The Sky
by Hic Iacet Mori
Chapter 8
Something white-hot and piercing lanced in his chest.
Dark eyes stared in disbelief at the folded blankets covering two immaculately white pillows, the dark blue comforter over an equally dark bed sheet fixed as perfectly as the night he made it. Dark blue curtains flew up as the early morning breeze blew past, and he had this piercingly cold thought that the element was mocking him.
The windows weren't open the night before.
Sasuke hesitantly took a step inside, the sleepiness from waking up too early for a shinobi on vacation abruptly forsaking him. This wasn't what he expected. He expected her there, sleeping on the bed or even sitting upright, stretching as she yawned her greeting. Maybe even seeing her black cloak lying on the floor and hearing her take her morning shower, or maybe even seeing her eyes for the first time as the sunlight streamed from the window. He expected her there. He expected her—expected—expected—
How could she.
He swiftly turned around and fled the room—a room that once belonged to someone he dearly loved.
How could she leave like that.
He ran through the hallway, anger burning within him and not a small amount of hurt fueling the raging fire.
How dare she sleep in my house and leave without telling—
He was already by the door when an almost muffled query within the recesses of his house halted him.
"Sasuke-san! Leaving so soon?"
His heart pounded loudly in his ears and he couldn't move from where he stood. Sasuke was suddenly achingly aware of himself—how his blood was racing through his veins, how his breath was ragged and harsh, how his head was reeling from the flying words and formless thoughts that grounded to a complete halt at the sound of her voice. How, in that moment when he stood staring inside the room where she slept the night before, how he felt when he didn't see any sign of her at all—
How utterly scared he was.
What have you done to me? his mind whispered.
"Hey, are you okay?" Naruto asked behind him, voice taking in an unusually gentle tone. "You feel... troubled."
Sasuke slowly turned around. There she stood in her cloaked glory, a hand holding a cup ramen and the other hand holding a pair of chopsticks. Her visible yellow hair was spiking in some parts and there was a piece of noodle stuck on her left cheek. She was gesturing a bit impatiently with her chopsticks, vainly searching for the right words to say as her brows knitted in annoyance with herself.
The sight hurt him.
What have you done to me?
"Er, I sensed that you're kinda troubled. That's what I mean," Naruto said, her right hand waving her chopsticks around some more. She sighed loudly and cocked her head. "So, were you leaving already? I made breakfast earlier but I think they're cold now. Been awake for some time, y'know."
When Sasuke didn't answer, she pouted. "At least have a bite. Why're you in a hurry, anyway? Baa-chan gave you an emergency mission? But you're on vacation! The old hag is hearing from me. That's abuse! Does Konoha have a ninja union now? I'll form one, dammit!"
Sasuke merely shook his head and strode calmly to the kitchen, his heart still beating erratically against his chest. He carefully skirted around her, making sure not to have any inadvertent physical contact because hell, he might do something stupid if he so much as brushed against her.
Like cling to her and assure himself that she was really there.
He grimaced over his thoughts, berating himself for his previous illogical overreactions. What came over him, anyway? Of course she wouldn't just leave. He had invited her to stay until she got a new apartment, she wouldn't leave without telling him. So what if the room looked untouched? It just meant that she can be as organized as him. So what if the window was open? It wasn't as if she'd escape through the window, and why would she escape from him, for that matter? And fuck, so what if she wasn't there?
So what if she wasn't there?
"Hn."
"I'll take that as a 'Wow, Uzumaki Naruto is an awesome cook and I can't wait to have a taste of this sumptuous feast'-hn." Naruto grinned. "Try to show any more enthusiasm and I might have a stroke so lay off, na?"
She returned to her chair and Sasuke took the chair across from her as he had the previous night. On his side was a bowl of plain rice, miso soup, and grilled fish—a typical breakfast that he, an ANBU, hadn't had in a long time. He looked over to her side—four empty cup ramen made a fortress before her, and the cup she was holding was her fifth already.
"By the way, thanks for buying ramen," Naruto said, still grinning. "Now eat up. Not my best but stomach it, okay? It's the least I can do." Her brows furrowed, as if she was trying to remember something else she needed to say.
