Chapter 4: At The Party
After walking Sakura to the hospital, Sasuke went straight to the Hokage tower to talk to Tsunade.
"What do you want Uchiha? I don't recall asking you to come here?" Tsunade asked wondering what Sasuke wants when she knows that he's not the type to come visit and have a chat with her.
"I will join Sakura on her mission this Monday." Sasuke said directly to the point.
At this, Tsunade's lips curled up in to a smile, really amused with the way Sasuke's asking for her permission.
"You're not here to ask for my permission, are you? You're just informing me." Sasuke just shrugged his shoulders at this. Tsunade gathers the folder containing the lists of up coming missions checking Sasuke's schedule. "You do know Sakura's mission is a solo one, right? And that she can do this very well on her own." Sasuke just continued to look at her slightly nodding his head as a response.
"All right, I'm not going to ask you for your reasons or motivations on this one. It will just give me a headache. Just be back before your mission with Naruto and Sai next Wednesday. And don't interfere with her unless it is really necessary." The Hokage warns Sasuke emphasizing the word really because she knows Sasuke's definition of necessary regarding Sakura is a little bit complicated.
"We'll be here before my next mission. And thank you." Sasuke said before he disappeared in a puff of smoke using the disappearing jutsu.
Tsunade can't really decipher Sasuke's attitude most of the time. He appears to be indifferent, reserved, very quiet and not easily affected by others. But when it comes to some matters, usually involving her apprentice, he seems to be out of his character. She can't really figure him out, but she will find out soon enough…
Saturday night…
Sakura decided to come to Neji's party solo, which is without a date. She thought that it was a good time to meet other people since it was a big celebration which will be attended by most of the powerful and famous personalities since the Hyuuga clan is one of the most respected clans in konoha.
She decided to wear a very simple, apple green colored cocktail dress. It reached just above her knee with thin straps exposing her shoulders. After applying light make up, she went out of her door setting her mind to have a great time meeting other people at the same time enjoying the company of her friends.
When Sakura arrived at the party that is actually held at the Hyuuga estates' wide garden, her friends are already in there. Hinata waved at her once she saw her at the entrance talking to the attendant while handing him her gift for the celebrant. Sakura immediately saw Hinata and waved back before she made her way to the table assigned to them.
Naruto was surprisingly wearing something formal, on which Sakura's sure that Hinata made him wear it. Since the occasion was formal, her friends are not actually wearing their usual jounin or anbu uniforms. Most of them are sporting dark colored pants with dinner jackets. And for her girl friends, they wore something similar to her own but with different colors, length and style. She noticed that most of her friends did not also come with a date except for Naruto that is with Hinata.
"You don't have a date?" Hinata asked her as she sat next to Sasuke since it was the only one available.
"Nope, I decided that tonight I will meet someone special." She answered while laughing.
"Hey forehead, that was my plan." Ino said.
"I thought you're going to ask Sai to be your date."
"Well I can't find your so-called teammate. So I decided to come dateless."
The group continued to chat while waiting for the short program to start. The guests continued to arrive and before Sakura knew it, most of the tables were filled with guests. Sakura realized as she looked at her friends that Tenten was not with them. She recalls the incident a couple of nights ago at Rei's bar. It looked like Neji and Tenten was about to argue so Sakura thought that Tenten decided not to come since it would be awkward for them. After a while a waiter came by with different types of beverages at hand. Before she could decide what she wanted to drink Sasuke placed an iced tea in front of her. She thought of arguing with him but when she looked at the selection of drinks, she saw that iced tea was the safest choice. So she just smiled at him and murmured a small thank you which earned a nod from him.
After another short while, the hired coordinator/emcee speaks up to introduce the celebrant. Neji walked to the center of the garden in front of the small stage where the hired band was performing. He looked really handsome in his suit with the air of elegance and authority he always possessed. He thanked his uncle, Hinata's father that he now considers his second father, for the celebration that also signifies as a formal introduction for him as a member of the clan's main branch. He also thanked the whole clan for accepting him as who he is and giving him a chance to prove himself. He also welcomed his guests for attending this celebration and of course his friends for being with him tonight. His speech was short and simple. But the thing he said before he ended his talk was the one that caught the attention of the entire attendees.
"And before I end this short speech, again I would like you to enjoy this night with me. I'm really happy you all made it." Most of his guests clapped their hands as response to his request as they continue to watch him walk near the side of the small stage. When Neji returned to where he gave his thank you speech, Tenten was with him. The crowd made little noises as if asking what was the girl doing there with Neji.
As Neji picked up the microphone again, the crowd stopped their noise, now really intrigued. "Friends, as I celebrate another year in my life, I would like to formally introduce to you… my girlfriend…, Tenten." This statement earned gasps from his guests before they clapped their hands again as if welcoming Tenten. Neji's uncle was not so surprised by this revelation, somehow he saw it coming.
Tenten was the one really surprised by this. Just a couple of nights ago, they argued as if they will not talk to each other again and just now he introduced her to the entire Konoha as his girlfriend. It's true that she agreed to take their relationship to the next level but she just not saw this coming. She felt Neji's hand squeezed hers a little that made her look to him. When she saw Neji's happy and satisfied expression, she can't help but smile at him. She just thought that this is the way things go to the prestigious clans and she will learn to adjust to it.
"Hinata do you know any of this? How's that happened?" Ino asked.
