"I knew you sucked, but I didn't know you were this bad, dobe." Sasuke sneered, dodging the sweating blonde's arcing roundhouse. He swung around with his own, a satisfied gleam in his eyes as he made contact.
Naruto skidded across the plastic mats with a groan. Rubbing his shoulder, he glared up at his friend. "I was just going easy on you, since you seemed so down earlier," he growled, "but if you're feeling all better, then I'll stop holding back."
"Hn." Smirking widely, he met Naruto blow for blow, both of them pointedly making full contact. Sasuke grunted as knuckles scraped his jaw, forcing him back. A sharp kick to the gut had him staggering and he looked up to see the blonde grinning triumphantly. "Who said you could let your guard down?" Sasuke swept his foot out, knocking Naruto to the ground.
Surprised, he dropped with a heavy thud. "Dammit, teme! Cheap trick."
"As if." He snatched Naruto's collar, hanging over him with a tightly clenched fist. "There are no cheap tricks in a real fight."
"Oh yeah?" He nudged his knee higher – warningly.
Sasuke paled, looking down to see that idiot's leg poised to nick him in the groin. Steadying his fist, he licked his lips in thought. They silently glared at one another, daring each other to make the final blow. Nerves ran high, but neither seemed willing to go that far to prove their manhood.
Lowering his fist, the dark haired man climbed to his feet, offering a hand down. Naruto took it forcefully, snickering at the small victory. "I can't wait for our practical tomorrow," he buzzed with energy, blue eyes gleaming excitedly.
They moved off the mats in the private exercise room. After their first few spars back in freshmen year, the Fitness Center had kindly offered them their own room. It seemed the other students were terrified of losing a limb – or head – whenever the duo came by. Considering their aspirations to join law enforcement, it was no surprise that they were frequent visitors which gave all the more reason for them to be isolated.
"Don't screw up," Sasuke peeled off his drenched shirt, flinging it into his sports bag. Grabbing a towel off the rack, he tossed it at Naruto's face. "Usuratonkachi."
Yelping indignantly, Naruto shot him a dirty look before using the towel anyway. "Whatever, teme. The same goes for you. We're passing together and then we're entering the Police Academy properly." He was grinning again, chugging down his water bottle. Sudden nervousness stiffened his posture and he throw Sasuke a worried glance. "Itachi isn't in charge of the Academy Trials, is he?"
Rolling his eyes, the Uchiha grabbed his own water bottle, taking a long swig. "So what if he is?"
"Oi, oi," Naruto's ocean blues grew large, "you gotta be kidding! I mean I know I can beat your ass any day, but beating Itachi is like…trying to overpower a god."
"Don't be stupid."
"You know it's true," he insisted, patting down his sweaty torso. "He's a monster when it comes to combat…or anything really. Does your brother even suck at stuff?"
Sasuke did not look amused. "Shut up." After a pause, he added, "And no, he doesn't." Dropping the towel over his head, he scrubbed furiously at the sweat-matted locks. A sharp ringing brought him back to attention and he peered out through the windows lining one wall of the room. Squealing girls were gathered around, watching them.
Although he wanted to pretend like that wasn't a daily occurrence, he was well-aware it was like this every time they went to spar. He briefly wondered if any of them even came to exercise. By the looks of it, their thin arms were completely breakable.
"No."
"Why not?" she demanded, clearly pissed. Hands on hips, she glared down at him in a way that should have been intimidating.
Sasuke threw another punch at the sandbag, watching it lurch backwards. His bandaged hands were clenched tightly, shoulders and hips warm with energy. When he refused to answer, Sakura stepped in the way of his fist. Eyes widening, he forced his arm to stop, knuckles grazing the tough material of the bag above her unflinching head.
Anger flared up inside of him and he pushed her back against the swinging sand bag. Molten obsidian bore down on unrelenting ivy. "What," he spoke slowly, hissing through gritted teeth, "are you doing?"
"I know you wouldn't hurt me." Sakura looked up at him calmly and despite his parting lips that wanted to scream at her, she went on, "So please? Will you teach me? I don't need to know all the fancy stuff you and Naruto do, but I want to be able to defend myself, Sasuke-kun."
"Why?" he demanded, slightly frustrated that he couldn't intimidate her.
"Because I need to be able to take care of myself when you're not around."
He cocked a brow.
Sakura flushed. "I don't mean that you're not going to be around," she hastily corrected herself, "I just mean…well, there are going to be times when we aren't together. Isn't it important for me to know how to get out of a dangerous situation?"
Somehow, that explanation still failed to appease him.
Sighing, she pushed at his arms that stayed locked on either side of her head. "Never mind, just forget it."