A beautiful smile rose like the arrival of dawn itself.
"Oh yeah. Good morning, Sasuke-san."
And Sasuke was seeing it again—
He shook his head with exasperation as the shadow shoveled a cereal into his mouth for the nth time. A spoon then waved from a grayish right hand, emphasizing words he listened to with sleep-robbed annoyance.
"Hn. Make sure to stock on your rubbish next time."
The spoon waved once more, this time with more force. He smirked as the spoon slammed on his table and the shadow stood up. Before he could react, a hand reached across and grabbed the milk carton he had brought out for the moron's cereal. The hand raised the milk carton to a grinning mouth, drops of liquid contrasting sharply with the blackness of his features.
"That's disgusting, idiot."
The shadow wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and Sasuke glimpsed a flash of sharp white teeth before the hand released the carton back to his table. Sasuke rolled his eyes and threw the now-empty milk carton into the trash can. His aim was perfect.
"You're replacing that."
A longer stretch of silence, and he snorted. "Not my fault you're a moron. Go to Kakashi or Sakura. I'm not buying you ramen."
—and then her uncharacteristically quiet voice broke through, "But I'm not asking you to."
He blinked in confusion before his sight slowly focused on bronze and gold in a sea of black. His mind whirled with a thousand words, trying to make sense of what just happened until a single thought emerged.
It's him again.
Sasuke shook his head, raising a hand to rub his temple. And so early in the morning too. So what was that now? His ex-teammate had breakfast here before?
He was getting tired of the questions that keep appearing in his mind, and so he finally allowed himself a thought he never wanted to consider before—
Maybe I'm hallucinating.
It was then that Sasuke noticed the unusual silence. He raised his head. Across him, Naruto looked oddly colorless. An eyebrow went up as he observed her suddenly mechanical motion of eating.
"You're pale."
"Aa?" A smile stretched on her face and she began laughing. "It's nothing. Maybe I'm still tired. How about you? You're still not eating."
Sasuke grunted and picked up his chopsticks. Murmuring a low "Itadakimasu," he picked up his bowl of rice and began to eat, snatching pieces of viand. He knew he shouldn't be—from the looks of it, it looked edible enough—but he was surprised that the meal was actually good.
"Anou..." Naruto coughed, breaking the silence. "About last night—" she shifted her head to the side, facing the wall. "—sorry about last night. 'Bout how I answered. I was kinda tired and well—" Her hand reached up and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "—it's kinda rude, seeing as you welcomed me here even if you don't know me. So... yeah."
He raised his eyes to her, willing himself to see the sincerity he heard in her voice, to see her eyes by sheer force alone. Naruto began fidgeting at the weight of his stare until she decided she wouldn't take it anymore.
"Why are you staring?"
"You're not blind, aren't you?" he asked point-blank. Naruto just shook her head. "Then why wear that?"
She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Nothing you'd like to know." She must have sensed his heated glare because her jaws hardened resolutely. "Really. It's nothing you'd like to know."
Sasuke merely grunted. He'd find out sooner or later—if not from her, then from someone who could be persuaded to answer. His eyes narrowed. So she was sorry about how she answered last night? Maybe sorry enough to answer?
"So why did you leave Konoha?" he asked casually after swallowing choice bites of grilled fish. Across him, Naruto stiffened almost imperceptibly, an action caught by his sharp black eyes.
"I had to," she replied, shrugging off the tension in her shoulders. She placed her chopsticks on her now empty fifth ramen cup and laced her fingers beneath her chin, propping her face up. The action reminded Sasuke of himself.
"Something... happened," Naruto continued. "And I have to go. Never regretted it, though." Her sightless gaze fixed on him, and a bittersweet smile formed in her lips. "So for ten years I traveled and trained myself. You know, can't be lax. And well, I had to prepare myself for—something. 'S why I'm here now.
"Maybe—" Naruto's voice softened—Sasuke could imagine her eyes taking in a soft glow as she stared off into the distance, forgetting everyone around her as her thoughts traveled farther than her eyes could see. "Maybe this time, I'll be able to make sure that my precious people are safe once and for all. And maybe, even if he can't recognize me anymore—" her voice dropped into a raw, barely audible whisper. "—maybe I can finally let him know, before I really let him go."
