Spiral
By: Callista Miralni
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do, however, own the lyrics of the song.
And I lied. It was this chapter that Meiza and Jiade-103 beta-ed for me, not the last. Thank you again!
Chapter Four: Betrayed
Saturday. It was the end of the first week that Sadako was under Sasuke's tutelage. Sakura and Naruto had deemed it to be a day of rest, much to Sasuke's annoyance. But it was Saturday, and nothing that the Uchiha heir said or did conveyed his unwillingness to relax to his teammates.
On the other hand, a certain Uchiha Sadako disguised as Chirasen Sadako woke up at a rather late hour (Naruto cracked up when he walked past her door and heard her swearing profusely at nearly ten o'clock that morning), to the aroma of pancakes and maple syrup, a rarity back in her own time in the Uchiha household.
The promise of pancakes served as an excellent incentive for the girl to wash up and dress in record time, and in a matter of minutes she was bouncing down the stairs in a rare display of childish glee.
"Ohayo." She said as she opened the kitchen door. Her smile nearly faltered as a wave of nostalgia hit her upon seeing Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi at the table and Sakura cooking pancakes at the stove. It reminded her so much of her life fourteen years later.
"Ohayo Sada-chan." Kakashi said, looking up from Icha Icha Paradise.
The girl wrinkled her nose in distaste at the sight of the perverted novel, but said nothing. "I smell pancakes. And maple syrup." She said, trying to ignore the novel in Kakashi's hand.
Naruto beckoned her to the chair beside him and she sat down. "Sada-chan must love pancakes. She probably loves them as much as I love ramen!"
"Err... not quite Naruto-nii-san."
Sakura set down a plate of pancakes in front of the twelve-year-old girl. "Here Sada-chan. You get pancakes first 'cause you're the youngest and you work harder than most of us do."
With that simple gesture, Sadako suddenly recalled all the small things her mother, in her own time, had done for her, from making her breakfast every morning to going over her homework in the evening. A wave of homesickness threatened to overwhelm her, and Sadako had to force the smile to stay on her face, struggling not to cry. "Arigato gozaimasu Sakura-nee-san."
"She wouldn't have to work so hard if Sasuke wasn't such a brutal taskmaster." Naruto mumbled through a mouthful of pancakes.
Sasuke shot Naruto a glare and murmured, "Idiot—you couldn't even train a Genin cell if you tried."
Naruto jumped up from the table. "You wanna fight Sasuke-bastard? I can take you out right here and right now."
"Sit down! Eat your pancakes!" Sakura screeched, glaring at Naruto and Sasuke in turn.
Kakashi and Sadako looked up at Sakura's sudden outburst but said nothing.
"You're ruining my appetite for pancakes, Naruto-nii-san, Sasuke-sensei. And I hate it when that happens." Sadako said pointedly before returning to her breakfast.
Sasuke quietly sat across the table from his charge, regarding her with a discreet stare. It was strange, seeing someone who had been acting so cold, collected, and mature for her age, suddenly acting like a child over something as trivial as pancakes.
"Hurry up and eat—we have to give our report to the Hokage soon." Sakura said as she finally sat down herself.
"Hn. Is that so? Since I'm not needed, I'm staying home." Sasuke said.
Naruto grinned mischievously. "Baa-chan wants to see you anyways, Sasuke. You aren't getting off THAT easily."
After Team Seven had given their weekly report to the Hokage, they ran into Hyuuga Hinata who had invited them over to the Hyuuga house for a gathering of friends. Unable to refuse and unable to run away, Team Seven, minus Kakashi but plus Sadako, went to the Hyuuga Main House and stayed there for the majority of the day.
In a separate room from their male teammates, Tenten, Ino, Sakura, Hinata, and Sadako lounged about and caught up on each other's lives. The older kunoichis were interested in Sadako's life the most and had taken turns pelting the girl with questions.
"You can play the piano? Sugoi! That's a skill that not many shinobis have and most kunoichis' only know the basics." Hinata commented.
"Sasuke-kun can play the guitar, the flute, and the shamisen." Sakura mumbled from her place on the floor.
Ino grinned. "And how would you know that Forehead Girl? Were you spying on Sasuke-kun?"
"Get over it Ino-pig. You were there with me each time we caught Sasuke-kun playing any one of those instruments." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Besides, we were six."
