I just love writing friendships - there's just something so warm about them. Thanks for reading!
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Sakura had to sternly remind herself that she was in a professional environment when she left her meeting with Izuna on Monday afternoon. If she didn't remember she was in very real danger of either fainting or literally dancing with delight. As she walked back to Itachi's office - calmly and with no sign of the bursting excitement she was feeling - she replayed everything over again in her head.
When she passed the Bar - and he'd said 'when' and not 'if' - she would start her traineeship the following month. She tried to offer to start right away of course, but he'd just smiled at her.
"Itachi might enjoy working himself to death, but I do try to make sure my employees can at least pretend to have a work-life balance. You'll need the holiday after the Bar, and I want you at your peak. I'll expect you to hit the ground running here."
She had nodded, and politely requested if she could come in to shadow his current lawyers a few times before she started. Every department did things slightly differently after all. Izuna had agreed readily, and made the initial introductions. People said she worried too much, but she liked to think of it as 'considering every eventuality'. It was one of the things her tutors had underlined to her several times as to why she was receiving such high marks.
The other lawyers in the department had all been very accommodating, especially the older Uchiha who was the one hoping to retire. She was looking forward to working with them, even if was going to be over a year.
Until the Bar she was free to continue working with Itachi. All Izuna had asked was that working for the firm didn't interfere with her studies. He wouldn't be able to take her on if she wasn't able to pass the Bar the first time as he would have to hire another lawyer to fill the gap instead. It was a perfectly fair proposal, and she appreciated the candour. Itachi had passed the Bar on his first try with the highest percentage in forty years. Sakura refused to let herself do any worse, genius or no.
Itachi was waiting for her outside his office when she made it back to his rooms. Defence lawyers to judges had all bemoaned their complete inability to read Itachi. His supposed unpredictability made him a feared opponent in the courtroom where he was so difficult to plan against. Sakura had grown up with both him and Sasuke; reading Uchihas was like a language, and she was fluent.
He wasn't exactly anxious, but he was certainly unsure of something. It was all in the tenseness of his shoulders, and the slight thinning of his mouth. She stepped inside cautiously, already racking her brains for anything she might have done. Mikoto's party had been a roaring success, everyone had survived their hangovers (just), and he'd had no troublesome clients all day.
"Is everything ok, Itachi-san?" she asked quietly, closing the doors behind her just in case. Back to the office, back to the -san suffix for both of them.
Itachi sighed, "I've just had a call from Sasuke."
"Sasuke? Is he ok? Is Naruto ok?" she asked, the questions bubbling out of her.
Sasuke hated using the phone. It was right up there with 'speaking to Deidara' or 'hanging out with Sai' on his list of 'most hated activities'. When he'd fallen and broken his leg when they'd been about thirteen it was her who'd called his parents to let them know. The fact he hadn't phoned home in the whole time he'd been travelling had Mikoto at her wit's end.
If he was willingly calling something serious must have happened. They'd obviously been in accident, or one of them had been arrested, or they'd contracted some horrific disease, or they'd been bitten by some sort of venomous animal. She should never have let them go by themselves. She would never have gone, but she should have made them take somebody sensible along. It was downright irresponsible for her to have let them do this. How was she going to explain this to Iruka?
Eventually she realised Itachi was watching her leap from terrible conclusion to terrible conclusion with amusement. "They're both fine, Sakura-san, alive, well, and not in prison."
She wasn't even surprised that he knew exactly what was running through her mind. Growing up surrounded by the police had made getting into trouble a lot more terrifying than it probably was for other kids. He'd also met Naruto; he knew how clumsy and ridiculous her best friend was. That he managed to flourish any and everywhere was nothing short of a miracle.
"Something must have happened though? Sasuke wouldn't phone unless it was urgent?" she pressed.
"Yes, he had some important news," he said, but the measured tone meant he wasn't sure exactly how he felt about it.
"It must have been to get him to call. How important?" Sakura asked, feeling her stomach twist up with the anticipation.
Itachi nodded a little hesitantly, "Sasuke has received an unconditional place to study law at Tokyo U. He and Naruto will be back in a few weeks, and he will start his course in September."
Naruto and Sasuke were coming back. Her first reaction should have been a mixture of joy and relief that they'd be back under her watchful eye, and it was. It just so happened to have a healthy dose of dread mixed into the middle, leaving the other two to wither on the vine. She would have to come clean about a lot of things when they got back.