Sasuke forced down the painful heat that had formed in his throat. How could her mere words affect him so?
Let him go?
He swallowed the peculiar bitterness that had risen within him.
"And I know Baa-chan would hunt me down anyway," she added in a louder voice. "Plus Sakura-chan would slug me with her Fists of Doom if I stay away longer. Maybe Kakashi-sensei too. That pervert would probably use Mangekyou and make me do weird stuff like force me to listen to his Icha Icha narration for 72 hours. Sai can't do anything with me but maybe he'd just grope again for a whole day. I've always known that Sai-baka was a pervert! Yeah, that time in the onse—uso! Yamato-sempai can't show me his scary face anymore! Oh yeah, Kakashi-sensei can't trap me either!" Naruto slapped her forehead. "So I only have to watch out for Sakura-chan then!" She suddenly grew silent, as if just realizing that she had blabbered too much.
While her babble amused him—except where she talked about Sai, and he'll make sure to teach that retarded pervert a lesson—Sasuke was left with more questions and reminded of those he had before. "How did you know Sakura and Kakashi?"
She was silent for a moment, as if weighing her answer, before her lips formed into a strange smile. "We were teammates."
He had this strong feeling that something else lurked behind her words, but Sasuke nodded in understanding nonetheless. It made perfect sense. It also answered how she knew Sai and Yamato. They probably became teammates in the four years—almost five—that he had been gone from Konoha. Strangely enough, though, he couldn't remember any mention from Sakura about another teammate while he was gone.
Must have been a brief team-up, he reasoned. Creation of new teams wasn't anything new, especially for special reasons. But she's the Rokudaime, a part of him argued. Surely she would have been mentioned at least once.
But there's the law, right?
This time, it was Sasuke who cleared his throat. "Hyuuga mentioned a law concerning you." When he was met with a raised eyebrow, he went on. "Why was that imposed?"
Hearing a mutter that suspiciously sounded like "must castrate Neji-baka," Naruto shook her head cheerfully. "Saa, it's a long and boring story. Best left to history, that one. Anyway—" a fair eyebrow rose, "—how's Uchiha-sama the past years? I would've expected teeny-tiny Uchiha overrunning the village right now."
Sasuke's right eyebrow twitched.
"Maa, Sasuke-san," Naruto said, grinning cheekily. "Everybody knows about your goals. Shouldn't you have a wifey and little kiddies already? I'm sure every single female around are falling in line to get the chance to become Uchiha-san."
"Not looking for one," he retorted. Kami, his comebacks. So childish!
"But the poor girls!" she exclaimed. "Surely you can't deny the pretty girls! A lot of them were pretty, if I remember right. Anou sa, anou sa! Are you dating Sakura-chan? You two look cute together!"
Both of his eyebrows were twitching beyond his control now. "Don't be ridiculous."
Naruto snorted. "Whatever." Her voice lowered. "But seriously now, Sasuke-san. Shouldn't you be, you know, kinda settled and reviving your clan? I mean, it's your dream, right? Maybe you're not sold on the idea of belonging completely to someone, but—" she rubbed her nape again, her face turning away. "—you don't want to be alone for the rest of your life, na?"
His breath caught on his throat. Strange, he thought. Strange that she would bring up something that he had been mulling over the past day. Stranger still how his heart began tripping so fast at the thought that maybe, just maybe, he needed not be—
—not be alone anymore.
The hell that came from?
"But you don't have to answer!" she suddenly exclaimed, waving her arms around. "It's very personal, I know." Naruto suddenly sprang up and began picking up her empty ramen cups. "Well, I have to visit some people, Sasuke-san. Ja!"
"I don't want to be alone," Sasuke murmured. Naruto froze from where she stood. He turned away, his face warm—his confession was unintentional and he hadn't felt such odd vulnerability before. He couldn't bring himself to look at her after this—this lapse. And yet he couldn't stop himself from glancing at her, before he caught himself and quickly glanced away again.
He felt like a stupid child.
"You?" he whispered, almost—shy.
