A/N: Hello everyone! I don't really have much to say, so continue on!
Qs & As:
Kame-hime said: "That's so sweet...though it's a bit confusing about this 'different teams' issue. Maybe you should add a bit of their academy life background..."
My response: They're all from Konoha Academy. In my story, Sakura initially belongs to another team and a different girl is a member of Team Seven (her identity will be revealed soon). The girl in Team Seven is basically murdered by poisoning during the final rounds of the chunin exams. So following the end of the exams, Sakura is taken from her original team and thrust into Team Seven. Naturally, the boys of Team Seven resent her addition but as the story progresses, you'll discover a shift in their attitudes.
Quirming said: "I thiiink an older Sakura (possibly Canon!Sakura)'s memories have somehow gotten mixed with WAF!Sakura's mind and memories, and what she's dreaming is actually those memories. In the beginning I thought she was conscious of it because she talked about a secret, but now it seems like she doesn't know what's going on either. But it seems like she's learning from the memories, regardless!"
My response: Great inferences! You'll unravel the mystery as the story progresses!
SasuSakuKawaii said: "I didn't expect Sasuke's confession. Who would have though that he loved her that much. I wonder why he left the locket in the jacket...maybe he thought she would steal it?"
My response: Actually, right now he doesn't love her but, love will eventually bloom. After all, this story is a SasuSaku love story is it not? And no, he does not think she would steal the locket.
Kmae said: "I wish there were some more romantic interaction in sasusaku!"
My response: You got it dude!
Chick182 said: "why should sasuke use sakuras moaning as blackmail? he's going to reveal himself as a perverted guy :D and why is there jewelry in his jacket? i dont quite get that and how old are sakura, sasuke and naruto?"
My response: Logically speaking, talking about a person's sounds, especially as a response to a stimulant like a scent, is mortifying to most people. Even if Sasuke looks like a perverted guy, it wouldn't be surprising since he is a good looking guy, and we all know good looking guys are playboys. The locket will be explained soon and as for their ages, Sakura is 13, and Sasuke and Naruto are both 12 going on 13. It sounds young but remember, they're not regular adolescents. They're ninjas, so their appearances and physiques would be different from regular civilians.
ItachiLover16 said: "I also love the fact that Itachi is in it and their parents are very much alive. :)"
My response: I love that they're in it too!
Standard disclaimer applies.
Chapter 8 Sensations
Slivers of bright sunlight filtered in through Sakura's large bay windows, hitting her eyelids and arousing her from slumber.
Outside, the street was filled with the hustle and bustle of Konoha daily life. Vendors were enthusiastically calling to passing citizens, urging people of varying ages to purchase their products. Young children zigzagged through the crowds, laughing boisterously on their way to the park. People greeted each other good-naturedly, stopping to chit chat and listen to the gossip of the day.
Sakura's eyelids lazily fluttered open, revealing pools of deep glistening emerald. She stared blankly at her room's ceiling, adjusting to the new setting.
Her sleep was peaceful, surprisingly full of nice dreams void of any ambiguous images. Usually, she'd wake up confused, trying to decipher the dream, vision, conjured while she slept. But today, she awoke feeling mellow and content, as if something really good recently happened, upholding her current mood.
Briefly, she closed her eyes and waited patiently for the dream from last night to resurface. She knew that if she tried to remember it, nothing would pop up. So she relaxed her body and allowed her thoughts to drift, as if they were floating on the surface of a pool or ocean, moving along with the water's current and the gentle waves.
Flowers of various colors began to bloom against the darkness of her eyelids. They were pretty, delicate. She focused on them, noticing the way each petal looked so soft, like a cloud, making her wonder what it would feel like to sleep on something akin to a flower petal. After ten more seconds of looking at a sea of flowers, a brightly shining sun, a baby blue sky dotted with white fluffy clouds and a field of luscious green grass filled the background. The sun shined high in the sky, its rays warm and gentle. A second later, cool breezes swept the meadow, causing the flora to sway and her skin to pleasantly tingle. The sweet trill of birds filled the air, adding to the setting's tranquil quality.