Not that she was doing anything wrong, of course. Just that she'd left so much of her life out of what she told them. Naruto would be so hurt to think she didn't trust him with the details of her job and her friendship with Itachi and the others. Sasuke would be furious that she'd inserted herself into something he perceived as being his by right, no matter how stupid it was to feel that way.
"Well, shit," she said, putting her hands to her face and rubbing her eyes.
Itachi chuckled, "Indeed. I suspect there will be some awkward conversations to come."
Sakura groaned, "I don't even want to think about it. I'm really sorry, Itachi-san."
"What for?" he asked, and from his expression he did seem genuinely confused as to why she was apologising.
"You know," she waved her hands around, "For making you all keep stuff from Sasuke. I didn't want to cause trouble, I'm just -"
She trailed off and Itachi smiled reassuringly at her, "You just don't want to upset your friends. I'm afraid we're all complicit in this one, but it was the right decision at the time. We'll just have to deal with the consequences as and when. Employing you was one of the best decisions the firm has made. Do not forget that."
He spoke quietly but firmly, and Sakura ducked her head to hide the uncontrollable smile. Hearing about her boys had suffocated the giddy feeling from Izuna's offer, but Itachi's resolute calmness was bringing it out again.
"Thank you, Itachi-san, you're too good to me. I'll deal with Sasuke when he gets back – it's all my fault anyway. I should have just told them a year ago. Naruto will be fine once I buy him a few bowls of ramen and explain everything properly," she said, already mentally tallying her bank balance for affording it.
"Of course he will, and don't worry about Sasuke. In fact I think he might have excellent timing. How did your meeting with Izuna-san go?" Itachi asked.
She repeated basically verbatim the plans Izuna had lain out. Itachi admitted to being pleased Izuna wasn't hoping to have her start working in his department right away. Madara would probably have stepped in to veto Sakura moving on from Itachi's office for a while longer anyway. He also expressed his complete confidence in her passing the Bar, which she really appreciated, but she was definitely still trying not to think about the exam at all.
"What did you mean by Sasuke 'might have excellent timing' by the way?" she asked, as Itachi flicked through to the next year's calendar to work out some dates.
"If he starts his course in the autumn he'll be experienced enough to take over from you in the spring so you can focus on the Bar," he said, nodding slightly as he pictured everything falling nicely into place.
Sakura had to admit it did make sense. Even if the thought of Sasuke falling into the job she worked so hard at was galling. Itachi, of course, read all her thoughts off her face.
"He'll have to excel if he hopes to match you, Sakura-san, but then you'll be moving on and leaving me behind," he teased.
Sakura just laughed, "Well if you worked in an interesting field you'd never be getting rid of me."
"You wound me; I doubt my pride will ever recover from this," Itachi sighed. It was times like this she realised how lucky she was to be able to see this side of him. She'd met so many people that were sure he was a humourless bore.
"I'm sure you'll survive, just don't tell Madara I said that," Sakura giggled.
Itachi just shook his head and stood up, "My last client has cancelled. I'd send you home but we might have a drop-in if anyone finds out I'm technically free," he said, "Please excuse me, I had better let mother know that Sasuke is coming home."
"You mean he hasn't told her?" Sakura asked. She shouldn't really be so shocked, it was Sasuke after all, but she couldn't imagine not telling Tsunade everything immediately.
"And risk catching father and getting another lecture on what a waste of time the last eighteen months has been? I can't say I blame him," Itachi said, walking back to his office and closing the door.
Sakura returned to her desk, but with nothing pressing to be done she quickly checked her phone. Naruto had emailed her, and she felt a little bad that he wasn't going to get to surprise her. In it he wrote to tell her basically what Itachi had told her though Sasuke barely got a mention, and there was a definitely lot more capital letters than Itachi would have used. They had booked their flights, and Naruto demanded that she meet them at the airport.
She immediately wrote back to him telling him how happy she was they were coming home, and that of course she would be at the airport. She was about to send it when something occurred to her. She could tell them about Izuna's offer, and that could be her lead in to explaining just how close to the firm she'd become over the time they'd been away.