The question seemed to break Naruto from her trance. She turned around, busying herself with clearing her trash. "It's not as if I have a choice," she replied breezily. "I'm a jinchuuriki. No one deserves that."
Sasuke's eyes widened. A jinchuuriki? The last jinchuuriki is from Konoha? He could vaguely recall his encounter with the Hachibi during his stint with the Akatsuki—the battle was hard-won. He remembered that bastard Madara's obsession with possessing the last bijuu, the most powerful youma of all. Kyuubi no Youko, the youkai he had summoned years ago. In Konoha, he thought, wanting to hit himself. How could he have forgotten that Madara wanted to destroy Konoha and tried to do it using the Kyuubi before?
Is that why they hate her?
"So?" Sasuke asked, his tone cold. You have a choice, idiot. What does being a jinchuuriki have to do with that?
You don't have to be alone.
Naruto started in surprise but didn't answer. Sasuke stood up as well, placing his now empty dishes into the sink. He opened the faucet and began washing. His ears picked up the almost inaudible shifting of her cloak before it was completely silent in the kitchen again.
He sighed softly. One of them almost always stepped away from a conversation with ill feelings. And it's just morning. He stifled a groan. He can't believe it's just morning.
But—Sasuke allowed himself a smile. But he liked it. Having breakfast with her. And talking. No, not talking, he corrected himself. Listening. Listening to her talk. It was nice. He didn't find it hard to imagine at all, listening to her go on and on for an entire day. In fact, he didn't mind it at all if she spoke for an entire day.
If it meant she'll be there.
He dried his hands on a washcloth then turned around, his eyes fluttering shut as he leaned on the sink. He didn't mind greatly if she'd stay with him longer. He didn't mind getting to know more about her. Her and her secrets, and how the more he knew, the less he really did. How the more they were together, the more it felt natural. How the more she smiled, the more he wanted to smile back. How the more he stayed around her, the less he wanted to be away from her.
How he couldn't ignore it any longer.
What have you done to me?
How a part of his mind kept screaming to never let this stranger leave again—
"Don't leave."
—and how another part of his mind kept whispering that he was too late.
The words had escaped his lips without his bidding, like a small sob flying out when least expected.
"Don't leave..."
His eyes shot open when he heard a soft voice.
"I'm sorry."
Was she there the whole time?
His chest tightened and his fists clenched against the sudden wave of fear that crashed into him. His breathing grew harsher, his hand blindly reaching out a hand, his vision getting blurry and unfocused from the unbidden heat behind his eyes.
Why?
But he couldn't move himself from where he stood, and she couldn't see from where she herself had hidden her eyes.
Why couldn't I reach you too?
As if finally realizing what he was doing, he sharply drew his hand back and forced it back to his side. He shook his head bleakly, hiding his face with the fringes of his hair from the only one around who couldn't even see him. Where did these thoughts keep coming from? What's happening to him?
Why are you sorry?
"But—" Sasuke looked up. There was a slight tilt on the corner of her lips, and his breath hitched when it turned into a full-blown smile.
I like her smile.
"—in the meantime, we can be alone together."
With a last smile and a jaunty salute, she turned and left the kitchen. He vaguely heard a door open before it shut again, leaving the house in its familiar silence as the one with hair to rival the sun went out to greet the fast-concluding morning.
Sasuke broke into a rare, pure smile.
"I'd like that."
"Sasuke-san?"
He turned away, a slight color in his smooth, almost translucent cheeks. "Hn."
"Er..." Naruto hardly paused in her steps as she turned her head to him. "You coulda told me to wait, y'know."
"Hn."
Sasuke glanced at her before looking away again. It had taken him two minutes to snap out of his daze before the realization that the blonde went out had sunk in. He always had speed by his side, and he used it to his advantage when he brushed his teeth, bathed, dressed, and used Shunshin an adequate distance away from her, appearing beside her fifteen minutes after she had left.
After the uncanny panic he had felt earlier with her disappearance, he wasn't quite ready to lose sight of her yet.
And he didn't hurry at all.
"So... where you to?" Naruto asked, skipping like a child beside him. While a part of his mind mused that she was only a couple of inches shorter than he was, half of his mind racked for a plausible answer befitting an Uchiha of incisive wit.