"Will you play something for us?" Tenten begged. "I'd love to hear you play. I'm sure you're really good since you've had lessons for eight years."
"Err... I haven't played since my parents died. I'm out of practice. Besides, does Hinata-nee-san have a piano to begin with?" Sadako fidgeted nervously.
"Actually, there's a piano in the next room." Hinata said softly.
Tenten had practically dragged the younger girl next door and pushed her onto the bench. "Please Sadako-chan?"
Sadako couldn't say no. She lifted the lid off the keys and tried to remember a song that she had written not too long ago, a song about her mother's anguish at her father's departure from Konoha five years before she was born.
Even through the worst of times
I always believed
That you would come back to me
Even through the emptiness
The blinding pain inside
I always knew that you would change your mind
Sakura listened to Sadako's childish soprano voice sing her pent-up emotions from the past two years into words.
"Sugoi. She can play and sing at the same time." Hinata whispered.
Ino also heard the words and glanced worriedly at her childhood best friend.
Sakura-chan...
What a fitting expression for such a tragic love.
But once again I have to prove
Where my loyalties lie
The one who cared
The one who shared
The one who risked his life
Suddenly I see the light and all this time
I've only been fooling myself
Outside in the courtyard, the males from the Rookie Nine, Neji, Lee, and Sai also heard the music.
"Who's playing, Neji? Hanabi?" Kiba asked.
"Hanabi-sama doesn't play the piano." Neji said with a frown.
Naruto strained his ears to listen and frowned. He could hear the raw emotion behind the lyrics, telling the story that was taboo among those who were present.
Couldn't you just drop the illusion?
Couldn't you just grant my one request?
Is it hard to walk the path of ambition
Leaving me behind?
Could you see that I cared?
Could you see what I shared?
Could I sense the scent of betrayal
That lingers in the air?
Sakura lowered her head to hide her misty eyes. This song... it was bringing memories of that last night. Sakura could almost swear that she was twelve again—twelve, naïve and weak. This was the night when her whole world had come crashing down onto her. This was the night that she prayed she would never have to repeat.
If only she knew what lay ahead in her future.
I should have known
You aim too high
That even God can't help you with your request
I should have seen
The warning signs
The vengeful aura that surrounds you everywhere
"Sadako. It's Sadako who's performing."
Sasuke looked up from the ground and frowned.
He had never heard this song before, but it was so…uncannily accurate to his own story that it was somewhat disturbing. And here this stranger was singing it for all to hear. It was like having someone reading your diary out loud.
But then again, he thought, there was no way Sadako could know enough about them to write a song specifically for them.
If only Sasuke knew the truth.
But... couldn't you just drop the illusion?
Couldn't you just grant my one request?
Is it hard to walk the path of ambition
Leaving me behind?
Could you see that I cared?
Could you see what I shared?
Could I sense the scent of betrayal
That lingers in the air?
Sadako remembered the first time she had performed this for her mother. It was Okaa-sama's birthday and her daughter had given her a song.
The girl could remember how her mother's emerald-green eyes welled up with tears and emotion. Sadako knew it was cruel of her to give such a gift but it was something she felt had to be done. Okaa-sama couldn't run away from the past forever.
She knew her mother's personal nightmares.
And she brought them to reality in a mere four minutes.
All this time
I thought I believed
I thought I could see
Who you really were
And all this time
I thought I could reach
Down into the dark abyss of your mind
He knew that song.
Sasuke didn't know where he had heard it before? Was it a dream? Or was it simply the guilt of leaving creating false memories?
He didn't care.
But deep down inside, Sasuke knew he really did.
But... you can't drop the illusion
You can't grant me my one request
It's gotta be hard to walk the path of ambition
Leaving me betrayed
You couldn't see that I cared
You couldn't see what I shared
And even after all this time
Even after all your crimes, I
I still love you
Sadako lay on her bed at home, staring at the blank, whitewashed ceiling. She could see the faces of her mother and the various aunts and uncles she had, as well as the faces of her teammates, in her mind's eye. A single tear spilled down her face, and she wiped it away irritably. Sadako was not one to cry over her situation, and she wasn't going to start now. But then again, although Sadako would never admit it aloud, she missed being back home.