She wasn't sure how they'd react, but laying the groundwork now couldn't hurt so she let them know about her meeting with him. She still had a few weeks to prepare herself before they got back. Naruto had asked her not to tell any of their friends about their homecoming so he could do it, but she had a feeling they were finding out from him right now. Sai would be thrilled to have Naruto back, and she would make sure that he came to the airport with her.
She'd just put her phone away when Madara knocked twice and entered. He was an imposing figure even after having known him most of her life. He wasn't a large man, but his presence filled a room with little effort.
"Good afternoon, Madara-san, is everything alright?" she asked. Her traitorous mind just loved spiralling into the worst possible scenarios. Obviously Madara was here to tell her Izuna had changed his mind, or he had, and that her services were no longer required.
"Sakura-san, good afternoon. I've just had a very interesting phone call from my brother, and I thought I should come speak to the two of you. Is Itachi available?" Madara said.
It didn't take a mind of Sakura's calibre to work out the content of that call. Word certainly travelled fast in the Uchiha family. Of course Fugaku would immediately launch into action the second he heard Sasuke was heading home. He'd always wanted at least one of his sons to join the police, but the most important thing to him was that they succeeded. He'd been very spoiled by having Itachi as his first-born, and had slightly unrealistic standards for Sasuke.
"He is, yes, I think he was just speaking to his mother," Sakura said, and Madara rolled his eyes as he realised the connection himself.
"So," Madara began as Itachi came back into the room, "I think you can make an educated guess as to why I'm here."
Itachi nodded, "Father isn't at work today," he said, the obvious implication being that he had an excess of free time on his hands on this particular day.
"He says that Sasuke should start as your assistant as soon as he returns," Madara said blandly, watching Itachi's reactions carefully.
Sakura bowed her head. She knew Fugaku; he wasn't an unkind man. He just had a blind-spot where his family were concerned. This solution would have just been clear to him, and he wouldn't have considered that it would be Sakura who lose out. It wasn't that he wanted her to be fired as such, just that she was periphery to the success of his boys.
Itachi was careful to remain completely neutral, even to her practiced eye, "What are your feelings on the matter, Madara-san?"
Sakura couldn't help but watch their interactions. Madara was notorious for treating everything as a way to further sharpen the skills of the lawyers in his firm. Any discussion could be treated as if it was being argued on the court-room floor. Itachi may have been young but he was very good at what he did, and he wasn't going to give Madara an inch.
Madara realised this, and also must have considered the matter too important for he gave a straight answer, "I don't believe the boy will be experienced enough."
Itachi nodded, "It would be best for him to attend classes for some time before he takes the role. I think the spring, perhaps a month before the annual Bar, would be when I expect him to ready," he said faux-thoughtfully, as if he hadn't already decided on it.
"I agree completely, but convincing your father will be an unenviable task," Madara said, faux-casually.
"He cannot make you do anything against your wishes," Itachi reminded him.
Sakura was thoroughly enjoying their interplay. It may have appeared to be just a conversation, but really it was formation of a compact. They weren't going to let Fugaku run roughshod over them. No doubt he would kick up one hell of a fuss, but Itachi was right: Madara was head of the firm, and he didn't have to do anything he didn't want to.
She'd never been mentioned, but she was pretty confident that if it wasn't her in the job they may well have given it Sasuke. If things had continued as they had before they might well have run out of people willing to take the job on. Sasuke returning would have been a relief, rather than adding another thing on top of their teetering piles of concerns.
"Nothing vexes my brother more than that very fact," Madara chuckled, and then turned to Sakura, "Sakura-san, I have a very important task for you."
Sakura was surprised, but immediately nodded, "Of course, Madara-san, what can I help with?"
"You are Itachi's assistant, and next year you will be a trainee lawyer within my firm," he reminded her, "Do you want either of those things to change?"
"No!" she yelped, "I mean, unless, you don't -"
Madara cut her off, "I didn't think so, and I am not prepared to lose a mind like yours to another firm," he said firmly, his lip curling slightly at the thought. His most prodigious lawyers were, literally all of them, other members of the extensive Uchiha family. He had probably never had to worry about the possibility of one of his lawyers jumping ship before.
"So," Madara continued, "Your task is to ignore anything that comes out of the mouth my brother. Or Itachi's brother for that matter."
"They'll try to convince me to give up the job, won't they?" Sakura asked, and Itachi smirked at the stubborn look on her face. It was hard to believe sometimes that she wasn't actually biologically related to Tsunade.