The image looked and felt real, tangible. As she laid on the grass in the image, she could feel her bed sprout millions of green grass blades. As the rays of the sun warmed her skin, she could feel her body beginning to warm. As the singing of the birds lulled her to sleep, she could feel her body fully unwinding, preparing to return to the depths of slumber.
Suddenly, a calloused hand popped into view in the image and she watched as she grabbed the hand, swinging her body forward as the hand pulled her up. When she was standing on her two feet, she looked up to see who helped her up but was interrupted when a hand in real life fervently shook her shoulder. The last thing she glimpsed was white shorts and the hem of a blue shirt.
She slowly opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a millisecond before her eyes gravitated towards the figure standing next to her bed. It was her mom.
"Sakura, you need to get out of bed. Someone came by half an hour ago asking for you. He said something about training." Sakura's eyes widened in surprise.
She was surprised for three reasons: one, her mom wasn't angry at her for coming home late last night; two, someone had come to fetch her; and three, that someone was a boy.
"Ne, mom, who was the boy that came looking for me, and what exactly did he say about training?" She intentionally didn't question her mom's strangely calm mood in case it triggered her anger.
"I don't know. I've never seen him before. He had black hair and eyes, and he was wearing a blue high collared shirt and white shorts. He said you need to report to training ground three at eleven am." Sakura jolted up into a sitting position.
Her mom basically described Sasuke.
"That's Sasuke!"
"Sasuke? As in Uchiha Sasuke?"
"Yeah!" Her mom frowned.
"Mom? Why are you frowning?"
"Nothing." As quickly as the frown appeared on her mom's face, it vanished.
When the initial shock from learning Sasuke came to fetch her wore off, she remembered the other part to her mom's answer. She whipped her head to her bedside clock and almost swore out loud when she saw the blaring red digits. It was ten forty-five.
"Ah, mom, why didn't you wake me up when Sasuke came!"
Her mom shrugged.
"I tried but you swatted my hand away and turned on your side. When I tried again you tried to punch me." Her mom gave her a pointed look and Sakura groaned.
She had five minutes to get ready and ten minutes to get to the training grounds. As she got ready, her mom went back downstairs to probably get started on breakfast. Hastily, she brushed her teeth and slipped on her normal ninja garb, giving herself an extra three minutes by not washing her face or combing her hair. It wouldn't matter. She would be sweaty and disheveled by the end of the day.
Her eyes quickly scanned her room, trying to locate where she placed her shuriken pouch and kunai holster. Precious seconds ticked by as she desperately tried to find the damn weapon pouches. She couldn't be late to her first training session with Team Seven. It was against her morals and standards plus, she would just look bad overall. After three minutes passed, effectively canceling out the three minutes she saved, she forced herself to calm down and took a deep mind-clearing breath, closing her eyes and relaxing in a fashion similar to when she woke up from her sleep. After fifteen seconds, a memory began to take shape against the black of her eyelids.
When she got home from the gruesome escort mission, she had brusquely taken off the pouches and tossed them aside. She watched as they slid under her bed, but was too fatigued to care and dove onto her bed.
Sakura's eyes flew open and she wasted no time in dropping to her knees and looking underneath her bed. Sure enough, the pouches were lying where they had slid and stopped. She shot her arm out and grabbed the pouches, securing them in their usual locations on her body before running out of her room. Her foot barely touched the first step down when a gold fan shaped locket suddenly flashed in her mind's eye. She froze with one foot planted on the step, her hand gripping onto the stairs' railing.
Sasuke's jacket was still hanging on her coat rack. She swiveled on her foot and ran back into her room to grab the article of clothing. She paused before heading down the stairs, bringing the black military jacket right against her nose and inhaling deeply. Instantly, Sasuke's wonderful scent filled her nostrils, momentarily erasing every thought from her mind and filling it with images of him.
Sakura shook her head to dispel the trance and mentally slapped herself. It was embarrassing and mortifying to be fantasizing about Sasuke.
As she ran past the entryway to the kitchen, she couldn't help but freeze when she caught a whiff of the breakfast her mom was preparing. Her stomach rumbled loudly, causing her mom to turn her way and raise a single brow.