She accepted her fate only because she had no other choice but to accept it. Hokage-sama most likely didn't have the counter-jutsu or even know a counter-jutsu to send her back home, and there was no telling how long it could take to find one. Besides, the girl was curious. In this time-frame, she could finally meet her father.
Uchiha Sasuke—what a cold name! He lived up to all the stories she heard about him. It was hard to imagine that in the near future, this man's only weakness would be the one and only Haruno Sakura.
Sadako would have found this incredibly sweet; if it hadn't been for the fact she didn't have a single romantic bone in her body.
Sadako rolled over and stared out the window. As much as she wanted to go home, sleep in her own bed, and be with people she loved (even if she almost never said it aloud), she knew she couldn't. And even if she could, she wasn't sure if she would. As much as she wanted to go home, a part of her was glad to be here. This was her opportunity to learn, her trial to overcome. If she could live through this, then she could handle just about anything.
Sasuke leaned against the tree, his arms crossed in front of his chest, and stared at Sadako below him.
"Stop it. You're acting like a baby."
The girl whirled around, kunai poised at a dangerous arc. "I'm acting like a baby? Sasuke-sensei, you're the one who's being unfair. Is it really that difficult of a request to grant?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes and brought his face eye-level with his student. "Just because I won't let you spend a day with Sakura at the hospital doesn't mean you get to act like a brat. Tsunade told me to teach you whatever I wish and she named me your guardian. Don't act all high and mighty on me Chirasen Sadako."
"You're being an asshole." The girl said through gritted teeth.
"And you're being annoying. You're going to learn how to do this kata right or there will be Hell to pay." Sasuke retorted. The 'disagreement' was interrupted by a sweet voice.
"Gomen nasai, Sasuke-san. I'm sorry we're late. Oh, ohayo Naruto-kun"
"Hinata." Sasuke acknowledged.
Naruto looked up from his place at the foot of a nearby tree. "Hinata!"
Sasuke's eye caught another slightly smaller figure behind the Hyuuga heir. The figure stepped into the light and he recognized her to be Hyuuga Hanabi, Hinata's little sister.
"Hinata-nee-sama, is that her? Chirasen Sadako?" Hanabi said, nodding towards the scowling Sadako practicing her kata.
"Hai Hanabi-chan. Sadako-san is Sasuke-san's student."
Hanabi regarded the girl coldly. "She's nothing special."
Sadako froze and turned to glare at the speaker. Realizing that it was Hanabi-oba-sama, the girl's scowl deepened even further. She didn't even like Hanabi-oba-sama back in her own time (the woman wouldn't stop staring at her every time she saw her on the streets!) and once again, Sadako was forced to feign ignorance. "Who are you?"
"Hyuuga Hanabi of the Hyuuga Main House. It would be in your best interests not to forget my name."
"I've never forgotten a name or a face, Hyuuga-sama." Sadako glared coldly.
"Back to your kata, Sadako." Sasuke reprimanded. "You'll never get anywhere at this rate."
"Actually, Sasuke-san, if you don't mind, why don't we have Hanabi-chan and Sadako-san spar against each other sometime today." Hinata spoke up timidly.
Sasuke looked at the two girls and shrugged his shoulders. "Fine by me. Sadako! You heard Hinata!"
Sadako paused in the middle of her kata and straightened her posture. She studied Hanabi and began to formulate methods of attack and defense.
Hyuuga... if fighting against Hanabi is anything like fighting against Neji-oji-sama, then I think I know what to do. Demo, shimatta, I can't use my Sharingan. How the hell do I do this then? Oh, exactly as I did it before I gained the Sharingan: long distance attacks, preferably at a forty-five degree angle directly at the second vertebrae of the spine. The chance that Hanabi can use the Kaiten are slim though. I just have to watch for her fingers or she'll close my tenketsu.
Sadako smirked faintly. It made the other girl nervous and suddenly, Hanabi realized that she really didn't know what she was up against.
She's from an unknown clan, so I have no previous sources about her fighting style and her abilities. She's also the Uchiha traitor's student, so there is an unpredictability factor there. Neji-nii-sama also mentioned that she was working on her speed last week so I don't know how fast she moves either. Hanabi smirked. This could be interesting.
"Start!" Naruto called from a safe distance up in a tree.
With that, two prodigies from the most prestigious clans of Konoha (although it was known only to one), charged.
