Hoookays. So, remember this story? And remember how I promised a long-ass time ago that I would do a short add on of side stories? Well, I've had a form of writers block recently, and I've wanted to want to write – but nothing was really poking the word muse. I have many ideas and plans for stories, but I just haven't been able to get a decent combination of words in a row on 'paper.' So, I thought I would pick up an older idea and work on that. This was simple and easy because 1) Some of the stories were already written 2) They were short and 3) They were more light hearted.
So, for anyone who is interested and still following along: Here are some side stories to "Somewhere Only We Know"
(Note: Unlike the main story, the tree's perspective isn't continuous in this series. There are two at the end that are centered around the tree as an idea, but not from its perspective.)
Somewhere Only We Know
.:Side Stories:.
He was coming. The presence was heavy, heavier than the tree had ever felt. His footsteps were slow, but not calculated. A rough stumble could be heard on occasion, and the tree worried. When he was finally visible, the moon lit up the paleness of his skin. The wide blank stare looked even more lonely. The tree felt a longing to comfort Sakura-chan's precious friend. Its branches reached out, but it could not touch him. It was close, so close, but not close enough.
As though he felt the longing, the boy's blank eyes moved up, staring through the tree. A dry streak shone on his cheeks as the moon hit his face just right. He said not a word, but a word was not needed. The boy was hurting, that much was clear. Bare branches desperately wished it could wrap around the boy, comforting him in its embrace.
But the boy could not be touched. He was alone.
Pale arms raised, slowly – like he was not in control – to stop before his face. The blank orbs moved from through the tree to stare at the hands. Eyes widened before narrowing. The palms became hidden when hands became fists. Defeated drooping shoulders tensed. He looked back up at the tree.
He could see again, but he was not seeing the tree in front of him. His lips moved, whispering a title – a path and a promise.
*Avenger*
It was a brief meeting – and it had only ever happened once.
He had stumbled through the brush, his head whipping from side to side, stance ready to pounce on anything. His energy was catching. The tree watched him with both excitement and worry; its branches stilled with anticipation.
Either not finding what he had planned or giving up entirely, the boy's shoulders drooped while his stance relaxed. Electric blue met with bright pink petals. They stared for a moment (though, the tree seriously doubted whether the boy was aware he was being observed by the tree).
"Sakura-chan would like this place." Came tumbling from his lips. And then, as though ashamed or nervous, he scratched the lined cheeks with one finger.
Suddenly, he froze mid scratch. His nose flared slightly before he jumped, startling the poor tree. "AH!" He shouted. He whipped around to the side and pointed. "I can smell it, fuzzy-brows!" His finger began to shake as his face turned an unhealthy shade of red. "Give me back my ramen!"
Quicker than the tree had ever seen birds fly to catch their meal, the boy was gone.
*Perhaps it was for the best.*
She was laughing while he scowled beside her as they stepped into view through the brush, Sakura-chan tugging at Sasuke-kun's arm. Sasuke-kun stumbled once when she must have pulled too tightly.
"That was stupid." He ground out. His voice was angry and rough, but it didn't quite match his eyes.
"That doesn't sound like a thank you to me." Sakura-chan had stopped laughing, but there was a massive grin present on her bright face. They were finally under the tree's stretched out branches. They waved in the breeze as a welcome.
"They could have followed us."
Sakura-chan dropped his arm. He stopped while she kept going, only pausing when she reached the base of the tree. She spun around, her hands innocently clasped behind her back. "Aren't you supposed to be an amazing masterful ninja?"
"You don't know these fan girls."
There was a pause. Something in the air changed. The tree did not like it. "I do." Sakura-chan's grin faded slightly. Her eyes dimmed and the happy shine was replaced with something else. The tree immediately missed her usual glow. "I used to be one of them, remember?"
The silence was thick. Sasuke-kun's mouth set in a straight line. The tree willed him to say something – do something to bring back the Sakura-chan of just a few seconds ago. It was his duty, wasn't it?
Instead, Sasuke-kun said nothing. They watched each other, staring until the girl could no longer match his gaze and turned off to the side.