"Do you have time to eat?" Sakura groaned.
"No. If I eat I'm gonna be late. Do you have anything I can take with me?" Her mom placed a finger on her chin and looked up in a thoughtful manner. Five seconds passed before she left what she was cooking on the stovetop and headed for the refrigerator. She bent over and seemed to shuffle some objects around before pulling out a stick of dango.
"Will this-!" Sakura body flickered to her mom, grabbed the dango, gave her a peck on the cheek and body flickered to the front door.
"Thanks mom!" She hollered before stepping outside and closing the front door in a rush.
Once she was outside, she shuffled left and right on her feet, debating whether she should sprint to the training ground or use the rooftops. Sprinting would burn up a lot of energy and would leave her breathless by the time she arrived. Roof hopping would require little energy and a small amount of chakra. The choice was clear and she wasted no time in jumping onto the nearest roof, pumping chakra to her legs.
Unconsciously, she registered the beautiful weather and the lively atmosphere of the village. The weather was similar to the weather in her dream. The breeze was cool and the rays of sunlight were warm and gentle. A smile spread across her face, watching as about two dozen kids and toddlers laughed on the playground.
After eight minutes of roof hopping, the wide open plains of training ground three, broken by a forest of rich green foliage, came into view. She glanced at her watch and her eyes nearly bulged out of her sockets at the time. It was ten fifty-eight. She had two minutes to make it to the training ground. Pumping an additional amount of chakra to her legs, she increased her hopping pace, jumping off the last rooftop and onto solid ground. She landed in a crouch but swiftly shifted into a running pose, still pumping chakra into her legs to help her sprint to the training ground without overexerting herself.
Upon arriving to the training ground, and with twenty seconds to spare, she doubled over with her hands on her knees, gasping to catch her breath. She could care less that Naruto and Sasuke were staring strangely at her, probably wondering why she looked like she just ran a marathon.
"Are you alright? You look like you just ran a marathon." Naruto asked, a dribble of concern laced into his tone.
"Yeah – I'm – huh, huh – fine – huh, huh." She spoke in between big gulps of air, making her sound like she was speaking a foreign language.
"Huh?" The blond ball of sunshine stared at her confused, unable to catch her broken answer.
"She said she's fine dobe." Sasuke answered Naruto's question calmly, standing with his hands shoved into the pocket of his shorts.
"I know what she said Teme!" Naruto glared at Sasuke but the Uchiha simply turned his head the other way and mumbled something inaudible.
"What did you say!"
"I said yeah right loser." Sasuke smirked at Naruto, watching as Naruto's anger slowly spiked.
"Yeah! Well you're a-!"
"Okay enough! Naruto, I'm fine. Sasuke, stop taunting Naruto." Their mindless bantering was irritating her and the day barely started. After a few more seconds of deep breathing, her body reverted to its neutral state. And like the simple flick of a light switch, Naruto's mood reverted to its normally cheerful state.
"Ne, Sakura-chan, why were you running so fast?" Sakura looked at Naruto like he was stupid.
"I didn't wanna be late. Traning begins at eleven am right?" She raised an eyebrow and alternated looking between Naruto and Sasuke.
"Aa, but you wouldn't have been late." It was Sasuke who answered her question and he was looking at her with an amused smirk on his face.
Sakura stared at the Uchiha confused.
"Huh? Wait, you told my mom eleven, and now you're saying it is eleven but, you're also saying I wouldn't have been late. I don't understand." She chewed on her bottom lip and stared at the ground in thought, trying to analyze her situation and figure out why she could have spent a little more time getting ready at home instead of rushing her ass to the training ground. Naruto's vainly suppressed snickers reached her ears, she glared at him.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing, it's just that your being new and all, you don't know that even though Kakashi sets the time for when we meet, he's always late. So seeing you all riled up is amusing." Sakura gawked at Sasuke, truly surprised by his revelation.
"He's always late." Sakura mumbled lowly to herself, letting the new piece of information register in her brain.
"He's always late."
"He's always late!"
"He's always late!" Her voice rose in a crescendo, her surprise melting into anger.