"Well, I actually just found out about it yesterday when I caught them…" the entire group at the table narrowed their eyes at Hinata with interest.
"…having a very intimate.. conversation." Hinata finished her statement.
Sakura laughed at this. She's certain that her friends were thinking something leaning to awkward situation. Then she remembered that she actually set Tenten up on a date with another guy. "Hinata do you think there's a chance that Neji's mad at me?"
"Why would he be mad at you?" Naruto asked really confused.
"Well just last week I set Tenten up on a date with a friend who really likes her and I think Neji learned about this."
"That's right. And that is also the reason why he had to make a move on Tenten before she was taken away from him. I think he felt threatened. Can you believe that?" Hinata said to clear the confusion.
Before the dinner was served Neji and Tenten approached their table. The whole group at the table greeted Neji a happy birthday. Neji thanked them again then group proceeded on teasing the newest couple in town. Tenten blushed at this while Neji just gave a smirk.
"Can I join you guys?" Tenten asked.
"Of course." Sakura answered moving her seat a little closer to Sasuke's to give a space for Tenten. When Tenten settled on her seat Sakura whispered to her her question earlier about Neji being upset with her.
"Of course not, I think he'd like to thank you instead." Tenten said while laughing,
After the dinner, the guests gathered up in the dance floor dancing the night away.
The others continued on their chatting with drinks at hand since it was an open bar.
Sakura observed her friends. Naruto is now dragging Hinata on dance floor. Ino is
doing the same thing with Shino and Sai who arrived a little later. She followed
their direction because she actually liked to see Shino danced. After that Lee caught
her attention as his voice went a little bit louder to prove a point on Chouji who
is continuing on munching some sort of chips. And then Shikamaru was on his
cell phone, smiling while listening to the voice of the person on the other line,
probably Temari. And that Tenten wasn't beside her anymore and she caught a
glimpse of her with Neji walking hand in hand as Neji walked around to make sure
his guests were having a good time.
And then her gaze moved to the person next to her. Sasuke was doing the same thing observing their friends while sipping on his drink at hand. Sasuke looked at her as if asking why. Sakura just shrugged her shoulders and smiled at him as she sipped her drink. "So Sasuke, do you think you're ready for a relationship now like Neji?" Sakura asked thinking it would be fun to annoy him.
"Are you volunteering yourself?" Sasuke said joining her mood.
"Oh my god, did you just make a joke?" Sakura was now laughing.
"And I just make you laugh." Sasuke said again smirking. "Come on, let's get out of here." Sasuke then stood up while offering his hand to help Sakura out of her seat.
Sakura accepted his hand as she makes her way out of her seat while asking where they are going.
"Some place a little bit quiet." Sasuke answers as he led the way out.
When they reached their destination Sasuke realized that he was still holding her hand but he made no move to release her hand. It was the Hyuuga's backyard. You can still hear the loud music from the dance floor but it was a bit softer. The backyard was surrounded by trees and there was a sole bench under one of those trees. Sasuke lead her to the bench where they can gaze at the stars.
Since the backyard was not crowded the air there was chilly but she doesn't mind since she's again intrigued by this new side of Sasuke's personality. He's still reserved but his company was warm. She looked at their still entwined hands. His was larger compared to her own and again surprisingly, the contact wasn't weird on the contrary it was comfortable. And she wished that he felt the comfort too. They didn't mind the silence between them, it was relaxing. And then Sakura's left hand which was the one free from his grasp began to trace circular pattern on the back of Sasuke's palm. The one that her other hand was holding.
Once Sasuke felt this he looked at her. "What are you doing?" he asked visibly amused at what she's doing.
"Nothing. It's supposed to be comforting. Is it bothering you instead?"
Sasuke shook his head before he also looked at their joined hands. And then Sasuke lifted their hands that are resting on his thigh. He removed his hand from hers only to reposition it under at the back of her hand exposing her palm to his eyes.
Sakura studied Sasuke's movements, really curious on his next step but she stayed quiet. What Sasuke do next made her heart skip a beat. He leaned down and placed a kiss on her palm. And then he moved a little to kiss her wrist. "What are you doing?" Sakura finally found her tongue to ask him.
Sasuke just smirked, his lips still on her wrists and then he looked at her and said, "Nothing, it's supposed to be comforting. Is it bothering you instead?", copying what she just said earlier.
His response made Sakura laughed again. "Sometimes, I just can't really figure you out."
"You're wrong. You're actually the one who understood me the most." At this, Sakura gave him a soft smile. She's really beautiful under night sky and he can't help himself. He put his hand on her cheek softly caressing it and then he leaned down closing the gap between them. He felt relieved that she allowed him to kiss her but he can't explain the wonderful feeling he had when she responded on his kiss. It was soft and sweet. Just like how a first kiss should be. When they broke apart, Sakura's face was all red from blushing. So he grabbed her hand again and placed another kiss on the back of her hand and rested their clasped hands on his lap again before they continued to look at the stars. Not long after, Naruto popped out from where they came from.
"Hey guys what are you doing here? The party's over there. I was looking for you. Well, Kakashi-sensei asked for you so I looked. " Naruto said narrowing his eyes at their entwined hands. Sasuke again made no move of releasing her hand as he stood up before he helped Sakura on her feet.
Naruto did not ask a single question again, reserving it later for Sasuke.
a/n: I actually liked to write something fluffy and easy to read. So the OOCness was unavoidable since this is about romance. Thanks for reading!