Far away from Hi no Kuni, eight members of a secret organization gathered in the darkness of their underground hideout.
"Itachi—your little brother's been spotted again, yeah." Deidara said, making conversation as they waited for their Leader to arrive to begin the meeting.
The eldest Uchiha looked impassively at his comrade. "Hn. Is that so?"
"The Leader's getting impatient. The Kyuubi is taking longer to obtain than he originally thought." Tobi commented.
The silver glint of Samehada mingled with the crimson Mangekyou Sharingan in the darkness.
"I've heard something interesting about your brother Itachi-san." Kisame said.
Itachi cocked his head towards his partner, a silent signal that showed he was listening.
"Sasuke's got himself a student. A remarkable one at that. And he's back in Konoha, training her as part of his probationary punishment."
A girl? Itachi thought to himself. And a prodigy in her own right?
Whoever this girl was, she wasn't important to him. Not as important as the Kyuubi. Not as important as his foolish little brother's attainment of the Mangekyou Sharingan.
"Kisame, why would I care about my foolish little brother and his student? She's nothing important as to concern the Akatsuki." Itachi said, effectively ending the conversation.
The other members fidgeted uncomfortably. While all of them were feared missing-nin from their respective villages, none were as frightening as the legendary ex-ANBU captain, Uchiha Itachi. It was dangerous to cross the nineteen-year-old shinobi's temper.
"Let's begin." The Leader called, emerging from the darkness.
The wheels of fate were beginning to spiral and Uchiha Itachi didn't realize his one fatal mistake in time.
This one mistake would kill him in the future.
"Kabuto."
The grey-haired medic-nin looked up from his work of grinding medicinal herbs to make Orochimaru's medicines.
"What is it-"
The shadowy figure in the doorway stepped into the dimly light room.
"-Orochimaru-sama?"
"Where is my Sasuke-kun? Why haven't the Oto-nins brought him back yet?" The Snake Sannin hissed. He was running out of patience—and out of time. The metapsychosis would have to be done soon and it was crucial that Uchiha Sasuke and the Sharingan Mirror-Wheel Eyes be in his possession.
Kabuto froze at the the questions poised to him by his master. He set down the mortar and pestle he was using and drew out a few cards from his pocket.
"According to recent intelligence, Sasuke-kun is currently under the eye of Team Kakashi, the Godaime, and Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Neji. He is being kept near the Hokage Tower, in the center of the village."
"No matter. I won't let them stop me from taking back what is mine." Orochimaru dismissed.
The medic hesitated. "There is one more complication."
"And what would that be? Tsunade and Jiraiya?" Orochimaru demanded.
"No. A girl. Sasuke-kun's new Genin charge. And he is instructed to teach her everything he knows."
Orochimaru felt his breath catch in his throat. Impossible. Tsunade would never give a traitor a Genin charge. The Snake Sannin was certain that he knew his former teammate well enough to predict the reasons behind her actions. Unless...
"Orochimaru-sama, I believe Tsunade-hime is planning to use Chirasen Sadako and Uchiha Sasuke against us in the future. After all, one is your protégé and the other is said protégé's student."
Orochimaru clenched his pale, sickly hand into a fist.
"Damn you Tsunade."
That woman would complete the Sandaime's task. She was, after all, his successor.
Tsunade would effectively steal all his jutsus and all the knowledge he sacrificed so much for to gain would be in the palm of Konoha's hand.
"Kabuto—I have a new mission for you."
He looked up, intrigued. "What is it?"
"Capture my Sasuke-kun and bring him to me. But make sure you kill Chirasen Sadako in the process. We don't want Tsunade to have something to use against us." Orochimaru said.
It's just one little girl. One pathetic, although supposedly talented, whelp. Why would it concern Orochimaru-sama so much if it's just one little girl?
Kabuto decided that Orochimaru-sama was one of the most unpredictable persons in the world.
"I want her dead." Orochimaru hissed to himself as the exited the room.
Naruto stared at the person standing behind the door.
"Hey Dickless."
Pointing a finger, he yelled, "What the fuck are you doing here?!"
Arisugaki Sai pushed past the Jinchuuriki and set the box in his arms down on the dining room table. "Isn't it obvious?" Sai smiled. "I'm moving in."
"BUT-! BUT! WHY?"
"Naruto!" They could hear Sakura's voice echoing down the stairs. "What are you yelling about? Is that Sai?"