"What do you mean he's always late! Why would he be late if he's the one setting the time! That's, that's, stupid! What kind of person sets a time and ends up being the one who's always late!" She knew she was ranting now but she couldn't help it. She could have properly pruned herself and even ate a nice hot plate of her mom's delicious food.
She looked up to find the last of Naruto's giggles escaping his body and Sasuke still smirking at her.
"And you," she pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke to which he raised a single elegant eyebrow, "why didn't you tell my mom that I could come late! I could have-!" A loud rumble from her stomach interrupted her, causing her cheeks to flush a light shade of red in embarrassment. Naruto was unable to contain his mirth and burst out in a fit of laughter.
"I didn't think I needed to. I figured you'd be late anyways." Sakura glared daggers at Sasuke.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, just that I thought you'd spend extra time fixing yourself up than spend extra time training."
Sakura's mouth fell open in shock from Sasuke's assumption. He thought she was a prissy girly girl who spent more time on enhancing appearances than enhancing abilities. She was about to march straight up to him and punch him square in the jaw for being sexist when he suddenly disappeared. She halted in her step and whirled around, searching the area, trying to sense his presence. Twenty seconds passed and he returned with a strange red fruit in his hand. He held it out to her, waiting for her to take it.
"And what is that?" She prudently studied the fruit, determining whether it was safe to eat or if it was poisonous.
Sasuke sighed.
"Relax, it's a fruit that grows around here. It's safe to eat." Sakura reached out to grab the red fruit but stopped halfway and dropped her arm. Sasuke looked at her with a quirked eyebrow.
"What?"
"First, say you're sorry." Sasuke looked incredulous.
"What! Sorry for what!"
"For being sexist and assuming that I'd rather spend time prettying up than honing my skills just because I'm a girl." Sakura crossed her arms over her chest, making a point that she wouldn't accept the fruit without an apology.
The two of them glared at each other for a few more seconds, Naruto alternating his gaze between the two of them, before Sasuke finally surrendered with a sigh.
"Fine, I'm sorry." Sakura searched Sasuke's eyes for honesty and was content to find it. Nodding her head, she took the fruit from him and bit into it. Instantly, its juices filled her mouth and the first thing she noticed was that the flavor profile transitioned from bitter to sweet.
"It's good. What kind of fruit is this?" She looked at Sasuke expectantly but he simply shrugged, so she turned to Naruto but received a similar response. She dropped her arm with the fruit and stared blankly at her two new teammates.
"So you give me this fruit and you don't' even know what it is. How are you so sure it's safe to eat?"
"Because I made Naruto and Sasuke eat them and they're still alive."
Sakura whirled around, caught off guard by the appearance of a new voice. Kakashi was standing behind her, one hand holding up the same orange book he was always reading and the other in his pants' pocket. She didn't even feel him coming, let alone appear out of thin air.
"Yo."
"When did you-!"
"Kakashi-sensei you're late!"
"…"
Kakashi ignored Naruto's outburst, choosing to let his sole visible eye fall on Sakura. She fidgeted under his scrutinizing gaze but otherwise, bravely returned his stare with bold eyes. After several seconds he was the first one to break their staring competition and glanced at Naruto then Sasuke, before returning to her.
"Welcome to training ground three and your first sparring session with Team Seven. Let's get started shall we?"
Sakura unconsciously tightened her grip on the fruit, the added pressure causing it to release a small stream of juice. Even though Kakashi didn't voice it, he didn't fully trust her and had already sized her up.
It was infuriating.
Sasuke watched Naruto and Sakura spar from his spot on a tree branch with growing interest, focusing more on Sakura than Naruto. He noticed several things about her.
Her movements, though not entirely graceful, were fluid. She would wait for Naruto to move before moving herself. It was a method of fighting he'd seen from numerous medical-ninjas. From what he could deduce, the method increased the medic's chances of remaining uninjured. By anticipating and waiting for their opponent to strike, medics evaded more effectively. A necessary fighting style if a medic hoped to survive long enough to heal their team.
