Chapter Seven

Mikoto would say Sasuke was quite talented and could do just about anything he tried perfectly. Cooking, however, was not one of those things.

Sasuke had never had to cook for himself. His mother made all of his meals and when his parents had to go away on clan business or the like, Itachi took over and cooked their meals. Itachi was an odd one too. He could prepare elaborate meals but don't ask him to cook eggs. He got oddly intense when it came to eggs.

Because Sasuke had never cooked before, Mikoto was shocked to find him in her kitchen trying to operate the rice cooker.

"What are you doing with my rice cooker?" Mikoto shuffled around him, examining the ingredients he had lying around the counter. "Nori? Salmon? Umeboshi? Are you going to make onigiri?" Mikoto picked up a pickled plum and popped it into her mouth. She raised an eyebrow at her son. "This is sweet."

"I was in the mood for it," Sasuke mumbled. "How hard can making a few rice balls be?"

"Uh-huh," Mikoto crossed her arms and looked at him skeptically. "And you just happen to be in the mood to use my cherry blossom patterned bento box?"

"I just grabbed the wrong one," Sasuke replied calmly, pulling out a black wooden bento box with an uchiwa pattern. He measured out the rice and stared at the cup. Mikoto watched him for a moment just staring at the rice before he turned to her and mumbled, "Can you help me? I don't want to make something gross."

Beaming at him, Mikoto grabbed her apron from it's hook on the wall and put it on. As they moved around the kitchen Mikoto was reminded of how he would help out by handing her things she needed when he was younger. He was so cute when he was six! Mikoto peeked at him through her long, dark lashes and was startled for a moment with the realization that her baby was now about the same height as her. In a few years he would be looking down at her instead of at eye-level.

"Kaa-san." Sasuke's voice broke her out of her nostalgia induced daze. "I like onigiri but I don't think just onigiri makes a substantial meal. I mean like, nutrients and stuff?"

"It's okay for now," Mikoto gave him an encouraging smile as she helped him pack the rice balls neatly. "I'll teach you how to prepare other stuff another time. But she should be fine with rice balls. It's a quick meal and her schedule is pretty hectic."

"Yeah," Sasuke nodded. There was a short pause before he turned to his mother wide eyed and ears red. "This is for me!"

"Of course it is," Mikoto smiled slyly and handed him the packed bento. She pushed him out the side door and told him she would clean up.

He's just too cute.


Once upon a time, if you asked Sasuke, he would tell you that Haruno Sakura was lazy and didn't have her priorities straight. Now he would tell you she was a workaholic and still didn't have her priorities straight.

"Oi." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the lump of blankets piled on the bed in a room that was suppose to have been empty. He sighed and nudged the part of the lump he hoped was a shoulder.

"Hmm?" A tiny groan came from the lump. It shuffled and then let out a yawn, legs and arms stretching out of the cocoon of blankets. Sakura flipped over on her back and peered up sleepily through pink lashes. "Sasuke-kun?"

"Aa." Sasuke sat on the edge of the bed. Sakura stretched one more time, revealing a sliver of skin from where her red top met her medic skirt. Sasuke quickly averted his eyes before she caught him staring. "Instead of napping in the hospital, why don't you just go home?"

"How about no?" Sakura narrowed her eyes at him before continuing to stretch out her limbs. She stretched until she heard some joints pop and then rolled her head, stretching out her neck.

"Have you eaten yet today?" Sasuke matched her glare with one of his own.

Almost two months into her training, Sasuke recognized a pattern. Sakura would train and study and work at the hospital and wouldn't rest properly. He hadn't noticed at first because he was so focused on his own training but after trying to seek Sakura out for team training sessions, he realized how busy her days actually were. And yet she still insisted on making time to train with him.

Now, almost a year after her training started, it was quite obvious that the girl was a workaholic and didn't know how to take care of herself.

"Yes."

"Liar. Yamanaka says otherwise." Sakura's stomach growled loudly and her face flushed pink. "Your body says otherwise. When was the last time you ate?"

"Dinner," Sakura huffed. "I definitely had dinner."

Sasuke stared blankly at her and Sakura felt the heat on her face rise even more. Usually she felt butterflies when Sasuke stared at her so intensely but at the moment there was only judgement in his eyes and he was clearly thinking that she was a moron.

"You don't believe me, do you?'

"I think it's already been mentioned that you suck at lying and you didn't exactly have that much confidence in your answer." Sasuke rolled his eyes and handed her the bento box he had brought for her. "It doesn't matter. My mother made this for you."

