7: Like Old Times Again

The sun was still high in the sky when Sasuke and Sakura headed towards the village. Keeping a slight distance from each other, neither of them wanted to break the comfortable silence that only echoed their footsteps. A faint green light could be seen from quite a distance, and it emanated from Sakura's right hand into her bruised arm - she had not finished healing herself.

Sakura held her arms in front of her, while keeping her head down - her face slightly burning from nervousness, while her heartbeat slowly increased. She definitely did not want to show Sasuke how nervous she actually was to be near him. He had finally come back home... back to her.

Even though she had always been sure of her love for him, he shunned her away due to his own motives - yet he was now finally letting her in. The idea in itself made her nervous. The sudden change in his behavior ever since he fought Naruto, was extremely evident. The dark veil that seemed to cloud Sasuke's features was long gone. His features were no longer pained by the uncertainty of the future, and his drive to kill his older brother. He did not need to make another painful choice again. The man that walked right beside her, reminded Sakura of Sasuke's better days - the ones before his family got murdered: A carefree and serious boy who just wanted to train to impress his family. Despite not knowing what Sasuke's new motives in life were, Sakura knew that protecting the Hidden Village also meant protecting Itachi's ideals.

As they arrived at her doorstep, Sakura stopped healing her arm and reached inside her pouch with her good arm. Behind her, Sasuke stood silently waiting while she produced a key and opened the door.

While Sakura took her shoes off in front of the door, she apologized, "Sorry, Sasuke - things are a bit messier than last time you were here. I had to do some studying on a new procedure."

In a silent nod, he acknowledged her apology while glancing over to the dining table - it was piled high with books in a jargon that he did not remotely understand.

Why am I so nervous, she thought. There must be something that Sakura could do to calm her nerves, while she got accustomed to Sasuke's presence in her house.

"Hey Sakura," Sasuke broke the awkward silence by rousing her out of her thoughts, "Could I shower here?" When a leaf dislodged from his head and neatly fell on the hardwood floor.

Sakura had finally taken a good look at Sasuke. His clothes were completely dirty and his hair was disheveled. She was not in a better shape either - her clothes were quite dirty and her hair was in the same state.

"Alright!" she cheerfully said doubling back to her room. In a split second, she surfaced and handed him a fresh towel, "Make yourself at home."

Looking down to the bright pink towel he had just been handed, he initially said nothing in reply. After several seconds of contemplative silence he decided to speak up, "Do...you have any different colors?"

"Eh? Colors? No sorry," Sakura replied with a smirk while stacking her books in a corner of the living room, "If you don't like it…you don't need to use it."

With a short resigned grunt, he turned around and locked himself in the washroom. Sakura's washroom was quite different from the rest of her house - everything was scented and carefully thought out... Something he didn't really notice the first night he had come over to her house and fixed the mess she had made before she passed out. At that moment Sasuke realized he might've made a mistake in asking to shower at Sakura's house. He would have to use her soap and shampoo - which would obviously leave a scent behind. When they were genin still, Sasuke and Naruto would always borrow some of Sakura's shampoo because they would often forget to bring it on a mission. Now, it would be quite questionable if anyone noticed that he showered at her house. The questions that it would raise amongst everyone else was something that he could not fathom and would be quite irritating.

Hopefully no one will notice this, he thought feeling embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Sakura was quickly putting things in place and cleaning around the house. She could hear the water running from the washroom for a considerable amount of time. Was Sasuke ok? As her mind finally wandered to him she furiously blushed - he was THERE, NAKED in her HOUSE! Why would she even be remotely nervous at that? It was not the first time he was naked within 10 meters of her. They had gone in missions together when they were younger. They had spent the night at Inns and had also slept a few meters from each other...This time, she thought, is different. We are adults.

Shaking her head a couple of times so she could erase the thoughts, she gave herself a slap on each cheek to try and forget about the unusual guest at her house.

Still in her dirty clothes, she went to her kitchen to wash the rice for the dinner, and leave it soaking for a while before she could cook it. She had decided to make onigiris - they were quick and easy enough, and she still had some dry ingredients in her pantry that were edible.

Distracted while she was in the kitchen, Sakura instinctively started removing her clothes down to her underwear. Something in her shirt had been poking her for a while and she did not know what - a twig or a splinter maybe. Thinking she would just head to the washroom right after removing her clothes - she had done this routine several times: left the rice soaking while she took a shower. By the time she would be done her shower, the rice would be ready to be cooked. Ideally, it would have to be soaking overnight. "Eh it should be alright", she thought out loud.