That was another thing Sasuke noticed. Sakura's fighting style, supported by her displays of chakra control courtesy of being able to smash the ground and emit healing chakra, led him to believe that she would become a medical-ninja. If she did become a medic, it would drastically improve Team Seven's strength. He, Kakashi and Naruto were constantly at the forefront of battles and thus, were the ones who endured the brunt of attacks. They usually finished battles with quite a number of injuries. Having a medic on the team would allow them to exert more power and prolong missions. He knew Sakura also possessed a brilliant mind, having paid enough attention to her in their academy days to know that aside from him, she also received top marks in their class.
He smirked when Naruto's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when Sakura punched the earth and caused boulders the size of chairs to fly into the air. It wasn't too overwhelming but of course, the dobe always exaggerated things. He saw the gears spinning in Sakura's mind. She was also adaptable. Using Naruto's momentary relapse and the cover of the strewn up earth, she darted through the suspended rubble with a kunai held firmly in one hand. She was going in for the kill.
While Sakura appeared to be a fragile young girl, she was actually a brutal bull. Once she was on the rampage she could cause massive destruction with her two little fists. It really piqued Sasuke's interest. He needed to know who taught her those skills and when had she learned them. It irked him to know that some powerful ninja was teaching Sakura without his knowledge. He wasn't jealous. He just liked to be well informed and aware.
He glanced at Kakashi. The silver haired man was leaning on a tree opposite from him, on the other side of the field. Kakashi was staring intently at Sakura, observing her and calculating her power. Sasuke wasn't blind. He caught the distrust in his single storm gray eye when he appeared behind Sakura. Kakashi probably thought Sakura would subtract instead of add to the team.
Sasuke watched the different emotions splay across his sensei's face in a revolving cycle – surprise, then amusement, followed by a tinge of pride and finally acceptance. Kakashi was reevaluating Sakura, resizing her strength and skill. Although Sakura was proving her capability in the spar, Sasuke knew she still needed to work to gain Kakashi's trust.
He averted his gaze back to Naruto and Sakura. She was still on the offensive, swinging dangerous looking punches at Naruto's vital spots. Luckily for Naruto, he was faster than Sakura, able to dodge her attacks a second before they landed. He chuckled when he caught the expression on Sakura's face. Her mouth was set into a grim line and her eyes burned with fury and determination. It was good to see those emotions in her eyes, they conveyed strength.
He watched as a smirk lit up on Naruto's face. The blond idiot probably came up with a plan and was about to switch from being on the defensive to being on the offensive.
After one last swing from Sakura, Naruto jumped back about thirty meters, effectively creating space between him and Sakura. Expectedly, Sakura moved forward after him but was prevented by a hand shooting from the earth and grasping onto her ankle. She turned around with wide eyes, mistake, and looked down to see what was holding onto her foot. She tried, in vain, to yank her leg free. Deciding it was too much of a hassle, she bent over keen on slicing off the hand with her kunai but was again prevented when another hand shot up and latched onto her forearm. A second later, two more hands on the other side grabbed onto her other foot and forearm, effectively cutting off movement.
Sakura struggled in their grasp, trying to break free. Sharingan activated, Sasuke could see chakra building up in her limbs. She was definitely a bull, planning to escape her incapacitated state by brute force. But she was too slow and Naruto appeared before her with a powerful swirling mass of chakra spinning rapidly in the palm of his hand. He had a triumphant smirk on his face. He won the spar.
Naruto dispelled the chakra in his hand then released his shadow clones. Sakura rubbed the spots where the hands gripped tightly. From his spot on the branch, Sasuke could just make out circular red rings. He jumped down and headed towards the two, noticing how Kakashi pushed off his tree trunk and mimicked his actions heading for Naruto and Sakura. As he approached them, he could see the new expression on Sakura's face. She looked pissed, probably mad that she lost.
"Not bad, not bad." Sasuke smirked at her. He waited for her reaction, watching carefully as her eyes widened than narrowed. He enjoyed riling her up, especially if it was him riling her up.
"What do you mean not bad? Look at him." She pointed at Naruto and he followed her outstretched appendage.
Naruto was disheveled and looked pretty beat up. He had a bruise forming on his left cheek.
