"Talking"

"Inner Talking"

'Thinking'

'Inner'

Flashback

... - page break (could also imply trailing off when used in speech)

Word Count: 3,549

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Chapter Ten

Sakura let her jade eyes drop to the grass-covered floor. The situation that had just taken place seemed surreal to her. She had just shared a light-hearted, if not even playful, conversation with a person she suspected to be an alley of one of the most dangerous opponents she had ever faced, who she was willing to bet would come for another round. What made it all the more difficult to comprehend, was that she actually enjoyed the talk she had shared with the beautiful male. It was as if her mind failed to fully process the events that had unfolded.

Yet, for some reason, she didn't want it to.

She knew she was just running away from the truth. She was also aware of the fact that it would catch up to her later. She would most likely have to stand on a battlefield with Haku soon, and there was a very slim chance that they would be on friendly terms then. As much as she'd try to deny it, Sakura always ran away in the end.

Sure, she's managed to put on a brave-faced against Zabuza, and she has improved – even if just by a little – strength wise, but whenever she was faced with something she'd rather not accept, she doesn't. Instead, she runs away. However, facing Haku in battle wasn't the only thing she was running away

She knew everything. She'd taken notice of how she'd recently gotten into the habit of constantly being around people, whether it was by being with her team or in a busy restaurant. The silence and space she once used to yearn for, now became a constant fear of hers. She'd figured out that being surrounded by people was her coping mechanism. It was the only way she could prevent her thoughts from straying to places she'd rather not think about.

She knew it all, but like many things these days, she chooses to push it to the deepest, darkest parts of her mind.

Yet, as much as she hated the fact, there wasn't always someone with her. There were times where she was left alone, with nothing but her dark thoughts to keep her company, and her current situation was the perfect example.

Lucky for her, a distraction arrived just in the nick of time. A distraction by the name of Naruto Uzumaki. Before she knew it, the blonde had bolted from the spot he had just emerged from at the very end of the field, arriving beside her in an instant.

"Sakura-chan! We've finally found you!" the blonde exclaimed, throwing his arms around her and pulling her in for a tight hug, rambling about how much he had missed her and how they had been searching everywhere for her.

'He just saw us yesterday, didn't he?'

'What can I say, he's obsessed with us! And for good reason'

Ever since Sakura had started…choosing her words wisely when addressing Naruto and had toned down the physical abuse, Naruto became a lot touchier, even more than he was before, which in itself was a feat. Sakura didn't particularly mind, she quite enjoyed the physical contact, but it seemed her Sensei and other teammate had something against public show of affection. They'd glared at them when Naruto simply held her hand -which has become a regular occurrence. It was rare to find a time when Naruto wasn't holding her hand, though, on those few occasions, she was the one to initiate the hand holding. On those days Sasuke and Kakashi seemed particularly upset, did they hate it even more because they thought it was wrong for a woman to initiate something like handholding? That was plain sexist. However, Sakura kept doing it, the bright grin that immediately took over Naruto' whole expression was enough for her to overlook her teammates' discomfort.

"Hn"

Oh look, there was another distraction!

"Sasuke?" Sakura muttered, confusion the jade pools of her eyes. She certainly hadn't expected the aloof Uchiha to come out of his way to search for her, then again, Kakashi had probably forced him to. Speaking of her silver-haired sensei, where was he? To be frank, she expected her perverted sensei to be the first to show up…

'Is that disappointment I sense?'

Sakura opted not to reply to her Inner's words, her excuse being that she should stop talking to her split personality if she wanted to keep even a shred of what was left of her sanity.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura hadn't meant for the suspicion in her voice to be as potent as it was. She couldn't help the guilt that swelled up in her chest as she caught a glimpse of her usually stone-faced teammate flinch before quickly composing himself.

She had to remind herself, as aloof, unforgiving, cold, emotionless, cold-hearted, stone-faced, unfeeling, unsympathetic –

'Are you going somewhere with this?'

Point was, Sasuke was still human - deep, deep, deep down – and as hard as it may be to believe this, just like any other human he had a vulnerable, beating heart.