Conveniently, the bathroom faced the kitchen area, and Sakura could realistically leave the rice cooking while she was in the shower - which was not the case in this situation.

The faint sound of a door opening startled her and she remembered that Sasuke was still in her house. The steam began pouring out of the washroom and out came Sasuke, with just a pink towel wrapped around his waist. He didn't seem worried or bothered by the way he looked in front of her. It was nothing new for him - he was only wearing a towel when long ago Karin sneaked into the men's onsen when they were still in Team Taka. Despite being a very private person about his emotions, he was quite comfortable in his skin.

Sakura definitely didn't feel the same way and she fell backwards in surprise, while her clothes scattered around her.

"Sakura," Sasuke said with a hand on his hip.

"Wh-what?"

Noticing her reaction and her attire, he tried to look away while he stumbled on his syllables, "D-Do you have any fresh clothes?" A subtle blush began to creep over his face the moment he tried to make eye contact a second time. There was no point in running into the bathroom again, the last thing he needed was to give Sakura a peep show.

"Ah-um yes!" she gathered the clothes in front of her and held it flush against her skin. For the first time ever she thought how useful it would have been if she wore a skirt as long as Ino's.

Sasuke remained silent and looked away so that the moment would not get any more awkward between them.

The moment Sakura got up, she hurried back to her bedroom and shut the door behind her. After a few seconds, the door opened and only her hand was visible with a familiar white shirt and pants - the ones from the hospital. Sasuke defiantly accepted the weird choice of attire without voicing his thoughts.

They were definitely not the most appealing clothes, but at this point he really thought of how he should have gone home right after the training grounds. He was taken by surprise when Sakura invited him over and did not want to be rude once he accepted her invite. The deal was done and over with - he was clean now, but he smelled like Sakura and he would also be wearing the spare white scrubs she had from the hospital.

"Alright look away!" she shouted from her bedroom, "No peeking."

Still in his towel and holding the fresh scrubs he was handed, Sasuke looked away with a slight twitch in his eye and his mouth pressed into a thin line, while Sakura got out of her room and went into the washroom. The last thing he needed was to get murdered in a place like this. Once he heard the bathroom door click shut, he heaved a defeated sigh and decided to put on the clothes in Sakura's room - just in case she had to step out from the washroom for whatever reason. Nothing has changed about her room - it still felt like a dangerous territory that he should not linger in. Just like the first time, he wanted to spend the least amount of time in her room - just long enough to get changed without having the risk of Sakura surprising him.

He quickly got dressed in an anticipation that she would come barging into her room at any second. It had only been a short amount of time since she had gone in, and yet it still felt like forever. Haphazardly, he towel dried his damp hair and tried to smooth it back into the way he was accustomed to.

Sasuke carefully made sure that nothing was out of place when he left her bedroom and decided to wait in the living room. Sitting on the couch, he tried to distract himself by going through Sakura's reading material. He did not like the way the scrubs felt at all - even though they were made of cotton, they were a bit too tight for him...it accentuated everything he did not want to be evidenced.

After the water stopped running, it only took a couple of minutes before Sakura stepped out of the washroom fully clothed in a navy skirt and a red shirt with white short sleeves. He had never seen Sakura wear this - perhaps it was what she would wear when she wasn't working or training. It accentuated her...well. Feeling a slight rushing sensation and unwilling to get up from the couch, Sasuke pulled a pillow over his lap - he hated that embarrassing outfit.

With the dirty clothes in her hand, she picked up the neat pile he left of his clothes as well, and headed out to the small deck she had outside with a small washing machine, "The weather is quite dry - these will be ready to wear before everybody gets here don't worry."

"Hn," he grunted back in reply.

As the washing machine began the cycle, Sasuke wanted to distract Sakura into a conversation until he could get his clothes back - it was imperative that he did not get up unless it was to wear his own clothes.

Walking back to the living room, Sakura sat across Sasuke.

"Um," Sakura began with uncertainty, "Sorry about what happened here...before - I got distracted and I don't ever have visitors. I - I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

Before she could continue, Sasuke closed his eyes so he could repress the vivid image of Sakura looking up at him surprised, "It is fine Sakura, it is my fault - I spent too many years in the Sound Village. There were underground caves with fresh water - where anyone could access it."