"Of course they will," Madara said as if he were talking about the weather, rather than her whole future, "Your traineeship won't interest them, unless Sasuke has suddenly become taken with medical law, but working for Itachi? That's a different matter."
Itachi murmured in agreement, "It is pointless for them to try to convince us, or at least they will soon give up trying. They will likely see you as the weakest link and focus their efforts there."
If Sakura hadn't been infuriated by the prospect of Sasuke and his father trying to derail her employment she might have laughed. Both Madara and Itachi were treating these developments like a military mission that had to be planned for and strategised out. As if their brothers were the enemy, and the last few months she'd be working for Itachi were the battleground.
If anyone but Itachi himself, or Madara to be fair, thought that they could convince her to quit then they would have another thing coming. She knew to really make it as a top lawyer she would have to toughen up. Even if her whole plan was to help people she couldn't just let herself be talked out of things, or she wouldn't be any good to anyone. Besides, she was a hell of a lot less likely to take any shit off Sasuke now. It might have been more touch and go a few years back.
Madara chuckled, "I disagree, Itachi. From what I know of Sakura-san she takes after Tsunade-sama, and convincing that woman to do anything she doesn't want to is like trying to get blood from a stone."
Sakura giggled; Tsunade would be thrilled to hear her favourite traits being discussed in the company of people she actually respected. That stubbornness was not quite as well received in other areas of her life, especially with the funding bodies she argued with constantly.
"In fact," Madara continued, looking pointedly at Itachi, "I think your mother might be the real issue."
Itachi frowned slightly, but Sakura realised what Madara was implying straight away. The influence Mikoto had over the members of the Uchiha family was second only to Taniko-san, and in some ways even greater because they weren't just scared of her. It could be a double-edged sword. After all she'd helped convince everyone not to tell Sasuke Sakura had taken the job, but if he pouted Mikoto might not be able to help herself. Especially after not having seen him for eighteen months.
Even Itachi wasn't immune to her influence despite being fully-grown, "I see what you mean," he admitted, "I will always do what is best for the firm."
His tone was even, but Sakura suspected he was trying to convince himself as much as his uncle. Madara probably thought so too, but he nodded pleased with the sentiment even if the execution might be more difficult.
"You will, I have no doubt," Madara said, in a tone that clearly meant 'you had better', "Of course, we may well just be creating something out of nothing here, but there's never any harm in being prepared. I had better get back to my office, until next time, Itachi, Sakura-san."
He let himself out and Sakura sighed, reaching up to rub at her eyes again. 'Never any harm in being prepared' might as well have been the slogan above the door to this place; it was why she fit in so well. She just didn't expect to have to think about it on a personal level too. Maybe she could just avoid the Uchiha compound for the next year.
"Everything will be fine, Sakura-san," Itachi assured her, and she gave him a wan smile. Things had been going so well, it was just so typical that her boys were going to up-end everything all over again.
As she walked home from the office she went to check if Naruto had come back to her. She never even got to her emails; instead getting a text from Ino.
"Forehead, I'm in your flat – having a crisis. Bring ice-cream!" followed by a tranche of kisses.
Sakura resisted the urge to text her back saying 'yeah, well, join the club' and instead backtracked to drop into the small supermarket. With her terrible diet she was a regular in the place, and the woman who ran it was not at all surprised to see her basket piled high with ice cream and snacks. They even did both their favourite flavours: mint for Sakura and cherry for Ino.
She'd been friends with Ino for fifteen years, and she liked to think no one knew her as well as she did, except maybe Inoichi. It might have been a three exclamation point crisis in her text, but it was clearly only a second level. Ino's crises fell into three categories: level one meant alcohol, level two meant ice-cream, and the worst of them all, level three, meant carbs. There'd only been a few level threes over the years, but Sakura still associated noodles and buns with Ino's disasters.
It did make her feel guilty, but Sakura had to admit she was almost glad Ino was stressed out enough to come over. It meant she would have something to occupy her time that wasn't all the awkward conversations she was facing in the coming weeks. Her friend was careful enough not leave the door half open like some of the others, but there were scraps of fabric on the stairs and she could hear Ino swearing to herself as she opened the door.
"Sakura!" Ino practically shouted, rushing over to give her a hug, "Thank God you're home!"