"You forgot breakfast, you idiot" the statement held little emotion if any, it was even accompanied with an insult but for some reason it made Sakura's heart skip a beat, but not in the way it did back in the academy or even just a few months ago, when Sasuke's eyes would land on her, even if it were for a mere second…or in the form of a glare, it didn't make a difference to her back then. She even tried to convince herself that Sasuke looks at everything with a glare, it was just his natural gaze, and to be honest, the more she observed Sasuke the easier it became to believe it. It was the kind of feeling she got when Naruto would wait for her after breakfast to get some ramen. The same feeling she got when Kakashi worried over a little scratch she got, as much as she would deny it Sakura liked how easily worried Kakashi got. The more she thought about it, the more it reminded her of her mo –

"Sorry," Sakura suddenly blurted out, immediately cutting off her train of thought. She brought her hand to the back of her neck, sheepishly scratching at the back of her head, though she soon stopped as she felt the tremendous pain the came with the simple movement of her hand. "I guess I was a little preoccupied" she mumbled, pulling herself off the ground, deciding to use her elbows to push herself up instead of her hands, as awkward as the position looked she knew it would be significantly less painful that if she were to do it with her hands. As she finally stood on both feet, she felt the blood beginning to seep again, she was getting pretty tired of seeing blood painting the ground every time she walked.

"Nothing should distract you from your health Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, his facial features set into a hard expression, as he waved his finger, as he chastised his teammate. Yet Sakura couldn't find it in herself to take the blonde seriously at the moment, his shinning, playful blue eyes made it difficult to have faith in the fact that he was being serious. Not the mention, the fact that he really isn't one to talk about taking care of one's health. The boy practically lived off of instant ramen cups!

'Maybe we should change that.'

What started off as a few chuckles soon erupted into roaring laughter. Sakura burst into piles of laughter, falling onto the ground with the force of her giggling. For a few minutes, both Sasuke and Naruto watched their teammate laughing hysterically on the grass, with expressions of confusion and slight worry for their teammate's sanity etched into their faces. Yet soon enough, Naruto joined Sakura. At first, he only had to support himself with his arms resting on his knees but before long he was beside Sakura, rolling on the green grass and clutching his stomach as he desperately tried to catch his breath in-between bursts of laughter.

Sasuke did nothing but watch at first, but then a small, almost none-existing smile tugged on his lips. Minutes later, what most would view to be the impossible happened, Sasuke was chuckling, sure it was nothing compared to Naruto and Sakura. His laughter was soft, muffled between his hand which he immediately clamped over his mouth at the signs of a smile, he had even turned away from the two, who in any case, were too engaged in their own glee to notice his own.

If anyone were to stumble upon this sight, they certainly wouldn't think twice before labeling the three off as lunatics, and honestly, Sakura wouldn't blame them. They were – after all – three – yup Sasuke may think she hadn't noticed, but nothing escapes her all-seeing eyes – teenagers laughing as if there was no tomorrow, in the middle of a forest, which was located in practically nowhere. It definitely wasn't the most common of sights, but at that moment, Sakura felt true happiness. The kind she hadn't been able to reach for months. They didn't even know what they were laughing about!

Maybe her team really were the perfect distractions for her.

…

"Now they're all late" Tsunami noted worriedly, setting down a plate of grilled fish in front of Kakashi while eyeing him, in what she believed to be a discreet manner. She couldn't believe this man was so relaxed while his students were in the middle of a forest at night most likely killing themselves with nonstop practice!

Just as Tsunami was about to give in to the worry gnawing at her conscious and demanded that the seemingly relaxed Sensei go retrieve his student – however, unbeknown to her, Kakashi was already looking over his student, through a shadow clone – the rickety door was slammed open, which wasn't the wisest of ideas, considering how it appeared ready to fall off its hinges at any given moment.