The medic appeared at the base of the stairwell with Sadako right behind her. "Oh. So you really are moving in. There's a spare room across the hall from Sadako-chan's you can take."
Picking up his box again, Sai walked past the two kunoichis. "Thanks Ugly."
Gritting her teeth, Sakura forced herself to breathe deeply and count to ten. It's just Sai, he doesn't mean it. It's just Sai, he doesn't know any better, no matter how many times you tell him otherwise...
On the second floor, Sasuke bumped into the other shinobi in the hall and glared at him for being in the way. Sai continued to smile.
"Sasuke-sensei!" Sadako came racing down the hall. "Sakura-nee-san wants you to buy ice cream!"
"For what?" Sasuke asked without taking his eyes off of Sai.
"She wants to make tempura ice cream for dessert as a celebration for Sai-nii-san moving in with us." The girl repeated boredly.
"Hn." Sasuke pushed past the two and headed downstairs. After a moment, they heard Sasuke and Naruto leave the house.
Opening the door to the empty spare room, Sai set down his lone box of belongings on the dresser and opened it up. Sakura was nice enough to give him a room with a view of the inner village. Setting up his easel right beside the window, Sai dumped his painting supplies on the corner table before rummaging through the box again and pulling out his past artworks so he could hang them on the wall. In the course of hanging his art, Sai noticed that the little girl from downstairs was standing in the doorway watching him.
"What do you want Princess?"
Unfazed, Sadako asked, "Is that my nickname? I heard from Naruto-nii-san that you like to give people weird nicknames."
He shrugged. "Of course it's your nickname. It signifies we're close friends."
"We just met." The girl pointed out.
"Then in that case," Sai tossed the girl something out of the box. She caught it deftly and unrolled the thin scroll. "It's my wish for us to become close friends in the future."
Grinning at the cartoonish sketch of Team Kakashi, Sadako smirked and saluted the older boy with two fingers. "Then I know we'll be very close in the future Sai-nii-san."
As a matter of fact, Sadako remembered with a grin. In my time, you're the closest uncle to me. You're the one who taught me how to become emotionless, how to become a true shinobi.
Sai saw her smirk shift into a smile and inwardly wondered why. Shrugging off his curiosity, he went back to unpacking, labeling the girl as being just as mentally unhinged as the rest of Team Kakashi.
Hm. Sai wondered to himself. Does that mean I'm mentally unhinged too?
"Hey Sasuke." Naruto said in a low voice as they searched the freezer aisle of the grocery store for the particular brand of ice cream Sakura wanted. "What do you think... what do you think of Sakura-chan?"
Glancing sideways at his best friend, Sasuke rolled his eyes before continuing to search for the ice cream brand.
"Why are you asking me such a pointless question?"
"It's not pointless!" Naruto shot back heatedly. "It's just... I wanted to know if you thought she had changed too. I hardly recognize her. Is she really the same Haruno Sakura-chan we grew up with?"
Privately, Sasuke already noticed the change. Sakura didn't squeal over him but she didn't smother him with worry either. She never turned pink at the sight of him and often immersed herself with her work or her friends even though they were in the same room together. She alternated between calling him "Sasuke" and "Sasuke-kun," but the latter only appeared when she was teasing him or feeling particularly affectionate. It was almost as if she had given up trying to be anything more than a good friend.
She was strong and collected. Sakura never fretted over the littlest things anymore. She wasn't...
...annoying.
But at the same time, she was. If she wasn't annoying, then Sasuke wouldn't be thinking (he would never admit to worrying though) about the change Naruto claimed she underwent.
"You were gone." Sasuke realized.
Naruto had the grace to look embarrassed. "Uh... yeah. I left Konoha with Ero-sennin for training a month or two after... after we last saw each other. Didn't come back until a month and a half before we saw you the first time."
So she was alone for two years.
"Found it." Sasuke opened the freezer door and extracted the two gallon tub of green tea ice cream from the shelf. Heading back to the front of the store to check out, Sasuke almost forgot Naruto was with him until the other teen raced to catch up with him, saying, "Well? You never answered my question, teme."
Handing the cashier the correct amount of ryo, Sasuke snorted. "What question?"
"If you thought Sakura-chan changed or not!"
Picking up the plastic grocery bag, Sasuke walked out the front door.