"Nice to see you too," Sakura said, returning the hug and shoving a tub of ice-cream into Ino's hands, "Now why are you cluttering up my flat?"
Sakura was still in the hallway at this point, and had yet to see the state of her living room. She might not have been a domestic goddess, but she'd grown up with a doctor and well understood the benefits of a clean house. It wasn't spotless, but compared to some of the catastrophes her friends lived in it was practically a hospital ward. After grabbing a couple of spoons from the kitchen and dropping off the rest of the food she walked through the living room.
It was as if an extremely localised hurricane had touched down right in the middle of the place. Every available surface was covered in sketches, full drawings, fabric pieces, half-finished dresses and even a dress-maker's dummy. In the midst of the chaos Ino sat on the ground shovelling ice-cream into her mouth.
"Ino-pig, what – what even is all this?" she gasped.
"This is me failing my internship!" Ino wailed, pulling a sketch out from the bottom of a pile and causing a minor landslide of papers.
Sakura chose not to ask if it was technically possible to 'fail' an internship, and settled on asking, "How did you even get all this stuff up here?" instead.
Ino waved the spoon in the air, "Haku gave me a hand with it all – I said he could stay but he wasn't keen."
Sakura snorted imagining the spindly model trying to heave a dummy that probably weighed more than him up the stairs. Ino certainly had a way of making men do whatever she wanted. She didn't blame him for making a quick escape either; Ino could be frightening when she was stressed.
"Can't imagine why," she said, pointedly looking at the devastation that had been her tidy flat, "Now what's the matter? You're the director's favourite – she tells you that, like, all the time."
"I know!" Ino said, "Last week she was talking about making me a permanent designer, you know."
Sakura did know – Ino had phoned her immediately to gush about it. Sakura had text her to let her know about Izuna's offer on Saturday, but she hadn't wanted to make a fuss until it was a sure thing. Now it was, but it wasn't exactly the sort of thing she wanted to bring up right now. Ino didn't need to hear about her achievements until she'd weathered whatever this was. It did remind Sakura that she'd better text Sai to give him the details tonight.
"I know, so what happened?" she asked, shifting a pile of horrific fabric that looked honestly like curtains to sit down.
Ino covered her face with her hands and made a noise that was half groan and half bear-like growl. Sakura quickly shoved some ice-cream into her mouth to smother the laughter that was threatening to come out. No wonder Haku had cut and run.
"You know how I have a full ten-minute slot on the runway in the summer?" Ino started, and Sakura nodded along encouragingly. That was a huge deal and really showed how much the place valued Ino. Sakura didn't know a whole lot about high fashion, but she'd made more of an effort with how important it was to her friend.
"Well I was showing the director all my designs and she just lost it!" Ino continued, her lip trembling.
She went on to describe her boss' comments in excruciating detail. 'Unimaginative' was one that cropped up a lot, also 'tired', 'boring', and plenty of insinuations that if Ino didn't perk her ideas up her internship would be considered effectively over. Sakura mentally congratulated herself on picking up an extra couple of tubs of ice-cream. This was starting to border on a level three, and she didn't have any buns.
"She said if I don't impress her by the end of the week then I'll be out!" Ino said, breathing hard after having ranted for a solid ten minutes barely pausing for breath.
"Ok," Sakura started, and pointed to some of her designs, "What have you got so far?"
Directing Ino onto something she was confident about was the key to heading off a proper meltdown and had worked wonders in their school exams.
"Ok, this one is going out first," she said, and launched into a speech about how yellow was definitely out this year and lime green was in.
"I quite like the jeans," Sakura ventured, and Ino gave her a pinched look before explaining that those were not jeans. Sakura wasn't quite sure what they were, they definitely looked like jeans to her, but kept quiet and let Ino keep talking.
They went through a few more designs, and for each Ino explained what her ideas were, and then what the director had said about them. The terrible curtain fabric she'd shoved onto the floor was going to be used for the wedding guest themed part of the show. Sakura supposed it was one way to make sure you didn't upstage the bride.
"She actually said, 'this one is so bland I could have picked it up from the supermarket'!" Ino raged about an ensemble that Sakura could honestly say would not be out of place on Mars.
As Ino repeated another phrase her boss had used something suddenly clicked in Sakura's mind. Sakura's memory was excellent. It might not have been as close to photographic as was actually possible, like Itachi's, but it was pretty damn good. She'd heard about these comments from the director before, just about another intern at the place.
