Plus she had to be honest with Sasuke, and with how little she trusts him or Naruto right now, it was going to be awhile the sober route. Oh what an awkward morning it's going to be...
Love those of you who take the time to review, means the world.