"Teme!"
"What?" Sasuke snapped. "What do you want me to say? Yes, I noticed it because she doesn't squeal over me anymore! Yes, I noticed it because she doesn't seem to care about me more than she cares about you, or Kakashi, or that kid, or Sadako. Yes, I noticed it because she's not the same girl I left. Is that what you wanted me to say, Naruto?"
Taken aback by Sasuke's sudden surge of anger, Naruto stopped walking and stared at his best friend.
"You really wanted her to stay the same." He murmured. "You, more than anyone else, needed her to stay the same. To tell you the truth, I... I was also surprised to see how much she changed. She was the same Sakura-chan but then she wasn't. The girl next to me was almost a complete stranger."
Exhaling deeply, Sasuke smirked wryly. "Then I guess we're both as bad as each other. Because we both left her behind to chase after power."
"But we wanted power for different reasons!" Naruto argued as they started walking again. "I wanted to protect everybody and you... wanted it for revenge."
Sasuke was silent for a while and Naruto was afraid he would physically lash out at him for hitting a nerve.
"I lied." The other boy said quietly, so softly that Naruto almost didn't hear him. "Do you remember what I said when we fought Gaara?"
Sapphire-blue widened as the memory came back.
I don't... want to loose anymore precious people. So no matter what, you have to save Sakura!
Smiling broadly, Naruto clapped Sasuke hard on the shoulder, making the other teen scowl darkly at him.
"You won't leave her just to protect her again, will you Sasuke?"
"Hn."
"Because I promise to do the same. I promise not to leave Sakura-chan alone again. It's a promise of a lifetime!" Naruto cheered as the house came into sight. Bounding up the front steps, Naruto unlocked the door and ran inside, leaving Sasuke trailing behind him at a more reasonable pace.
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura called from the kitchen. "Can you stick that in the freezer please? Oh and don't go anywhere—dinner's done."
Standing in the kitchen entryway, Sasuke watched as Sadako ran around setting up the table while Sakura finished the last of her dinner preparations. Transfixed, he just stood there, wondering what it was about this ordinary and domestic scene that caught his attention.
"Sasuke." Sakura's irritated voice snapped him back to the present. "Did you not hear a single word I said?"
"Sorry." He said automatically, moving to stuff the ice cream in the freezer.
Sadako and Sai were already seated at the table across from each other. Sinking in the chair beside his charge, Sasuke realized the other two were staring at him.
"What the hell are you looking at?" Sasuke scowled darkly.
"Nothing, Emo Prince. I just didn't think you could be civil." Sai answered.
Sadako opened her mouth to say something else but thought better of it and drank her glass of lemonade instead.
"If you have something to say, spit it out now Sadako." Sasuke glowered at her.
The ice settled in her empty glass as she set it back down on the table again. "It's never too late to apologize." The girl answered cryptically, looking lost within her "amnesiac" memories. "A late apology is better than no apology at all."
Sadako's song played again in his head.
"Hn."
She knew she shouldn't have volunteered to take Ino's shift while she was out on a mission.
It was almost midnight and Sakura was already yawning as she walked home. In an effort to conserve what little chakra she had, the girl walked through the streets of Konoha.
However, living in a new place for only a month really tends to mess with your set routines.
"Ahh... shit." Sakura swore as she looked up at her old apartment building. "I wasted fifteen minutes walking here, in the complete opposite direction of the house. Damn it! I knew I should have taken the cup of coffee Shizune-sempai offered when I had the chance."
Running her fingers impatiently through her hair, Sakura turned on heel and walked back the way she came... towards her new living quarters.
As she passed the hospital, Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin when a second pair of footsteps fell in step beside her.
"Kami-sama Sasuke!" The girl yelled, placing her hand over her racing heart. "You scared me half to death!"
"And you call yourself a ninja." Sasuke scoffed.
Scowling, the girl "hmph"-ed and turned her head away. "Mou, Sasuke-kun, you don't have to be so mean about it. Unlike you, I work a steady eight hour shift in the hospital. People usually don't lie in wait wielding kunais as I'm turning the corner."
"Hn. You should still be on guard."
In her less-than-coherent state, Sakura swore that Sasuke was acting concerned over her well-being. But that's ridiculous—this is Uchiha Sasuke for heaven's sake. Uchiha Sasuke doesn't care for anybody.