"What you meant to say was, pretty fucking awesome." She smirked at him, challenging him to deny it. How wrong she was to think he wouldn't rise to the challenge. If anything, it propelled him to ruffle her feathers a little more just so he could see her face flush with brilliant red anger.
"No, I meant not bad." She looked incredulous before she looked pissed again, the expected blush coloring her cheeks.
A second later Kakashi finally joined them.
"Hmm, you're strong." He said simply. Sakura arched a pink eyebrow.
"Don't underestimate me. I'm just as capable as Naruto and Sasuke, and I can fend my own." Her eyes were pools of blazing emerald, fierce and impassioned.
The last thing Sasuke noticed that day, although he probably noticed it from previous days, was that Sakura was a fiery kunoichi, a little spitfire with spunk.
"Against other people, but not me." He couldn't help it. There was just something about seeing her flustered and frustrated by his taunting that allured him.
"Oh yeah Uchiha? Let's test that theory." He smirked at her. He was more than willing to fight her if she was so bent on proving herself. It would allow him to test her limits first-hand.
"Not today. For now, go home and get some rest. Meet me at the village gates tomorrow morning at seven am. We have a mission." Kakashi left them no room for remarks and disappeared in a whirlwind of leaves. He watched the final leaf float to the ground before looking up to find Naruto smiling goofily and a frown on Sakura's face.
"We have another mission dattebayo!" Naruto pumped a fist into the air, happy that they were going on another mission so soon after their last one.
Sasuke sighed.
"Shut up Dobe, you're too loud." Naruto's countenance fell and immediately morphed into a glare.
"Actually, I'm glad we're going on another mission. After what happened to Toshiaki-kun, I feel like another mission would be redeeming." Sasuke turned to Sakura. The frown was gone from her face and was replaced by a thoughtful expression.
"Hn."
Sakura sighed.
"You know Sasuke, it's hard to know what you mean when most of your answers are monosyllables."
"Hn." Sasuke smirked when Sakura's face dropped and one eyebrow started twitching. It was so fun and easy to irritate her.
"Hey, let's get some ramen at Ichiraku's!" Naruto piped up.
Behind them, the sun was setting over the mountaintops, casting a fading orange glow over the landscape. The pastel oranges, reds and pinks coloring the sky were slowly transitioning into deep swaths of indigo, blue-violet and black. He could catch the twinkling of stars as the day transitioned to night.
Returning his gaze back to Naruto and Sakura, he found the pinkette with furrowed brows, contemplating on whether she should accompany them or not.
"I don't know." She finally replied.
"Aww, c'mon Sakura-chan, it'll be good I promise! Ramen is the best thing in the world and Ichiraku's serves the best ramen in the world!" To emphasize his point Naruto spread his arms wide to indicate the breadth of ramen's and Ichiraku's quality.
Sakura still looked hesitant.
Sasuke sighed.
"I'll walk you home afterwards so your mom doesn't get mad at you for coming home late by yourself." He gazed into her eyes, briefly noting how they sparkled beautifully in the fading light of the sun. He saw the uncertainty swirling in their depths, watched as it faded into something akin to trust.
"Okay but we can't stay long."
"Hn." Sakura smiled and he smirked back.
"Alright, let's go!"
The walk to Ichiraku's was surprisingly quiet. Naruto didn't excessively ramble, settling for walking with his hands laced lazily behind his head, a cheery smile plastered on his face. Sakura seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, hands clasped behind her back and a small smile of her own present on her face as she watched little kids ahead of them chase each other.
Naruto was in between them walking several feet ahead, Sakura on his right and he on his left. Taking advantage of Sakura's absentmindedness, he thoroughly studied her.
She was of average height, as tall as Naruto but shorter than himself. Her hair was long, ending between her shoulder blades at the middle of her back. Each pink strand looked silky smooth and soft to the touch. He had the sudden urge to run his hands through her hair to test his observation. Her skin was the color of ivory, creamy and soft. She was blemish free aside from the few light cuts from her earlier spar marring her skin. Unsurprisingly, she was mostly thin and lanky, which was expected from a girl who was only thirteen years old, and yet he could clearly see the definition of her arms and legs. Moving onto her face, he noticed she had a wide forehead which she tried to cover up with bangs framing her face. She had a button nose, plump pink lips and a slightly pointed chin. She was very pretty.