Finally, he broke the silence, "You are not a fan girl anymore." He stated.
"No." Sakura-chan bit her lip, still not meeting his watchful gaze. Her fingers began to play with each other behind her back.
"Why."
"I was annoying, wasn't I?" Her eyes briefly met his before casting off again to the side.
"You were." He said slowly. "But it was different." Fisted hands stuffed themselves into pockets.
The tree watched as many different thoughts and expressions flew across Sakura-chan's face. Her mouth dropped once, then immediately closed again. When she repeated the action, the tree seriously began to worry for the girl. After the third time, Sakura-chan's shoulders dropped and a slightly defeated looking smile graced her lips. "I don't know if I should take that as a good thing or a bad thing."
"Take it however you want."
Sakura-chan's smile fell. With hands still behind her back, she turned to stare up the base of the tree, her eyes thoughtful – almost like she was searching for answers within the high branches. The tree wished it could give her what she was looking for. It shook. A few leaves fluttered down around her, one finding rest on her shoulder. "Am I annoying now?" Her words were quiet, hesitant, but the slight breeze from the tree still carried it over to Sasuke-kun.
He was watching her back. She could not face him, could not see the arms that were crossed and the contemplative stare in his eyes. "Yes."
If the tree had not been observant, it would not have noticed the slight tensing of her muscles, the vague shine to her eyes, and the quick grimace on her face. The tree was confused by the words. Annoying. What was annoying? Sasuke-kun had confirmed the word, but the tree wondered if they both knew what the word meant.
Sakura-chan let out a shaky breath. Keeping her back to the boy, she spoke. The tree could sense that she struggled to keep her words steady. "Is that so? I guess things haven't changed too much then. I…" Her voice broke off for a moment. She blinked quickly, while her brow furrowed. Her lips formed a soundless word just before her hands fisted at her sides and she spun around to face Sasuke-kun. "No!" She repeated the word. "I won't stop being annoying." She stalked towards him, her finger jutting out, leading her. Sasuke watched the finger with a wary eye. "You're doing better, and I feel like we're a lot closer. So, if I need to continue being annoying," She poked his chest then. Sasuke-kun's lips twitched slightly, "Then so be it!"
"Good."
"I don't – what?" Sakura-chan's finger faltered on its way to jab at his chest again.
"I'm not repeating myself." Sasuke-kun's arms unfolded themselves. His hands found refuge his pockets.
"I don't get it." Sakura-chan also stepped back. Her head tilted to the side. The tree could not see her expression, but it imagined that she was biting her lip like she so often did when she was confused.
"Sakura…" Sasuke-kun looked away. He looked tired.
"Sorry," Sakura-chan mimicked his previous stance by crossing her arms and leaning on one foot. "I must not be using the same dictionary you've been using."
"You're annoying."
"Yeah, I got that much."
Neither responded and the tree briefly wondered if it had perhaps missed something. Sasuke-kun continued to stare off at anything other than Sakura-chan while she kept her arms crossed.
Finally, it was Sakura-chan who broke the silence as she shifted to the side, arms still crossed. The tree could see the hesitance in her expression. "So… how am I annoying?" Yes, the tree also wondered this question. It had only heard the word from Sasuke-kun, and when he used it, it did not seem to be that bad. However, Sakura-chan did not seem to enjoy the title.
"I don't get you." A pink eyebrow raised slightly, waiting for him to continue, "You're different."
"Is that bad?" Sakura-chan's brow raised even further.
"I don't know." Sasuke-kun's words were quick and rough. "You used to like me." A rarely seen color colored the tips of his ears.
"Do you want me to still like you?"
Still, Sasuke-kun refused to look at Sakura-chan. She waited for him to answer. The tree was anxious as well. It thought Sakura-chan always liked Sasuke-kun anyway. After a time, Sakura-chan's gaze moved from Sasuke-kun and turned to the tree. A slight red tint colored her cheeks.
"I didn't stop."
Another silence fell on the area. The tree watched Sakura-chan's face become a few shades darker as the seconds passed. Her pink eyebrows began to slant downwards while her lips chanted soundless words.