He gripped her wrist gently, stopping her. A restless, exasperated puff of air brushed her ear. Sasuke leaned his sweaty forehead against her shoulder. "We'll start tomorrow."
"Really?" Sakura smiled brightly.
"Hn. If I don't do it, you'll just ask dobe."
They shouldered through the throngs of girls, Naruto's arm hooking around Sasuke's shoulders. "Sorry ladies, he's going home with me tonight."
"You're giving them the wrong idea," Sasuke shoved his best friend away harshly, bristling.
He chortled alongside the brooding man. "Aw, lighten up. I'm just trying to make sure you don't burn out. I've heard people have actually died from too much sex." Naruto nodded his head wisely.
"Only idiots like you would die like that," he muttered.
"Hey!" Punching him in the arm, he said, "At least I know how to save myself for a single girl."
"Oh yeah? What about that girl from our Criminal Justice class?"
Naruto reddened. "She totally drugged me at that party and you know it!" he proclaimed.
"Even more pathetic," he sneered.
They argued the entire walk to Ichiraku, finally wearing themselves out as they settled into their seats, orders placed. Sasuke teetered back in his chair, thoughts suddenly swarming his head after the mindless beating he gave the blonde. It had felt good to ease the tension in his body, but now it came back full force and then some.
Her expressions and voice and face and love – all of it descended on his senses like a rabid storm, consuming him in chunks. Memories he had locked away were suddenly breaking free, wanting to taunt him with a dream. People wrongly assumed he had never thrown his pride away before, but for her, he had.
To bow his head and beg for her to stay was more than difficult. It was humiliating, painful, but mostly heart crushing when it bore no fruit.
So why. Why even after all of that, she was still—
"—you've got your thinking face on," Naruto remarked with a heavy sigh. "I'm guessing you overheard what Ino said?" As if on cue, his phone buzzed. Pulling it out, he checked the message, seeing Ino's contact photo. "Well, speak of the devil…," he muttered under his breath. Naruto tapped on the Download prompt, wondering what she could've sent this time.
Sasuke was silent.
"Well? Aren't you happy?" he frowned irritably, looking up from the slow inching of the download bar. "C'mon, teme, she's gonna be back home. Even better, she'll be in Kyoto with us! It's been three years since we've all been together. This has gotta be fate."
Ding… Naruto's attention dropped back to his phone and his jaw slackened.
Fate? Sasuke suppressed the rising bile. He didn't need fairy tale promises. Fate could shove it. What was the point in separating them? Why had fate taken her away in the first place? If he was to believe in fate, then that would be the same as admitting that it was alright for her to disappear from his life. Even so, he struggled with completely denying Naruto's words.
It did feel fated. Twisted, cruel fate.
"Uh…t-teme…," he hesitantly called.
"Hn."
Naruto gave him an uneasy smile. "Any chance you don't want an update on Sakura?"
That was a strange question. Sasuke's face scrunched up in puzzlement.
"You know, it's probably fine. It's no big deal," he laughed a little too hard, trying to put his phone away now.
As much as he wanted to say that it didn't matter what Sakura was up to, he couldn't deny being curious now that Naruto was making such a terrible show of lying. Taking the phone from him, Sasuke unlocked the screen, eyes growing wide at the picture that popped up.
Her hair was longer, but only by a bit, strands sweeping across her forehead in a gentle arc. It only seemed to make her bright green irises warmer, despite the obvious discomfort in them. The tight black material stretching across her body could hardly be considered a shirt and he had to double check to make sure those were, in fact, shorts peeking out between her crossed legs.
The accompanying message left no room for calmed nerves. Girls' night out! 3 Is Sauce jelly?
If it had been any other time, Sasuke was positive the nickname would irk him. The crushing grip of his hand around the delicate device grew more decisive the longer he stared at Sakura.
"Don't burn a hole through my phone, teme! Damn…," Naruto exclaimed, yanking his phone out of the death grip and quickly closing the picture. "I'm sure it's nothing," he assured weakly, avoiding the livid glare directed at him. "Look, you know her. She's definitely just playing along with Ino's craziness. Sakura isn't into that whole life."
"People change."
"Not her," he argued, but flinched back at the still boiling fury that was his friend. Sasuke grabbed his things, not waiting for his dinner to arrive. A hand stopped him though. "Where are you going? Just calm—"
"She doesn't need me. I don't need her." The words were cutting, strong and blatant enough to shock Naruto into releasing him. And then his friend was disappearing out the door.
In celebration of her final term of undergraduate, Ino had convinced her to go clubbing. Sakura was sure that she had never made a dumber decision. It may have even topped leaving Sasuke, but that point was debatable.
The brash blonde tapped her high-heeled foot, arms crossed over her crop top. "Hurry up!" she hollered, standing outside of the bathroom where her workaholic roommate refused to step out of. "I'm giving you until the count of three to get your ass out here."