"Shopping."
Sasuke was fast remembering why he didn't like to talk. And he was fast realizing as well that he wasn't as smooth as everyone seemed to believe he was.
Him included.
"... Okay. Didn't expect that," Naruto admitted before chuckling. "For what?"
The half of his mind that had noticed their height difference couldn't get over how tall she was for a woman, and that same train of thought was beginning to ask questions he never had before. Did he like tall girls? Did he notice tall girls before? Did he like girls at all? He rarely liked people after all—
The witty part had silenced after his previous answer before forcing his mouth to blurt out the first answer that came into his mind.
"You."
His steps faltered but he quickly caught himself. Beside him, Naruto had no qualms against showing her understandably surprised reaction to the answer.
"Eh?"
Sasuke's steps quickened, now intent on getting as far away as possible. He couldn't berate himself enough for being so damn stupid.
"You're shopping for me?" Naruto asked, catching up with his long strides.
His eyes darted to her before staring back ahead. Now that he thought about it, it didn't seem like a bad idea. As his thinking deepened, he realized that he rather liked it.
"Yes."
Imagining her in clothes with the uchiwa crest seemed to be a good hobby right now—
What?
"But why?" she asked. "Oi, slow down! Sasuke-san!"
Sasuke did slow his steps, a slim eyebrow rising. "You don't have clothes."
"I do so have clothes!" Naruto shot back. "And I like them!"
He couldn't stop himself from snorting. "Idiot. That's a cloak. You didn't even change into the sleep wear I lent you."
The blonde stuck out a tongue. "Try it sometimes. It's really comfortable."
Sasuke wrinkled his nose as a thought entered his mind. "Did you bathe at all?"
"Of course I did!" Naruto exploded. "You woulda seen me take a bath if you woke up early, bastard!"
His mind didn't just conjure images of water rolling down a tan neck. Or even steam fogging up the glass in his bathroom, a flash of bronze contrasting starkly with the spotlessly white tiles. He didn't contemplate waking up earlier tomorrow either.
As he breathed evenly through sheer will, Sasuke wondered why he had to feel the effects of Kakashi's presence now after all these years.
"You have to change out of it," he said flatly. "You don't seem to like my clothes so I'll buy you new ones instead."
"But Sa—"
"You won't stay in my house wearing the same thing." No matter what hides underneath that shapeless black cloth, Sasuke knew that he wouldn't—didn't—give a shit.
Stop hiding everything.
Naruto sighed. "Sasuke-san. You don't have to, 'kay? I'm fine with your clothes. I like them. But give me this, please? It's stupid but I'm not comfy without 'em. Now if we really can't agree on this—" she paused before smiling up at him. "—thank you for your hospitality, Sasuke-san."
"Just like that?" he asked, pausing on his step to look at her. Sasuke knew he was being irrational yet again, demanding of someone he had met only a day ago, but fuck he couldn't help himself. There's a lot about her he couldn't help himself with.
Naruto smiled sheepishly, yanking on a long spike of golden hair hanging above her hitai'ate. "Well, I know you're stubborn. And I'm stubborn. So before we get into a fistfight—yeah."
"Fine. Wear it," Sasuke bit out, turning away. He was getting another strange urge. This time to pout, of all things. Where the hell did his maturity go?
He missed the triumphant grin that flashed on her features.
They began walking again, and only then did Sasuke realize where they were heading. He resisted the urge to give an uncharacteristic groan of exasperation as the familiar path greeted him once more.
"Didn't we have breakfast earlier?" he pointed out. Naruto nodded. "Then what are we doing here?"
"I know what I'm doing here," she said. "Now what you're doing here, that I don't know."
Damn. He didn't have an answer to that.
"I'm just making sure you don't run into anything," he replied, snorting. "But didn't we just have breakfast?" he insisted. Sasuke knew he was beginning to sound like a broken record, but after hearing how well it sounded, he liked it now, that little word.
"Heard ya the first."
"So why are we here again?" That word again.
"Again, I know why I'm here but I don't know about you!" Naruto repeated, getting exasperated with the repeated questions. "I guessed it'd have been obvious by now that I won't run into anything, right?"