The tree was so focused on its worry for Sakura-chan, that it hadn't notice Sasuke-kun move until it heard him release such a deep breath that a few of the fallen leaves jumped at the breeze.
"I'll make dinner." He said. Sakura-chan's angry expression immediately evaporated with her widened eyes, "To thank you" Sasuke-kun continued, "for saving me from the fangirls."
Sakura-chan spun around. "Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke-kun immediately spun away, already marching towards the brush where they had entered. "Just shut up and be there."
*Dinner sounded lovely*
"Hey, jackass! You free tonight?"
"No."
"What?!" The chopsticks in Naruto's hand dropped into his ramen, splashing the precious broth onto the counter. He slammed his hands onto the wood while pushing himself off the stool so quickly that the chair fell backwards. "You're Sasuke-Uchiha – ice cube man!" He ignored the angry scolding of the pink haired girl on the other side of him. A finger waved in the Uchiha's face. "What could you possibly have planned?" And without his best friend!
Sasuke's nose scrunched up. He slipped his hand over Naruto's and pushed it so it was out of his face. "I have to do mission reports." He stated before returning to the ramen before him.
"Aw, you're no fun." Naruto pouted. He bent down to pick up the stool and carefully place it back to the standing position before plopping back down. He slouched only for a moment before he was reinvigorated by a mouthful of noodles. "What about you, Sakura-chan?"
He nearly choked when his head snapped forward from the force of Sakura's hand meeting the back of his head. "Don't talk with food in your mouth!" When he was able to swallow properly, he heard her continue, "Sorry, Naruto. I'm going to be busy too. I have to do paperwork."
"What? Both of you?" Naruto's head swiveled back and forth, eyeing both of them with what he hoped was shining guilt-inducing blue eyes. When he received no reactions, his back hunched as he pouted. It seemed like they were always busy. Either training or…
From the corner of his eye, he saw Sakura looking over his head and giving a short, brief nodding before the sneaky ninja went back to her ramen.
"Yeah, sorry Naruto."
Naruto sat up straight and took turns looking at the two on either side of him; blue eyes big and round. Gears began moving and clicking inside his head. Paperwork, is that what they're calling it these days? A sly grin spread across his face and he slunk down to slurp up his noodles, chuckling between sips.
"Naruto?" He heard Sakura's concerned voice, "Are you okay?
"I'm okay." He answered. He was going to be even better when he caught them together. He wasn't as slow as they thought he was.
They separated not long after. Sakura offering a few follow up 'Are you sure you're okay?' questions. Sure, Naruto knew he probably should be doing more to hide his grin and possibly hold back the occasional chuckle. He would also play on his poor left out soul and get some free lunches with Sakura-chan – but that would have to happen after he caught them and after he was over the initial excitement for them.
He was going to have to put his ninja skills to real use now. He sent them away with a, "Have fun with your paperwork!" and headed off in the direction of his apartment. And he wasn't totally lying – a clone really did go to his apartment. The original turned a corner and followed a good distance behind Sakura with masked chakra.
She stopped a few times, her hand twitching near the kunai pouch on her thigh. She threw them once. If Naruto hadn't jumped, Sai's nickname wouldn't have been so off anymore. Sakura entered her apartment and Naruto made himself comfortable in the tree next to her balcony.
He tracked her through her apartment, turning on and off lights as she entered and exited rooms. She stopped in her hallway once to talk on the phone. If he were less intelligent, he would have gotten closer to try and eavesdrop, but he didn't dare get any closer. When she finished the conversation, she entered what he knew from being in her apartment as her bedroom.
She exited the room five minutes later with a fancy, low-cut summer dress rather than the work clothes she had on when she entered the apartment fifteen minutes ago.
The beating he was going to get would be so worth it when he catches them.
With the ease of a great ninja like himself, Naruto carefully shadowed Sakura when she exited the building. She was less wary now and more in her head, daydreaming about her glorious date – unsuspecting of the surprise the great ninja Naruto was about to pull!