Sakura could quickly draw a mental picture of Sasuke having little to no privacy during the years he spent with Orochimaru - that name even brought a bad taste in her mouth. Being under constant supervision meant that Sasuke was always surrounded by people - the group she had seen with Sasuke several times, which included Karin - the woman she had saved from certain death.

In a sudden wave of sadness, Sakura felt bad for everything Sasuke had to go through - she had told him many times already that if she could, she would be more than willing to take on his pain.

Across Sakura, Sasuke observed all the emotions that crossed her face as he mentioned the Sound Village. In hindsight, he knew he had committed the worst mistake of his life by leaving the village. However, he felt that he would have probably gone down the same path again if he needed the strength and power - a slight nod towards Indra's legacy.

"Sasuke, do you want some tea?" Sakura interrupted his thoughts.


Before 7 came around, Sakura was able to give Sasuke back his clothes - they smelt odd... of a floral laundry detergent...unlike the neutral kind he would use back at home or wash his clothes in a stream during his travels.

Sakura's house had been fairly cleaned, including her room, and the onigiris she made were sitting on the counter. She figured that two flavors for onigiri would suffice: one with pickled plums and another with bonito flakes. During the time he was waiting for his black ensemble to dry, he quietly watched Sakura go around the house. Out of respect, he initially offered to help her, but she refused - either way he was too embarrassed to get up anyway.

With a loud knock, the first guest had finally arrived.

Taking two steps from the kitchen, Sakura let Naruto and Hinata in, "Good evening you two," Sakura said.

"Good evening," said Hinata smiling as she handed Sakura a dish before Naruto even said a word.

"Yo! Sakura," Naruto greeted his old teammate with the same energy as always, while he peeked towards the living room, "OI! You're already here you bastard," Naruto yelled at the quiet dark figure brooding on the couch. "Hey, I'm talking to you," Naruto gave the figure a light shoulder punch with his left fist.

Meanwhile, the next few guests showed up at the door: Ino, Sai, Shikamaru, and Temari. All of them had brought varied dishes and handed to Sakura to put on the dining table.

Immobile, Sasuke was still brooding hoping Naruto would go away. The last thing he needed was for Naruto to announce to everybody that he had been there the whole afternoon. Sitting beside Sasuke on the couch, and taking in a strong whiff Naruto began, "Hey Sasuke..." with a slight pause, "you smell strange...like girl's shampoo and your clothes smell different."

Hiding a creeping blush on his face, his worst fears were confirmed, "Shut up Naruto", Sasuke mumbled back as he looked away trying to ignore Naruto's questioning.

"What I can't hear you, what'd you say?"

Watching from the kitchen, Sakura, Ino, Temari asked Hinata caught on what the conversation was all about. "Is he always thick like this," Ino inquired. Putting her head down, Sakura understood why Sasuke was acting weird after the shower. He was smelling like her shampoo now, and his clothes had been freshly washed with her floral detergent.

"Um- sometimes haha," Hinata gave a nervous laugh. In the meantime, Sai and Shikamaru just stood in silence beside each other. They had both understood what must have happened - Sasuke had just spent the entire afternoon at Sakura's and also showered there… it had a lot of implications - and they were all quite immature to deal with it.

As the attention continued on Sasuke and Naruto's tiresome questioning, Sakura set the table with all the dishes and drinks that had been brought by everyone. There were not enough seats around the dinner table for everyone - so as a courtesy the women sat together around the dinner table, and the men sat on the floor around the coffee table and the sofa. There was plenty of food to go around several days for all of them.

"Um, isn't Lee supposed to come?" Hinata inquired to Sakura, "Wasn't it his initial idea to do get altogether?"

"Yes, it was," Sakura said absentmindedly, "He is usually late because he trains so late."

As Sakura took another bite of the delicious soba noodles, a courteous knock was heard. "See, speaking of the devil," as she got up to open the door.

Kiba, Shino, Chouji, and Tenten showed up at the door, "Yo!" one of them greeted before walking in, "Let's make this reunion fun, we brought some sake."

"Oh no no no not again!" Sakura said, "We already had our hands full this morning with Lee."

"Don't worry Sakura" Kiba replied, "This stuff is weak," he said as he placed bags of liquor on the kitchen counter.

"That's why we have a doctor amongst us!" Tenten beamed, "Sakura you're one of the best," she ended with a victory sign.