However, her most striking feature, her best feature, the one thing that arrested him was her big almond-shaped green eyes. He'd seen green eyes before but he'd never seen green eyes as beautiful and mesmerizing as hers. They weren't a regular green but a deep rich emerald. They were like the color of fresh spring evergreens. But it wasn't just the color that drew him in, it was their expressiveness, the way they clearly displayed her emotions. Every single emotion Sakura felt shined in her emerald orbs and for some odd reason, it thrilled him that he could see them.
He continued to stare at Sakura for a few more minutes until she sensed someone staring at her and turned her head in his direction. He immediately turned his head to in front of him, feeling heat rising on the back of his neck.
The rest of the way to Ichiraku's he could feel Sakura stealing glances at him, giving him questioning looks. She was probably wondering why he was staring at her so intently.
Upon arriving at the ramen stand, Naruto wasted no time in sitting on one of the stools and slapping his hand on the counter to call the attention of Ayame. She smiled at him already knowing his order before he could speak. Sakura took the seat on Naruto's right so he took the seat on his left.
Ayame looked at Sakura quizzically.
"Is she your girlfriend Naruto-kun?"
Sakura blushed and Naruto spit out the water he was drinking.
"W-What! No, no, she's my new teammate, Sakura."
Ayame stared at Sakura for several seconds before mumbling a small apology and offering a smile. She took Sakura's order before glancing at Sasuke.
"I'll get whatever the Dobe ordered." Ayame nodded her head before turning around to handover their orders to Teuchi.
Within minutes, all three of them had steaming bowls of ramen placed before them. They each said their thanks before breaking their chopsticks and digging in. They ate in silence, each of them engrossed in their own thoughts with the exception of Naruto who was engrossed in his ramen. He was practically inhaling the stuff. Sasuke looked to Sakura to see how she'd react and almost snorted when he saw the revolted look on her face.
After they were finished eating, after Naruto finished his tenth bowl to be exact, they said thank you to Ayame and Teuchi before saying goodbye to each other and branching off towards their respective homes. Being a man of his word, Sasuke accompanied Sakura home.
The two of them walked in a comfortable silence, enjoying the cool breezes gently sweeping the street and the sound of people as they unwound and relaxed for the night, chatting animatedly despite the exhaustion they no doubt felt.
The moon was suspended high in the sky, shedding pale light onto the earth. The sky itself wasn't completely darkened. A segment of the horizon was still painted with patches of orange, red and pink. There wasn't a cloud to block their view of the heavens but only a few stars could be seen, the rest blocked out by the bright lights of the village.
"Doesn't it suck that we can't see the stars at night?"
Sasuke glanced at Sakura. She was walking with her hands clasped behind her back but her face was turned upwards to the sky, a small sad smile decorating her lips. Staring at her bittersweet expression Sasuke felt something stir inside of him, but he couldn't put a name to the feeling. Thinking he'd identify the strange sensation another time, he returned to looking back up at the night sky.
"I know a place where you can see every star visible to the human eye."
"Really?" He turned to Sakura again and felt the breath hitch in his throat at the way she was looking at him. She was smiling goofily and her eyes shined brightly with longing and excitement, like emerald stars.
"A-Aa."
"Do you think we could go there?" She looked at him expectantly, hopefully.
"Now?"
"Well, no, but maybe some other time?" Sasuke furrowed his brows, thinking about her request.
"Aa."
"Really! Cool!" Sakura smiled brilliantly at him making him feel warm and content inside that he could make her smile so happily, that she smiled so happily for him.
Sakura stopped walking and turned her whole body to face him. They arrived at her house.
"Thanks for walking me home Sasuke." Her voice was soft and gentle, a side of Sakura he'd never experienced before. He liked it.
"Aa." He answered gruffly. Sakura looked at him with one raised eyebrow before laughing light heartedly, the sound music to his ears.
"I guess I should start getting used to your monosyllabic answers and studying them so I know when you mean yes, and when you mean no, and when you mean something else entirely."