"Oh! Thank her for me." Sakura excitedly pulled the knot of the handkerchief to reveal the uchiwa patterned bento box. Sakura blinked at the pattern and wondered why there was a different box than usual. Smiling sweetly, she turned to Sasuke and said, "And thank you for bringing this here."

Sasuke nodded at her, not trusting his voice. His heart had started to beat at a faster tempo. He could feel the heat rising up his neck to his ears. Sakura's smile caused warmth to fill his chest but it was her eyes that always made him feel out of sorts. Although still a little too large for her face, the green, way too bright green of her eyes, made his stomach form knots. There was just way too much emotion in them and the adoration in them made his stomach go airy lately.

"Onigiri?" Sakura was a little surprised. Mikoto had a habit of making her elaborate and adorable bentos, never failing to add rabbit shaped apple slices. An onigiri filled box was a little plain for the Uchiha matriarch.

"You like umeboshi right?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly.

"Yes," Sakura replied, a little confused. But Mikoto-san doesn't know that. But if they're the sweet kind I guess that would make sense.

Sakura stared at the box for a moment. It was odd that it wasn't the usual cherry blossom motif and plain. Shrugging the abnormality off, she held up the box to Sasuke.

"Want one?"

Sasuke stared at her with an impassive look on his face before grabbing one. He noticed Sakura just watching him and called out her name.

"Sakura."

"Ye─" Sakura's answer was cut off when a rice ball was placed into her open mouth. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise and she looked up with wide eyes at Sasuke.

"Eat. They're for you."

Sakura glared at him but grabbed the rice ball and chewed and swallowed what was in her mouth. She continued to eat as they sat there in silence. After a while Sakura noticed that Sasuke was staring at her face.

"You don't have to watch me. I'm eating, see?"

Sasuke blinked out of his daze and scowled. He pushed off the bed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He didn't mean to get caught but when Sakura was eating he was reminded of an odd comment Yamanaka Ino had made about Sakura eating cutely when they all went to a tea house while on a mission. Sakura's round cheeks would puff out and Sasuke guessed she sort of looked pretty when she ate happily.

Sasuke couldn't help but note the differences in her appearance. Sakura no longer wore makeup like she had only two years back and the green nail polish she usually wore was missing. And her hair. She grew her hair out from the chop job she had gotten in the Forest of Death but she no longer wore it long, trimming it so it never reached her shoulders.

Sasuke kind of preferred her hair short. It was less distracting when a long sheet of it wasn't swaying back and forth down her back. Not that being short stopped it from being distracting. It didn't matter what length it was, it was still it's unique pink shade and looked silky. Was silky. Izumi had a habit of playing with Sakura's hair and commenting on it.

"You need to go home earlier today and rest," Sasuke reprimanded her. "We have training tomorrow. We're getting that new member."

"Yeah," Sakura said sadly. The chunin exams in Suna were three months away and it didn't seem like Naruto would be back in time. Sakura had hoped he would be back before her fifteenth birthday but it looked like he was going to miss that as well. It was highly unlikely that he would be back in a week to celebrate.

"It's not like he's being replaced. We'll still be Team Seven when he comes back. There's no getting rid of that idiot," Sasuke said after a beat. Sakura's shoulders had slumped and although she was no longer the crybaby she was at twelve, he still panicked a bit when he thought she might burst into tears. He was okay handling her when she was upset but crying still made him freeze up.

"Uh-huh." Sakura beamed and packed up the bento box. "I'll wash this and return it later. But for now you gotta go. I have to get back to my shift."

"Do you ever take a break?"

"I do. You interrupted my break remember?"

"Whatever. Go home early." Sasuke left feeling like that was going to be a recurring discussion for them.


Itachi had a pleasant disposition but he couldn't avoid the intimidating aura that radiated off of him. It was advantageous at times but this was not one of those moments. It seemed like nothing intimidated the Godaime.

"Do I even want to know how you got that information Uchiha-san?" Tsunade crossed her arms under her chest and narrowed her eyes at Itachi. Itachi just smiled at the Hokage. Tsunade raised her eyebrow at the ice in his smile.

"I believe I do have access to information pertaining to former members of Root," Itachi replied. Although the organization no longer existed after the death of Shimura Danzo seven years ago, Itachi still held distrust toward anyone or anything that had been affiliated with Root. It was a bias that he could not help toward anything that Danzo had touched. He had strong, negative feelings after the man had tried to steal Shisui's eyes.

"In the case of this particular person, he had not completed his Root training. So he doesn't exactly count as a Root member." Tsunade shuffled papers around and pulled out a folder. "The orphans found under Shimura Danzo's, uh, care, were placed in an orphanage and allowed to become Konoha shinobi if they so desired. Now that the chunin exams are approaching, many of them would like a chance to rise in ranks."