"Ugh," was all Sakura could reply defeated.

On the other side of the living room, the men sitting around the coffee table were playing cards that Shikamaru had brought with him.

"The food looks delicious," Chouji beamed at the great variety in front of him, "I'll try a bit of everything."

"Alright alright," Kiba interrupted the game by handing everyone a drink, "here have some."

As the party went on and the food was nearly all eaten, a final knock was heard on the door was heard. Getting up from her seat, Sakura felt the initial rush going to her head. She had never considered drinking before, even though her Master, Tsunade had tried offering her sake many times. Trying to walk straight towards the door, Sakura managed to brace herself by keeping a steady hand against the wall. "Oh, hey Lee, you're late!" Sakura exclaimed, "the party is half over."

"YAAA I WIN!" Naruto swung his arms up and could be heard from the other side of the living room.

"Again," Shikamaru insisted while reshuffling the deck.

"You better not have any cards up your sleeves Naruto," Sai pointed out suspiciously while taking a sip of his beer, "last time we played you cheated."

"Not surprised", Sasuke smirked, "you hate to lose."

On the other side of the living room, the women had decided to update each other on their gossip rather than consistently pay with the extra deck of cards they had been given. "I can't believe that's what happened," one of them could be heard saying. "I think it's damn funny," another one intermittently added.

Ignoring the obvious gossip that was happening on the dining table, the men continued on with their card game and drinks.


After a few hours of eating and drinking, it was nearly 1 a.m, and the first guests had decided to leave.

"Hey Sai," Ino interrupted an ongoing game, "I have a mission tomorrow, I have to go."

Without blinking, Sai lowered his cards and replied, "I'll walk you home," turning towards the remaining men around the coffee table he said, "Til' next time."

Thanking Sakura for hosting the get-together, they both left hand in hand.

"Shikamaru let's go too," Temari said, "Thanks everyone for the get-together."

Lee, Shino, Chouji, Sasuke, and Naruto were still in the fever of the moment, drinking, and playing cards. As the casual conversation became louder, their faces were beginning to get red from the alcohol that they were consuming.

"I should get going soon as well", Tenten told her friends as she got up from the dinner table. As a cue, both Hinata and Sakura got up as well.

"We'll walk you home!" Sakura chimed in.

Not that Tenten remotely needed any escorts home, but solidarity and friendship had been flourishing for many years between the women.


After the late night walk, Hinata and Sakura found out that the party had been over for some time already. For some reason, Lee, Shino, and Chouji were nowhere to be found. The food had been completely eaten, and the rest of the drinks had been completely drunk. Naruto and Sasuke, on the other hand, were passed out on the floor with the cards still in their hands.

Carefully removing her shoes before entering Sakura's house, Hinata silently closed in on her husband and scooped him up on her shoulder. It was quite a weird sight to see since Naruto had grown exponentially when compared to Hinata. Nevertheless, Hinata showed no signs of strain when carrying a passed out Naruto towards the door.

With one hand, Hinata was able to slip her sandals back on so that she could grab Naruto's shoes right after. Thanking Sakura with a silent and respectful bow of her head, Hinata headed home.

As she finally closed the door behind her, Sakura faced her living room. Sasuke was still there passed out with the cards in his hand, muttering something about Naruto cheating. Closing the distance between them, Sakura kneeled right beside Sasuke and tried to weigh in her options. She definitely did not know where he lived - so she could not possibly drop him home. The couch was way too small for him - just like Naruto, he had gone through a growth spurt during his absence.

Bed it is! SHANNARO

Scooping him up carefully was not an issue for Sakura since Sasuke was completely passed out. She immediately wondered what his reaction would be when he realized he woke up next to her - that is something that she had to think about later. The idea itself did make her nervous...was this even appropriate?

As Sakura placed Sasuke on her bed, she looked down at the passed out man. With a steady and shaky hand, she brushed the hair from his face and stared at him intently. His jaw was sharp and defined, his hair was longer - he was unbelievably beautiful in her eyes.

With cloudy thoughts, Sakura changed into her bed clothes and laid on her bed with a muted yawn - she was quite tired of the exertion she had to endure during training, fighting Lee, and hosting a get-together. Sasuke was still passed out and motionless, as Sakura pulled the sheets to cover herself and him. Letting out another yawn, Sakura blinked a couple of times before she let her consciousness slowly drift away.