Sakura took the back way – which made it easier for Naruto to hide in the shadows undetected. He made sure to keep his distance. He was great, but Sakura certainly wasn't bad either. The road was beginning to look familiar. Trees were coming closer and bigger. The path was familiar. He found himself navigating easily.
He let Sakura turn a corner before following ten seconds later.
She was gone, but the Konoha gate was open before him. He carefully tiptoed to press himself against the wall next to the entrance. Arms spread wide as he gingerly took another step closer. His neck strained to get his head close, but not too close. He heard muffled voices. When he heard an excited giggle, he knew it was his time to shine.
With a bound, Naruto was on the other side of the gate – legs spread wide and an accusing finger held out. "HA! I caught you!" He shouted.
Two pairs of very round eyes blinked back at him as they paused in their actions.
Naruto also stared back, frozen in his position.
It was the pair that moved first. "Why yes! Naruto-san! You have caught us!" The younger green beast of Konoha straightened up from his stretches and leaped over to grab Naruto's outstretched hand. "We were going to do all night run around the border of Konoha to ignite the flames of youth for all inside!"
The elder man, clad in green, appeared next to the frozen blonde and draped an arm over his shoulders, "You must be here to join us!" Gai flashed his sparkling smile and offered a thumbs up to encourage the youth.
"Of course!" Lee cried, shaking Naruto's hand, "Sakura must have told you right after she got off the phone with me and you just had to participate in our endeavor!"
"Well then, we must not make this burning youth wait any longer!" Lee let go of Naruto's hand and Gai straightened out the blonde, arranging his stiff limbs so that his arms were straight up in the air.
"Yosh!" The two green beasts mimicked Naruto's position.
"Let's go!" Gai took off running. Lee turned to Naruto, whose arms had finally dropped to his side. He opened his mouth to protest, but he couldn't quite get passed the level of betrayal that he had been dealt.
Lee took in his defeated face and grabbed his friend's hand. "I know it will be tough Naruto, but we can get through it together with the power of youth!"
Sometime during the haze of their first few laps on the walls of Konoha (just as a 'change of pace'), Naruto could have sworn he saw a flash of pink and black through branches in a small wooded area – but the moment was gone in an instant. It was probably his exhausted mind playing tricks on him.
"I'll just have to make sure she doesn't leave me."
He had said those words – and meant them – but the weight of what he had suggested was really bearing down on him as he stared at the hospital doors.
As people passed him by, he felt the different looks they gave him. Some were filled with disgust, others confusion, and some filled with lust. He ignored them all, his main focus on the sliding doors in front of him. It was just one step ahead – one forward movement to make the glass doors slide open.
Just as he was about to finally take that step foreword, a familiar blonde came out. He was spotted immediately – too late to hide, so now he could only hope the nuisance would disappear soon.
"You know," Hands folded over a purple shirt as she stopped in front of him. "When I heard people coming in and complaining about some weirdo hot man standing in front of the hospital just staring and not moving, I should have known it was you." Her weight shifted to one foot as her head cocked to the side. "Are you here for Sakura?"
Sasuke did not say anything. Stupid questions don't need answering.
Ino rolled her eyes when she finally got the hint, "She's not here."
The previously shifty eyes immediately snapped to Ino's, demanding an explanation.
"She's on her lunch break. She usually steps out to eat – not sure where, though. I asked her once – hey!"
Sasuke had turned and was walking away from the blonde. He had all the information he needed.
She was there; he could sense her. Really, he should have tried here first. His hands shoved themselves into his pocket as he stood behind a tree, concealing himself from view. One hand fiddled with the precious object buried deep in the compartment of his pants. Lips pressed together while his eyebrows furrowed. He could hear her speaking – probably to the tree, but he wasn't listening to the words. Her voice, while it normally soothed him, made him anxious today.
At last, taking a deep breath, Sasuke closed his eyes and took the first step through the brush. He watched as Sakura stopped her chattering and turned to face him with questioning green eyes. She blinked at him a few times, his own eyes staring straight back at her, before she shrugged off the confusion and raised an arm in the air, her hand making the motions for him to come closer.