Sasuke couldn't resist. "But didn't we—"
"Arrrgh! You're so annoying!" Naruto howled, throwing her arms up. "Okay! We are here because you followed me. So we are here. Now I'm here to buy ramen, and you are here to—" she raised her fingers, making quotation marks in the air, "—"make sure I don't run into anything." That's why we are here. Happy?"
He bit back the maddening urge to grin. It was amusing to see her in an agitated state—he realized he liked it as well. Most especially, he liked hearing that small word coming from her.
"Hn."
We.
So ordinary but so significant.
—And he didn't know he could stoop so low as to be sentimental over a damned pronoun. Why was he being sentimental anyway? Was age finally catching up on him? Effect of solitude, perhaps?
Naruto snorted. "If I didn't know any better, you actually are," she mumbled, causing Sasuke to almost falter yet again. "Geez. You're like a parrot! 'Didn't we?' 'Why are we?'," she mimicked, lowering her voice in imitation of his deep bass. "I'd say you might even like—"
Sasuke sensed it the same instance Naruto stopped in her tracks—an erratic yet intense chakra signature rushing behind them with uncanny urgency. It was familiar in its power yet unfamiliar in its fierceness, familiar in its rhythm yet unfamiliar in its abandon. Familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time, as if the person had no semblance of control over emotions right now.
Lily-white arms wrapped around the waist of Naruto's cloak, contrasting beautifully with the absolute blackness of the cloth.
"Sakura-chan," Naruto choked out in a ragged whisper. "Sakura-chan."
"Naruto," her voice came out as a muffled sob as she buried her face deeper into the blonde's back. "Naruto, Naruto, Naruto."
Sasuke watched, his chest tightening as Naruto lowered her head, as if not wanting anyone to see what she was feeling right now. His heart throbbed like hell—the way she uttered his ex-teammate's name, the way she couldn't—wouldn't—move from the medic jounin's tight embrace, the way she depicted yearning in the truest, purest sense of the word—
It hurt.
Why does it hurt to look at you?
All these ugly, suffocating feelings coming out to hurt him—
"Naruto..." Haruno Sakura lifted an arm as the other wrapped tighter, the freed hand rubbing at watery green eyes that keep shedding tears. "You're back for good, ne, Naruto? Tsunade-shishou told me you're taking your position again. Ne, Naruto?"
Taking… your position again?
"Are you crying?" Naruto finally asked, sounding incredulous. She swiftly turned around and touched Sakura's cheeks, wonder dawning in her features as she felt the evidence of the other woman's intense emotions. "You're crying because I'm back?" she murmured, awed. The hand on Sakura's cheek began wiping the tears that fell harder. "You're really crying—like—"
"Baka! Of course I'm crying!" Sakura retorted without force. "You're gone for what, ten years? If I hadn't made you promise, you—" she tried to bite back a sob, failing miserably, "—you wouldn't have returned at all. You wouldn't have returned at all!"
"Aw, Sakura-chan, stop crying!" Naruto pleaded. "I feel so awful now!"
"You should be, you idiot!"
Then Naruto did something Sasuke would never, ever want to see again—
She lowered her face to the still-crying woman, kissing the tears that fell from her eyes.
"Sakura-chan, please don't cry anymore," she murmured, tucking the pink-haired kunoichi under her chin. Sakura's sobs slowly turned into child-like hiccups as she nodded weakly. Next to them, forgotten, stood the last Uchiha, his stomach churning and his heart twisting violently within him.
In the years that she had pined over him as a genin, chased after him when he left Konoha, Sasuke had never so loathed the existence of one Haruno Sakura as he did now.
Are they—Do they—
He couldn't—wouldn't—form a question, so he settled for a statement instead.
What the fuck.
"Oh. Hello, Sasuke-kun," Sakura suddenly said, lifting her tear-stained face to give him a tremulous smile, stepping away from her comfortable position. Sasuke truly wanted to hurt the kunoichi, and not because she was late in greeting him.
He watched with a blank expression as she looked at him curiously, before swiftly returning her gaze to the taller woman. "Wait. You're together?"
He fought the irrational urge to pull Naruto away from Sakura. Yes! Yes we are!