And there, at the now open doorway, stood three, exhausted yet satisfied, Gunnin. One student in particular also looked irritated, but the wave family had already established at that time that irritation seemed to be a fixed look for the Uchiha that is when he didn't have a completely emotionless mask on. However, as certain silver-haired Junnin immediately took notice and found great amusement at how a tick mark seemed to appear on his forehead as he gazed at his teammates. Though, as much as he could try to deny it, Kakashi couldn't help but share a bit of his irritation.

On the left side stood Sasuke, his arms crossed and glaring and his blonde and pink haired teammates. Scratches and scars littered his body, but overall, he seemed fine, the same could be said for the blonde of the group, Naruto, who stood on Sasuke's right.

Now, you must be wondering where Sakura stood, right?

On the very right?

On the very left?

In the middle?

In front?'

Behind?

If any of those were similar to what you were thinking, then I regret to inform, you are sorely mistaken. Sakura, in fact, was not even standing. She was being carried on Naruto's back.

"Hey, Sasuke Kun!" Sakura called out, running to join the male that didn't even bother to turn around and face her. Her legs screamed as she forced herself to move quicker in order to keep up with her stiff teammate, leaving Naruto behind.

Sakura hadn't a single clue, what compelled her to say the following words. Maybe the satisfaction of finally completing that exercise had given her some kind of high? Maybe it was the want for a distraction? Sakura wasn't completely sure, but that didn't seem to stop her.

"How about you give me a piggy back ride?"

It was a childish request, and the slightly whiny tone in her voice and the pout she used didn't seem to lower from the immature nature the request seemed to exude.

Sasuke froze for a moment, the thought lingering in his mind for a moment longer than it should have. His muscles tensed up, and his fast steps flattered, but he quickly willed himself to continue, scoffing at the pinkette.

Sakura flinched back slightly as she processed what she had asked for. Her relationship with Sasuke had only recently been reaching a level where he could at least tolerate her presence. Well, he didn't immediately abandon the mist village's market when he has seen her there – as he had done long ago when they bumped into each other in a restaurant back in the Leaf village – he had even walked back to Tazuna's house with her, well a few feet away from her, but they were taking the same road nonetheless.

'We were heading to the same location…'

'…I like the idea of Sasuke following us because he was worried for us more…'

'Well I don't, I thought we agreed that we weren't going to be the damsel in distress anymore Inner. The first step in believing we're strong is acknowledging we have the "potential" and we aren't exactly doing that by wishing some guy was following us home to make sure we didn't get hurt.'

'But Sasuke-Kun isn't just "some guy" …'

'…'

'So, what are you proposing? We give up on our love for Sasuke-Kun?!'

'…no'

'Then what?'

'Maybe we can just tone it down a bit...just for the time being, just until we get strong'

'…I guess you're right'

'And this applies to all other guys as well!'

'WHAT?! ARE YOU CRAZY?!'

'Come on Inner, we have to make sacrifices if we want to get stronger.'

'Haven't you made enough sacrifices?'

'…'

'I'm sorry…and fine'

'Trust me Inner, we are stronger in no time'

'I mean, I bet that Sasuke will tolerate nothing less than a strong spouse'

'INNER!'

"Why don't I give you a piggyback ride Sakura-chan?!" Naruto inquired excitedly as he ran towards her, throwing his arm casually around her neck. His is pools of blue shined with unhidden enthusiasm, and affection, something that had Sakura's face flushing and causing her to take a few steps away from the blonde, hoping that by putting some distance between then she would be able to calm down her suddenly red face.

"Oh no, you don't have to you idiot" Sakura insisted, the playful insult coming out on its own accord. Sakura flinched, it was obvious that she had intended for the word to be playful and she was pretty sure Naruto wasn't affected by this kind of stuff and probably took it just as light-heartedly as she had intended to put it if not more. However, she still felt guilty. She didn't want to be one of the people that took advantage of Naruto's kindness. She didn't know if she could live with herself knowing she had taken advantage of the poor boy's kind heart.

While mentally scolding herself for the foolish slip of the tongue, Sakura caught a glance of the blonde. He looked as if he wanted to protest but it appeared as if some kind of realization set upon him, as he suddenly seemed to lose hope, clumping his lips shut in a tight line and casting his head downward.