If anyone else had spewed that threat, Sakura would've rolled her eyes, but knowing Ino, that threat could be reality. She gave herself another once over in the full-length mirror hanging from the back of their bathroom door. Staring back at her was someone she didn't want to know. Whoever this person was, certainly didn't have an ounce of self-respect. If she did, she wouldn't be flouncing around in…well, nothing. She may as well be naked.
Frowning at the thought, she leaned back against the countertop, mulling over the research still strewn about the living room. Ino had probably cleaned it up and hidden it for the night. Sakura pursed her lips. There was still a lot of ground to cover concerning the Mangekyo Sharingan. First and foremost though, she needed an original copy—
The doorknob started rattling.
Sakura hopped to her feet, yanking the door open before her friend could cause any damage to their rented space. "Okay, okay, let's go," she sighed.
Click…
"Perfect!" Ino purred, tapping away at her phone.
"Who are you sending that to?" Sakura screeched, chasing after the runaway blonde. Her friend just laughed, clicking send before she could stop her. Snatching the phone, she saw Naruto's dumb face in the contact photo. "You didn't…"
"Maybe Uchiha will come running finally," Ino remarked casually, plucking her phone out of the frozen girl's slack grip. "C'mon, let's go."
Dragging her feet, Sakura accompanied her friend out of their apartment, down the stairs and into the waiting SUV. Sai sat in the driver's seat, accompanied by Kiba. Both of them waved as the girls climbed into the back. Ino leaned over, tipping Sai's chin up to plant a kiss on his mouth. "How's my favorite artist?" she smiled, pecking him again sweetly.
"I am doing well," he smiled politely.
Kiba made a face. "God, how can you let her kiss you? Think about where that mouth has been."
"More like where it hasn't been," she gave a pointed look at his crotch. A deep flush brightened the veterinarian-in-training's face. Ino snickered at his reaction, ruffling his hair playfully. "Just teasing. Full speed ahead! Our goal tonight is to get Haruno Sakura to loosen up!"
"Please don't," Sakura returned flatly.
"You sound more and more like a certain Uchiha every day," Ino jabbed. Linking her arm through the wary pink-haired girl's, she continued, "Just one night. All I'm saying is you should try to see what it's like to let loose for once."
Kiba twisted around in his seat to smile at her. "Yeah, you're always working. We'll be around, so you don't have to worry. Just have fun."
She refrained from stating that her idea of fun didn't involve copious amounts of liquor and hard partying with horny drunks. "Yeah, I'll try," she promised, returning his smile.
"Man, Uchiha really made a mistake," Kiba tutted, "letting you go and all."
"No," Sakura was quick to correct him, "it wasn't him. It's me. Really." She tried to smile again, but it failed. She flinched away from the memory, not wanting to recall it. Even after so many years, the sting was burning and aching and fresh.
The drive was far from quiet with Ino's boisterous behavior and the pre-gaming her and Kiba were taking part in. At one point, Sakura had been forced to join them, downing a shot of bad vodka and consequently hacking for the next several minutes. Obnoxious radio music blared from the speakers, swallowing their voices and yet somehow enhancing them. Sakura wondered for the umpteenth time how someone like Sai actually enjoyed the company of these party animals.
They parked in a nearby underground garage, walking down the block or so to the clubs and bars. Sakura kept her arm steadily around Ino's waist, keeping her upright as the blonde burst with giggles. She didn't appear drunk, just very…peppy.
The bouncer let the two girls through almost immediately, but stopped Sai and Kiba. Ino pouted, getting ready to yell at the large man for treating her friends so badly. Sakura tried to hold her back, noting the way Kiba was trying not to laugh and Sai seemed to be rather interested in the ambiance of the experience.
"Chill, Ino," Kiba waved at her before making eyes at a cluster of girls waiting outside of the club. "We'll meet you in there later."
Sai nodded. "I agree," he smiled, "I would like to study the interactions of the people around us."
Ino flicked them off rudely and then bumbled into the hot, sweaty mass of party people. The already exhausted pink-haired woman watched all of her friends splinter off, wryly thinking back to their shallow assurances of staying together. Well, that didn't last long at all.
Slumping down at the bar, she ordered mineral water. Ignoring the look the bartender shot her, she took the bottle and cracked it open with a heavy sigh. This certainly would end up being a tiring night. At times like these, she would've much preferred being with that idiot Naruto and…She cut that train of thought off.
Her key chain was safely tucked into the front pocket of her shorts, the sharp jut of her house key reminding her that it hadn't disappeared. If she shut her eyes tight enough, she could envision the uchiwa charm in her hand.
"Alone?"
Kabuto.