A snort drove his attention away from his vicious thoughts. They watched as Naruto alternated between controlling her apparent glee and reining in her mirth, causing her to snort again. Her amusement won and she ended up laughing, the two giving her strange looks.
"You know what just happened, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, drawing her name out almost into a song.
The pink-haired woman eyed her warily, lifting her eyes from the handkerchief she was drying them with. "What?"
"I just kissed you and you let me! Like the last time!" Naruto crowed. She stepped closer to Sakura, lowering her mouth to her ears and her voice taking in a huskier timbre. "Does that mean you'd go out with me now?"
Despite himself, Sasuke felt a shiver of electricity jolt down his spine. Sakura, meanwhile, had turned almost as pink as her hair. Her fist rose as a feral gleam appeared in her eyes, before stopping short as her eyebrows furrowed.
"Something's different..." she murmured almost to herself, before the fist opened and began touching Naruto's face. Jade-green eyes narrowed as she turned the tanned head to one side and to the other. Sasuke watched as another hand shot up—
—and began groping Uzumaki Naruto's chest.
Sasuke froze in shock as the medic jounin began squeezing and pulling around the blonde's torso, her hands roaming where he believed no one had business fucking touching.
Women don't greet each other that way!
"Sakura-chan!" the blonde whined. "Not you too! Did you and that Sai planned this? 'Let's feel up Naruto when the idiot gets back!' Is that it?"
"Not Oiroke then," Sakura muttered, ignoring her. "So what's this? And you're thinner, baka."
Not sexy?
Naruto pulled her hands down and drew her closer. The blonde lowered her lips to the medic jounin's other ear, whispering until the other drew back, nodding hesitantly.
What—
"So you are heading there?" Sakura asked, pointing to her immediate right. Sasuke shrugged while Naruto raised a fist with an affirmative yell. She shook her head with a little smile as she followed the enthusiastic blonde, Sasuke following behind them in irritation.
Who invited her anyway?
"Five bowls of miso ramen, Ojii-san!" Naruto announced. "Take-out!"
"Not eating here?" Sakura asked in surprise, settling down on the blonde's left after the latter plopped down. Sasuke sank down on his usual spot, on Naruto's right.
"I'm visiting Iruka-sensei," she answered cheerfully. "It's Saturday and there's no school today. I'm sure I can visit now. He'd probably kill me so I'm treating him to ramen for a change. Ramen can melt anyone," Naruto ended with a confident grin.
"Gaki," Teuchi greeted heartily. "Five take-outs coming up!"
"Green tea for me, Teuchi-san," Sakura said, smiling. She leaned forward to look at her brooding, dark-haired friend. "How about you, Sasuke-kun?"
He didn't want anything but Sasuke didn't want to sit beside Naruto inside Ichiraku without ordering anything. "Green tea."
"How's mission, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, finally settling down.
The medic shook her head as her pink eyebrows knotted together. "There was a strange skirmish but otherwise, it's the same."
"Strange how?"
Sakura bit on her lower lip. Sasuke watched irritably as Naruto reached out to pat the medic's head after sensing her hesitation. Sakura wasn't one to hesitate if she thought there were no repercussions. She had always been by-the-book, Sasuke knew all too well. "It's okay. It's a mission, you don't have to tell me anything." The hand remained, however, patting reassuringly and not without a touch of slight curiosity until it glided down.
"You grew your hair longer," Naruto remarked. Sakura nodded. "You looked really cute with short hair, but I think I've always liked you in longer hair. Guess I prefer long hair on girls, huh?" She tilted her head, her hand going back to prop her chin. "You must be really beautiful now, Sakura-chan."
The churning in Sasuke's stomach returned as the thought he had earlier denied fruition returned with vehement force.
She prefers girls?
"Still the flatterer," Sakura retorted, though her tone didn't hide how pleased she was. She lightly punched the blonde on the arm. "You. You have a lot of explaining to do. We have a lot of catching up because some idiot decided to take ten years to climb down."
Climb down?
Naruto chuckled. "Still remember?" She didn't wait for an answer as she drummed her fingers on the table. "I'm glad. But we reached the moon so it's all good, ne?"