His movement to the spot that she was now patting was automatic.
"If I had known you'd be joining me today, I would have packed more." When Sasuke had settled himself down beside her, Sakura carefully reached into her brown paper bag and rustled around in it before pulling out a red apple. "It's not a tomato, but…" she stretched out her arm and offered the fruit to him.
Sasuke eyed the red food for a moment. No, he was unable to eat, let alone eat something red that wasn't his beloved tomato. Black hair shook with his head. He watched as Sakura shrugged and placed the apple back into her pack. She then offered part of the sandwich she had been nibbling on, but he again shook his head, declining the offer. Sakura resumed nibbling on her sandwich in silence, but Sasuke could see her eyes occasionally flicker towards his stuff form.
She probably knew. Aside from the glances, her eyebrows slightly furrowed and her lips were set in a straight line in between her tiny bites. She knew something was different and it was worrying her. She knew him too well. It loved and hated it. Sasuke took in a deep breath before letting it out, willing himself to relax. He closed his eyes, focusing on the calming presence of the tree they had claimed as their own.
It was peaceful. The breeze was soft, but refreshing. Sakura's soft nibbling was comforting. Something silky brushed up against his nose. He heard Sakura chuckle beside him before he felt her fingers remove the foreign object.
The words – they were on the tip of his tongue, waiting to burst out. He was Sasuke Uchiha, dammit! Where was his confidence? He felt his lips involuntarily tighten as his eyes slowly opened to look around. His dark gaze fell on the tree – the damned tree that on more than one occasion had brought Sakura and himself together. There was something about the tree – he would give Sakura that. Even then, he felt that the soft breeze was encouraging him, giving him the courage.
"Marry me."
The words were out there even before he realized her had said them. Well, it was out there now, nothing he could do about it. His gaze – oh so cautious and guarded – slowly turned to meet her wide-eyed stare. No one said a word as the pink petals danced around the couple.
Involuntary beads of nervous sweat began to form on his forehead. His ears began to burn. Sasuke did not acknowledge their existence, keeping his attention focused onto the girl beside him. Why wasn't she answering? Any other time, the girl was a chatterbox, but now that he actually wanted her to say something…
Finally, Sakura let out a sigh. Her body dropped a bit, but her lips held a gentle smile. "Sasuke-kun, you can't just demand I marry you. Now, ask me properly, and I may think about it."
Damn her. "Sakura…" Sasuke felt himself growl. What did she want? Roses? A grand scene? Didn't she know by now who he was?
"Come on, Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke watched as the gentle smile turned into a familiar smirk. She leaned foreword, lips tantalizingly close to his own. "Ask me." She whispered, her voice husky. He could feel her breath against is face. It was hot and smelled slightly of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich she had been eating.
And then the nervous anxiousness was gone. He was confident again. The smirk that had been absent earlier formed on his lips. She was his; and she was playing with him – but not in a negative way. He could play back.
Turning his head, he watched from the corner of his eye as Sakura leaned foreword on her hands and knees, a cute pout present on her face. "I don't need to ask you anything." Sasuke crossed his arms, staring down at the pink haired girl, as though he hadn't just proposed to her.
"Sasuke-kuuuuuun." Sakura whined. She leaned back so that she was sitting on her ankles, hands at her side. Her lips pouted even further and her doe eyes glimmered with playful sadness.
Before he could stop it (though he wondered if he really did want to stop it), Sasuke felt the rumble before he heard it. A short chuckle escaped his lips. Yes, he thought as he began to squat down in front of the happily surprised Sakura. Yes, this is who I want to keep with me. No need for hesitation or anxiety. I am sure. He allowed his lips to curl up into a very slight, but very there smile. "Sakura no baka, will you marry me?"
(.Owari.)
Yeah, so, there it is. Some of it was written a while ago, some of it I wrote just recently. I think I need to write more regularly because my writing seems to have gone a bit downhill…
Anyhoo, hope you enjoyed! Thanks so much for reading!
Please do review/like/reblog and all that jazz.
Note: I gots myself a tumblr! Follow me at Joy-girl-sama and chat!