"Ino," she started, but Ino was in full flow and didn't even pause, "Ino-pig. Ino!"
Ino started at Sakura shouting in her ear, "What? Can't you see I'm ruining my life here?"
Sakura rolled her eyes, "I really don't think you are."
"What do you mean?" Ino obviously sensed that Sakura was onto something. Sakura had always been good at figuring things out, and Ino knew when to listen to her friend and the brain inside that big forehead.
"Remember ages ago when that weird guy was working there?" Sakura said, "You know, the one with the white hair?"
Ino scoffed, "Oh yeah, he was freaky. Who the hell wears red eyeliner? What's he got to do with anything?"
"I'm pretty sure your boss said the exact same things to him. Remember? He was doing some collection or something, and your boss wanted him to redo everything?"
It was if a light went off in Ino's head, "And she didn't really want him to redo it all – she wanted him to stand up to her."
Sakura nodded, pleased with herself, "And he redid everything, didn't he? And he didn't last long after that."
"No, he was gone like the next week. Do you think I shouldn't change anything?" Ino asked, worrying one of her perfectly manicured nails.
Sakura shrugged, "I don't know your boss like you do, but I do know she's done this before. It makes sense that she wouldn't want someone who will just do what she thinks – she needs someone to come up with new ideas and stuff. Besides, she's always loved all the designs and clothes you've made before. Why would it change now, like, over the weekend?"
Ino nodded and spooned up some more ice-cream as she mulled it over. Sakura knew better than to rush her when she was thinking, and went to retrieve her phone from where she'd left it in her handbag.
She honestly was going to check her email and see what her boys thought of her news. It just so happened that Neji had text her since she'd gotten home, and it would have been rude not to get back to him. She knew he was due back, but she hadn't expected him to be home so soon. She was sure he'd said it was at least a three month contract.
His uncle, Hyuuga Hiashi, was the head of a global company. In all honesty Sakura wasn't exactly sure what they provided, but he did it well enough that he required a body-guard when he travelled. It was common knowledge that Neji's father had been killed in a botched kidnapping when Neji had been very young, and that Hiashi was now never without protection. Once he'd been old enough Neji, the martial arts prodigy, had taken over as his main agent.
Neji's texts never said much, just that he would be in the city the next night and asking if she would like to go to dinner. She walked back into the living room while texting him that she would love to, but that she was paying half. It was a long-running argument. Neji was a gentleman, but his views were so old-fashioned sometimes. He replied immediately that he would come pick her up at seven, and they would just have to see about the bill.
"You're grinning, Forehead!" Ino said, pointing at the smile on her face, "Has Deidara finally come round?"
Sakura laughed, "Hardly, and besides, I like his new girlfriend."
"I know, check you, Haruno Sakura, hanging out with all these famous people. You should bring one of them to my runway show – it'll make me look good."
"Were you able to get us tickets?" Sakura asked. Apparently the tickets were practically worth their weight in gold to the fashionistas of the city.
Ino gave her a haughty look and flipped her long pony-tail over her shoulder with a flick of head, "Forehead, I always get what I want. I got three, so pick a good date and make sure Sai doesn't mind them."
Sakura shook her head. Ino was obviously feeling better; she was back to calling her 'Forehead'. It was only 'Sakura' when she was stressed, being soppy, or drunk – the latter usually encompassed the other two states.
"I know, it's because you're scary," Sakura laughed when Ino stuck her tongue out at her.
"Whatever, you're just jealous. Besides, which one of us reduced Kankuro to tears in front of everyone?"
Sakura grimaced at the mention of her first real boyfriend. He was a couple of years older, and the brother of one of Naruto's close friends Gaara. That was how they'd met, despite going to school on completely different sides of the city.
"Well, he was a cheating bastard!" she said, throwing her hands up, "I was fully justified!"
Kankuro wasn't a bad guy, he just made stupid decisions, and they'd made up since. Purely as friends though. It wasn't like she was going to hold a grudge over something that happened when they were fifteen and their 'relationship' consisted of three whole months together. Mostly in secret so Naruto didn't find out. He'd helped with her 'post-Sasuke transition' as Ino described it, and she would always be grateful for that.
Ino laughed, "I know, I know, he kissed another girl. Anyway, who's texts have got you smiling?"