'What did you expect idiot? She asked Sasuke not you…'

This one of the rare moments that Sakura had ever seen Naruto appear discouraged. It was safe to say she hated the sight.

"You know what?" Sakura trailed off, kicking the sand below her feet and looking everywhere but Naruto, trying to look as inconspicuous and innocent as possible. "I do feel tired. I might take you up on that offer after all?"

The aura of sadness and depression that had seemed to set over Naruto vanished in an instant, making Sakura question if he had even felt sad, to begin with, or if it were all an act, to begin with, but she didn't have much time to dwell on it as Naruto had appeared in front of her instantly, crouching down in front of her with his back to her and gesturing excitedly for her to hop on.

'I could have sworn he had a rain cloud over his head a moment ago'

'…Don't question it, it's easier that way

Shrugging, Sakura decided to take her inner's advice, she really didn't need a headache right now. Slowly, she brought her hands to wrap around Naruto's neck, somehow missing how Sasuke also halted in his tracks and was watching them with narrow eyes.

"Before I do this, I must warn you, I've been eating an awful lot lately" Sakura exclaimed. It was a plain lie and everyone in the group knew it. Sakura had been eating a significantly lesser amount of food ever since she had arrived at the wave, even before that. The team hadn't a clue why, it didn't seem like one of those diet plans she used to follow religiously, she'd always proudly mention if she was dieting. Yet, this time she never outright refused the food. She'd accept it then sneakily dump onto someone else's plate. She always tried to change the subject when some insisted she ate. Sometimes it seemed like she didn't even realize what she was doing, but her team sure as hell did. And they didn't like it one bit.

In the midst of his excitement – which Sakura has yet to understand why he was so excited, he was just going to carry her on his back, it sounded more like a chore than something fun – Naruto merely shook his head, letting out a few sounds of disagreement before beckoning her to climb on his back, which Sakura did.

Jumping on the orange-clad boy's back, Sakura could honestly admit she was surprised when the boy jumped onto his feet and began running, passing Sasuke – who seemed to be frozen in his spot with a killer aura around him for some reason – in record time.

'Are we really that light?'

'You don't sound so happy…'

'It means we don't eat enough! We need to eat if we want to get stronger!'

'…you sound like Naruto and Sasuke'

Sakura shuddered at the thought, she loved the male members of team seven, she truly did, but she'd rather not be compared to those two numbskulls intelligence wise. However, her goal was to be on the same level as them strength and power wise. Or maybe even beyond them…

Upon stepping foot in the cramped house, Naruto seemed to lose his footing, stumbling and eventually plummeting to the floor. Since she was still one Naruto's back when he fell, Sakura ended up falling on top of him, in a very suggestive position.

As Naruto lay on his back on the worn-out wooden floor, Sakura sat on his stomach straddling him, with her hands sprawled over his chest. It took a few minutes for both of them to realize what kind of position they were in. They both flushed red, and Sakura was about to jump off the blonde but it seemed she had taken too long, that or a certain Uchiha was too impatient and REALLY didn't like public display of affection.

Sakura got ready to push herself up only to feel a hand wrap around the back of her shirt pulling her up by the garment but somehow managing not to strangle her. In a matter of seconds, Sakura found herself standing beside her long-time crush, wondering if she really was so light that teammate can pull her up like a freaking rag doll.

…

Author note: This chapter was more on the short and uneventful side. I just thought you guys, as the readers, might appreciate a deviation from the constant adventures and might enjoy a bit of "fluff" this is a MultiSaku after all.

I know I'm not making much progress with posting on a somewhat constant schedule and my updates have become slower but I'm trying my best with all the things I'm currently juggling. I hope you can understand.

Am I making inner interject too much? Cause I feel that it's making the story lean towards the informal side, though I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll try to update the eleventh chapter soon (no promises though) and it'll hopefully be the beginning of the fight with Zabuza! Also, helpful criticism is always appreciated!