"Naruto..." Sakura trailed off, a smile with apparent fondness blooming on her lips.
Sasuke was annoyed that he couldn't understand anything they were talking about—they were conversing in a language from a world all their own. He was, against himself, envious—deep down he wanted to have someone like that, someone he could talk to in riddles and stories and codes only they could understand. Someone he didn't have to say a word to at all and still would understand. Someone who would understand more than he understood himself.
A part of him ached.
Phantom pain, his mind supplied from nowhere.
"So—I don't sense any Haruno babies yet," Naruto remarked, grinning. "Didn't Sai ask again? Or are you—" Sasuke watched Naruto bit the inside of her cheeks. "—Rock Sakura now?"
"I'd pummel you after this," Sakura promised.
"Or maybe you were really waiting for me, na? What was it?" A hand thoughtfully rubbed on a chin. "Uzumaki Sakura doesn't sound so bad?"
The ache grew.
"I'd pry your teeth one by one and kick your mouth for good measure. After my tea," Sakura said with a sweet smile.
"Sakura-chan," Naruto whined, before breaking into a playful grin. "But I have to get to Iruka-sensei first. He probably learned that I'm back already and well... he's scarier than you."
There was a sound of crackling knuckles and a whimper before Sasuke intervened with a cough. The two stopped—Sakura from advancing and Naruto from backing away—and turned to him, a questioning look from the former and a pair of raised eyebrows from the latter.
"Sasuke-san?"
He noted with interest when Sakura drew a sharp breath and turned to the other woman. Naruto went on, as if unaware of the other's reaction. "What is it?"
"Will you be at Iruka the whole day?" he inquired politely.
"Anou, I'm heading back at Neji's then Sakura-chan's after," Naruto answered, before returning her attention to Sakura. "You're not busy, na?"
"As if," she scoffed with a smile. "Someone insisted I get a vacation."
"Yatta!" Naruto cheered, before waggling her eyebrows with an impish smile. "Can I sleep over?"
"You're not returning?" Sasuke asked quickly, alarmed by the question.
It was Sakura's turn to ask, a trimmed eyebrow raised. "Returning where?"
"Here's your takeout, Naruto," Teuchi said, placing a plastic bag with five takeout ramen before her. "On the house."
Immediately forgetting their conversation, Naruto raised her arms and cheered. "You're the best, Ojii-san! May Ramen-sama bless you with eternal life!"
Teuchi laughed and the blonde joined in. Giving a thumbs-up sign, Naruto picked up her order. "Thanks again, Jiji!"
"Tell Ayame to come by later," Teuchi called out.
"I wi—Wait. What?"
"Naruto," Sakura said, a smile in her voice. "Iruka-sensei and Ayame-san are married."
"WHAAAAAAAAT?"
"Yes."
"Iruka-sensei and Ayame-neechan? So they were hitting on each other while I innocently finished Iruka-sensei's treats?"
"Run along before the ramen gets cold," Teuchi said, grinning smugly at the stupefied reaction on Naruto's face that made way into a bright grin of her own. "Ayame's excited to see you."
"I will I will!" Naruto said, laughing. "Ja, minna!"
"Wa—" Sasuke said, his motion almost toppling his stool. His dark eyes widened when he was met with empty air.
Naruto was gone.
He gritted his teeth as he sat back down. His green tea had arrived and he drank it all in one furious swoop, almost choking on the boiling liquid, relishing the pain from the scalding heat. It was nothing compared to what he was feeling right now.
Sensing eyes on him, he turned to his left to see a pair of green eyes looking at him.
"Sasuke-kun, is Naruto staying with you?" she asked after a lengthy silence. Sasuke merely grunted.
"Do you—" Sakura started again, hesitating before continuing. "Do you know Naruto?"
"She's the Rokudaime."
Sasuke watched in puzzlement as an expression he could only classify as despair settled on her face. His eyes narrowed at her whispered inquiry.
"She?"
"Uzumaki," he said, a prickle of ice suddenly touching the back of his neck.
"Sasuke-kun," Sakura said in a strange, heart-broken voice. Unconsciously, Sasuke drew in a deep breath.
"Naruto is a guy."