"Whatever Sasuke." She dismissed. "What are you doing here anyways?"
Immediately, the dark-haired teen scowled as if he remembered something unpleasant. "The dobe and the freak made me come when you didn't show up at exactly eleven forty-five."
Sakura sighed in exasperation. "I'm perfectly capable of walking home myself. This is Konoha for starters; nothing is going to happen to be in the ten minute walk from the house to the hospital. Besides, I'm strong enough to take out any asswipe who tries to mess with me, chakra or no."
"That's what I said." Sasuke grumbled. "But then they got the brat and the pervert to gang up on me too."
Sasuke unlocked the front door and allowed her to enter first. Smiling at the courtesy, Sakura couldn't help but tease him. "I didn't know you were such a gentlemen."
"Tch. Don't fall over bending backwards to see it again Sakura."
Laughing, Sakura sucker-punched him in the arm. "And here I was, thinking you could be polite for longer than two seconds. You're still the same, Sasuke—kind one minute and a complete ass the next hour."
Her words made him tense and he followed her into the kitchen, watching as she rummaged through the fridge for something to snack on.
"You think I haven't changed?"
Oh my God. Sakura froze. I'm having a decent conversation with Uchiha Sasuke. Did Hell freeze over?
Straightening up with a cup of pudding in her hand, Sakura grabbed a spoon from the nearby drawer and opened the lid. She tried not to look at her teammate for a while, trying to form an answer.
"I don't know." Sakura said slowly before taking another bite of pudding. "Do you think you have?"
He thought about it for a moment longer. Was he getting soft, staying here in Konoha? Why did he agree to come back in the first place?
Deep down inside, Sasuke already knew the answer. He was sick of the needless bloodshed (it reminded him of that fateful night), sick of living in the darkness (well, he was born in Konoha after all. Sunshine is part of the package), sick of being bored underground almost all the time. In his weakened state, Orochimaru couldn't train him for eight hours straight and the Sannin never let him go outside unless they were moving locations.
"Why did you agree to come back?" Sakura asked him softly, tossing her empty pudding cup in the trash.
Looking at her, Sasuke realized that for the first time in his life, he was truly seeing Haruno Sakura. He never gave her a second glance when they were children, and he never gave her the chance to show him how much she had grown. This girl was, as Naruto so eloquently put it, a complete stranger in a familiar guise.
Shrugging, Sasuke gave her the most honest answer he could muster. "I was bored."
Staring at him in disbelief, Sakura whacked him on the shoulder. "You were bored?" She repeated incredulously. "You came back because you were bored?"
"Quit hitting me Sakura."
Breaking out into a wide grin, Sakura told him, "You need a life."
"Then why don't you give me one since you seem to know everything?" Sasuke mocked her.
Once again, Sakura was acutely aware of how strange this conversation was.
"Okay." The girl said cheekily. "Usually, at twelve-thirty at night, people are asleep. So go to bed Sasuke."
"Tch." The Uchiha heir scowled at her. "Who asked you?"
"Why Sasuke-kun," Sakura exclaimed, feigning hurt. "I believe you did."
For a moment, Sakura swore she saw the ghost of a smile on his face. Feeling giddy that she could get Uchiha Sasuke to relax for just a moment, Sakura forgot to watch out for the raised step between the kitchen and the hallway. Bracing herself for the fall, Sakura was surprised to hear Sasuke's voice in her ear.
"You really need to stop daydreaming Sakura." He said tonelessly as he steadied her on her feet.
To her credit, Sakura did not blush even though her inner was dancing and melting into a puddle of romantic goo inside her head. "You're nothing special to be daydreaming about Sasuke." She shot back with a smile on her face. "But thank you."
"Hn."
For what?
The unspoken meaning of the syllable hung in the air. Her eyes lit up in another smile.
For catching me every single time.
Author's Notes:
So the beginning didn't change much from the original [actually, I don't think I changed it at all]. Added in some stuff. More Sai. Some heart-to-heart conversation between Naruto and Sasuke [because honestly, they need one :/]. And some fluff at the end. My mouth is throbbing from the excess sweetness. XD
Thank my faerie book. Smexy faerie Ice Prince who reminds me too much of Sasu-chan.
Onward to revising the next chapter!
Ja ne!
Callista Miralni