He smirked at her.
"Or maybe, you can just stop being annoying and one day I'll actually say more than one word." He was expecting the smile on her face to vanish but instead she smiled cheekily.
"Why would I do that when you just said a whole sentence right now?" Sasuke felt one of his eyebrows twitch but nonetheless was amused at her witty response.
"Hn, go inside now." Sakura shook her head before walking up to him and doing something that knocked the wind right out of him and caused his body to tense up from head to toe. She kissed him on his cheek.
"Thanks again for walking me home, Sasuke-kun," she whispered into the shell of his ear before disappearing inside the confines of her home, and closing the front door with a soft click.
For what seemed like a long while, Sasuke stood rooted to his spot, trying to let what just occurred to sink into his brain.
She kissed him.
She kissed him on the cheek.
She called him Sasuke-kun.
Slowly, the numbness melted and gave way to a warm tingling sensation. As he walked home he felt something he hadn't truly felt since his betrothed's death, happiness.
It also didn't register to him until he was lying on his bed that even though Sakura brought his jacket with her to the training session, he didn't mind to ask for it back and let her wear it back home.
She was only a member of Team Seven for roughly a month and already she was affecting him in so many drastic ways.
"Kami, Sakura, what are you doing to me?"
She stood with her back against her front door, her heart racing a thousand miles a minute. She brought her fingers to her lips where a pleasant tingling sensation still lingered. She couldn't believe she actually kissed him on the cheek and added the endearing suffix of affection to his name.
The moment felt so right. They were just talking and laughing, and staring. Before she knew it, she was walking towards him, as if she was magnetized to him, tiptoeing and planting her lips on his cheek. She also felt compelled to call him Sasuke-kun. She neither regretted the kiss nor the suffix.
She could still feel Sasuke's strong chakra lingering outside her house so she looked out the front window and saw him standing frozen to his spot, wide-eyed.
Finally, he unfroze and started walking home, but she didn't miss the smile that bloomed on his handsome face. It was the first genuine smile she'd seen from him and she was the cause of it. Sakura's heart swelled with hundreds of butterflies.
That night, she went to sleep jubilant, a big goofy smile on her face. Allowing herself a moment of utter femininity, she brought the blanket up to her face and squealed.
She turned on her side, facing her large unveiled bay window, and gazed at the lovely moon shining so brightly in the night sky.
"Sasuke Uchiha, you jerk, what the hell are you doing to me?"
Her eyelids grew heavy and her breathing became deep even breaths. Unknowingly, she slept that night wearing Sasuke's jacket. So every time she inhaled, his scent would fill her nostrils and fill her senses. For the second consecutive night, her dreams were absent of ambiguity and filled with clarity, of a handsome boy with raven hair and abysmal pools of inky black. She dreamt about Sasuke Uchiha.
He was seething. Although he was successful in injecting the poison into Kumogakure, he still had a difficult time.
"You fool, I told you to intercept any messengers the villages would send out and kill them. What the hell were you doing?" In front of him, the silver haired young man frowned and fixed his round spectacles to sit atop the bridge of his nose.
"I did. I even made sure to kill all of their messenger animals."
"Then explain why Kumo was being extra prudent tonight!"
The frown on his pupil's face deepened as he wracked his brain for a possible answer but came up blank.
"I don't know."
"You don't know!" His rage exploded and he summoned one of his snakes only to brutally hack at it with a kunai.
"I'm sorry."
"Silence! I don't care for your apology. Just figure out why the villages are taking extra precautions now." The silver haired young man flinched before bowing at his waist and heading out of his master's bedroom.
Sharp yellow eyes glared at his bedroom door. His plans just escalated to a whole new level of complicated. The proof was in his need to recuperate. He glanced down at his charred arms and body and cursed loudly. He realized too little too late that the charring wasn't normal. His skin continued to blacken but at an extremely slow pace thanks to the amount of chakra he was pumping into his skin cells. His eyes narrowed as he felt shocking sensations coursing through his body.
"Lightning hmm…"
Hopefully, this chapter was as enjoyable to read as I enjoyed writing it.
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