"He-e-e-ey, Sasuke!" Naruto was laughing, despite his protests, "cut it out!"
"No way, you little twit," Sasuke replied. Sakura could tell he was almost smiling, even from her position outside the door, "I warned you, don't call me that!"
"Ba-ldy, baldy, bald-EEYAA!" Sakura grinned. She could picture exactly what her teammates looked like right now: Naruto would be laughing, his face all scrunched up as he pretended to be angry. He'd be sitting right next to Sasuke, crouching probably, to give himself a bit of height on the other boy. Sasuke, on the other hand, would have a look of total aloofness on his face as he tried to push Naruto away with his closed fist. As a result, Naruto's cheek would be all smushed as he ignored said fist and tried to invade Sasuke's personal space even more.
Sakura smiled to herself, nodding once. That was definitely how it would be. She knew her teammates.
And that, finally, was the truth.
She was proud of herself. Being able to understand them was truly difficult, but she had finally done it in spite of all the strange surprises they had come out with.
She heard Naruto giggling. Still smiling, she turned so that she could lean on the wall next to the doorway and remain unseen. She could wait a little longer.
After Sasuke had returned from his betrayal completely broken, Sakura only saw him once face-to-face. After that encounter, she had apprenticed herself to Tsunade and trained hard to learn all that she could as fast as she could. People needed her now. She had to get strong enough that she never had to have someone else protect her ever again, and adept enough as a medic that nobody around her would ever die. Once she resolved this, she only ever saw glimpses of Sasuke, mostly as he was wheeled back and forth between tests and only when he wasn't aware of her. She wasn't ready to face him yet.
She'd face him, she decided, when she was a good enough medic to cure him.
Her smile wavered. Her throat started to ache. She hadn't managed to do it. She was going to break her promise to herself.
It was Tsunade who finally convinced her. 'He's started on some heavy-duty treatment, Sakura,' her sensei had explained, not looking at her student. 'He's beyond what any medic-nin can do.'
It had taken more persuasion than that, of course. But those words were, essentially, what got her here.
Her lower lip was twitching now. She knew she was about to cry. But she couldn't now!
"Ugh," she muttered to herself in disgust, swiping at her eyes and heading off to the ladies room.
She could wait a bit longer.
As she raced unsteadily through the hallways, she thought she saw Sasuke walk by her. She ducked and hid her face, not wanting his first sight of her in two years to be like this. It was only after the person passed her that she realized that there was no way they were Sasuke.
It must have been all the tears in her eyes, she decided, hiccupping.
--
Kisame chuckled from his perch on the cliff overlooking Konoha. Itatchi looked at him, irritated, before closing his eyes in meditation once more.
Kisame peered closer. Was that really the kid that was related to Itatchi? After a moment's speculation, he realized it probably was. Yes, there was no mistake- that was definitely the little Uchiha squirt down there. But why on earth was he trying to escape a hospital, of all things? And still in his hospital things? Tsk tsk, Kisame thought to himself, he can't be a very good Uchiha if he's willing to go out in public in hospital clothes. Those things were ugly. And soooooo unflattering. His grin widened.
For amusement's sake, he tried to picture Itatchi doing the same thing. He puzzled for a few minutes, brow furrowed in concentration, before letting out a full-blown laugh. It was too funny. Uchiha dignity was legendary, and Itatchi was the prize of the bloodline.
His laughter got the older Uchiha to gaze at him yet again. "Kisame-san, what exactly is so funny?"
"Hmm, Itatchi! Your brother is a little bit undignified, isn't he? Heh heh," Kisame chuckled. At the mention of Sasuke, Itatchi's eyes whipped around to follow Kisame's gaze. His eyes widened.
"Now what does my little brother think he's doing?" he murmured to himself, gazing intently at Sasuke.
--
Hnn, I dunno what to say. I'm going to stop apologizing for the length, 'cause it seems a bit insincere when I need to say it every single chapter. Though I am trying, believe it or not.
Umm, yeah. I'm bringing in a lot of characters, believe me. Itatchi's got a bit more plot to carry out, and then there are a few more. Loose ends, ya know?
Anyway, you know the drill Thank you for reading, and please leave me a review!