"You must understand my discomfort with placing one of them in my younger brother's team." Itachi's mouth was set in a tight grim line.

"No changes will be made to this line up, Itachi-san," Tsunade said firmly. "There are no missions for you at the moment so for now you are dismissed."

Itachi bowed and left, still feeling unsettled.


Sasuke tried to keep his eye from twitching as he avoided looking at his mother throughout dinner. He could feel her eyes on him as he ate silently across from her. He could almost feel Itachi's sly smile from his right side.

"I noticed that you hadn't brought the bento box back, Sasu-chan," Mikoto finally spoke up. "You haven't lost it on the training grounds, right?"

"I must have forgotten it," Sasuke replied nonchalantly. "I will retrieve it tomorrow."

"Did you mean this box, Okaa-san?" Sasuke tensed up at the sound of his brother's soft voice. There was an undertone of amusement that Sasuke found unnerving. Itachi placed the bento box on the low kitchen table. Where he was hiding it, Sasuke had no clue. "Sakura-chan returned it to me after my appointment today."

Sakura-chan? Sasuke was used to hearing his brother calling her by her family name or with a more formal honorific but never so intimately.

"Did she scold you for not wearing your glasses during your off time?" Mikoto asked her eldest with a slight reprimand. His vision was suffering and at first he dealt with it on his own until Tsunade demanded he get his eyes checked frequently. So far he only let the Hokage or Sakura go anywhere near his eyes.

"Sakura-chan has a sixth sense for these things. I showed up with my glasses and I was still scolded before my examination. The lecture got worse after she found out how much damage I had sustained between check-ups."

"Good for her," Mikoto sniffed. She was proud of Sakura but also upset with Itachi. Shinobi usually avoided having to go to the hospital but it seemed that her family was worse than others when it involved doctor visits.

"My question is," Itachi segued away from the conversation pertaining to his health, "why did Sakura-chan have it?"

The room went quiet and Sasuke looked down at his bowl of rice. Now it felt like he could literally feel the burn from the stares of his family members. His father who had been quiet the entire meal, after having been sternly lectured about doing paperwork during mealtimes, took advantage of the situation and reached for a folder he had hidden under the table.

"May I be excused?" Sasuke asked feeling suffocated by his mother and brother's questioning looks.

"Not until you have finished your meal," Mikoto gave him a smile saturated with saccharine. "You need the nutrients and stuff."

"Oh my gods." Sasuke's face fell into his hands., trying to hide how flustered he looked.

"Elbows off of your mother's table, Sasuke." Fugaku sipped his green tea. He acted as though he hadn't heard a thing and continued to eat.

I should just chidori myself and end this right now, Sasuke groaned inwardly. Or Itachi. He did that on purpose.

"You did good little brother," Itachi said pleasantly. "Lunch dates are much better than sparring ones."

I'm going to barbecue him in his sleep tonight. Sasuke glared at his brother, unaware of the way his mother had clasped her hands together in front of her chest and the glimmer in her eyes.

"Dates?" Fugaku raised an eyebrow and dropped his paperwork in his lap. He had perked up when heard the word. "Who is dating?"

"I'm finished!" Sasuke hopped up and stormed away from the kitchen.

"Dinner was lovely, Okaa-san," Itachi complimented his mother, holding back a smirk. Sometimes, Sasuke made it too easy.

He'd probably be worse after a real date, Itachi laughed inwardly. Gods, he needs help.


Author's Notes: This chapter fell into the shorter side but I really wanted to end this chapter there.

Thank you for all the reviews. you guys are precious! It made me feel so much better. For the new readers that came after six chapters were established and reviewed every time you finished a chapter: I adore you. It was so cute, it was like seeing your reactions in real time.

I'm sure you can guess as to who is the new teammate. I wasn't even subtle when I mentioned him in an earlier chapter, was I?

As a reminder this fanfic WILL have fix-it tendencies. So I killed off Danzo. Will I go into further detail about it? Probably not. As you, the readers, may have noticed this story is suppose to mainly be cute and fluffy. Events will be mentioned but not all of them will go into intricate explanations.

Next chapter should be expected to come out this weekend or Monday.

For anyone interested in reading any fanfics I write beyond this: I will continue writing when this story is completed. I actually have the next story already planned out. Unfortunately for fans of the cute and fluffy type of fics, the next one will be an AU and it will be M rated (for a reason!) and there will be more angst and drama (not that there won't be fluff, I can't resist fluff), but still SasuSaku!