"Hey, that's a big deal! Especially when you're a teenager. It's just Neji, we're going to dinner tomorrow night."
Ino cocked her head onto one side, "Is there still something going on with you guys? You were cute together. In a weird way."
"Thanks," Sakura said dryly, "Not really. It's not like a big deal or anything. Just we're so busy, and he's out of the country so much. It seemed like it was just going to get to the point where someone got hurt feelings so we eased it off. We're still good friends."
Ino rolled her eyes, "Oh my God, girl, you need some passion in your life. When Deidara finally recognises you for the woman you are, you'll see. He's got to be the passionate type."
Sakura chose not to reveal that Neji was most definitely 'the passionate type' when they'd been alone together, and instead reached over to flick her in the head, "Shut up, Piggy. Now tell me I was right about your designs before I bring up how things are going with you and Sai."
Ino muttered darkly at the mention of her slow progress with Sai, but obediently told Sakura that she was probably right. Sakura would take 'probably right'; she'd never met Ino's boss after all.
"I'll make the changes I was already planning on, but I'm not going to start over," she said confidently, rooting around in the mess to pile up her strongest designs ready for editing.
"Good. I think you're making the right call, but don't kill me if that's not what she wants at all," Sakura said, making sure to cover herself.
"Nah, I'm sure you're right. It doesn't make any sense how she's changed her mind so quick. This is just a test. I knew there was a reason I'm friends with you," Ino said, making a vain effort to tidy her stuff into piles. Sakura would have to phone her a taxi to get all this stuff back to hers.
"Anyway, what's new with you?" Ino asked, "There's something up with you – I can tell."
Sakura smiled at her. There was nothing like having a close friend to rely on. She still couldn't believe they'd fallen out over Sasuke of all people.
"Have you not checked your email today?" she asked, she wanted to see Ino's face when she got the message.
"No?" Ino said, rummaging in her giant designer handbag and pulling out her phone with its ridiculous bejewelled cover. "Oh my God!" she shouted, jumping up as she read through the email.
"Yeah, so that happened today," Sakura said, grinning at the excitement on Ino's face. Ino and Naruto had an odd friendship, but it was a true one. All of Naruto's friendships were, it was just the kind of man he was.
Ino screeched and threw her arms around her neck, overbalancing both of them onto the sofa. Sakura laughed as Ino landed on her and continued screeching in her ear.
"You're not as light as you look, Ino-pig!"
Ino returned the flick to her forehead, pushing herself up on her hands to take a good look at Sakura, "You should be super happy that your best friends will finally be back in the country, but you're not. What's the matter?"
Sakura sighed, running a hand through her hair and sitting up. Ino shuffled along to sit beside her on the small sofa, watching her with concern.
"You're my best friend, Ino, and I am happy they're coming home, it's just -" and she explained the whole situation with Sasuke, the firm, and her boss' warning that her life was about to get way more difficult when they did get back.
Ino whistled through her teeth in a way that had irritated Sakura since they'd been kids, "Damn. I see what you mean about how it's good and bad. They won't really try to force you out of your job will they?"
Sakura snorted, "Fugaku has already tried within two minutes of finding Sasuke is on his way. I don't want to think about what it'll be like when he's actually here and breathing down my neck."
Ino slammed a fist into her palm, "Nah, fuck them, you're not going anywhere. I don't care what they say. Besides, Itachi thinks you're the best assistant ever, and Madara actually said he doesn't want to lose you. I don't see how anyone survives arguing with that guy; he's got crazy eyes."
Sakura laughed out loud, and it was amazing the difference having opened up about it all. She was sure she'd feel even better about it when she'd told Tsunade. Just so long as Tsunade didn't march herself right over to the Uchiha compound and strangle Fugaku with her bare hands. Ino was totally right about Madara too; he really did have crazy eyes when the mood took him.
"Thanks, Ino, you're a good friend."
Ino smiled smugly, "Of course I am. Now, what are you wearing to dinner tomorrow? Make it something hot, see if you can't make Deidara jealous somehow."
Sakura rolled her eyes, "Ino – how many times do we have to go over this -"
Ino stayed until way too late on a school night as they laughed, caught up and broke open a bottle of wine. All the while the return email from Naruto sat unread in her inbox. Along with one from Sasuke.
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