Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews you all left for the last chapter. A special thanks to all those who admitted to never usually reviewing but who kindly took the time to leave a comment. You have no idea how happy you made me! I'm going to set aside some time to reply to everyone's reviews, but just wanted to express my heartfelt thanks here too. And to all my regular reviewers, you're all as awesome as ever. Here's a quick update to express my gratitude, and also as something of a little Christmas treat. Hope you enjoy the start of some serious SasuSaku action! Can anyone guess the theme of this chapter? Hint, the title is a major giveaway!
Chapter X: Possession
You'll be possessed, Little Blossom,
By the last of a cursed line,
Whether now or later,
It shall happen in time.
He does not yet perceive it,
Yet the foundations are laid,
From the way he shields you,
For your safety he'd slay.
And threat is marked in crimson eyes,
When others seek to advance and try,
To win your favour and affection,
It draws his displeasure, his angry attention.
He is the Tempest that brews high in the sky,
Looming over your head, arranged to strike,
To bolt out the ones who push their luck,
Those fools will fall, swift and quick.
For no other can claim you,
Yet he does not perceive,
Why their amorous intentions,
Cause him such unease.
You are closer than you know.
Try to leave – he won't let go.
.'Flashback"'
She'd always felt out of place amongst them, overshadowed and eclipsed by the two offspring of legendary entities; Sasuke of the prestigious Uchiha clan, and Naruto, the only child of Namikaze Minato, the great Fourth Hokage himself. By default their respective lineages had set them up for greatness from birth. They would take their places amongst the stars in time. They'd rewrite history together. Who was she, Haruno Sakura, in comparison? She was a girl from an ordinary, civilian family who'd been determined to play kunoichi from a young age, and had had to work exceptionally hard to make it. She'd had no blood limit to call her own. Consequently, Sakura was always watching her teammates' backs, observing them from the side-lines, always powerless to stop their quarrels and disputes. Her two most precious people understood each other best on the battlefield, and there was no place for her when they talked with angry fists. They did not see her. In the violent, hostile heat of battle, she did not exist.
But now the war had been won, and she was anxious to go to them. Kakashi's light yet restraining hand rested on her right shoulder, because he knew that without its rein she would have thrown herself into the burning wreckage of the battle zone long ago.
"Naruto…Sasuke-kun," she whispered fearfully, hands clasped tightly above her heart. They'd received word from one of Naruto's toad summons that the fight was over, but that had been almost ten minutes prior. Had Madara somehow pulled one final, deadly attack, a secret jutsu that neither Naruto nor Sasuke had anticipated? What if they'd been caught off their guards? What if they both lay in pools of blood at that very moment…? Sakura gulped, severing the thought. She had to remain positive. She'd told herself that she would believe in them, and she did, with every fibre of her being.
A sudden explosion of wind and lightning energy shot up over the horizon, causing Sakura to scream and the other faces of Konoha's future to gasp and murmur in alarm. A blaze of fire and smoke billowed after, and Sakura was all at once frantic.
"Kakashi-sensei, what's happening?" she whipped her head around to look to her teacher, who was gazing out at the skyline with a lone, exhausted eye. When he gave her no response, Sakura felt her blood turn to ice. Kakashi always had the answers. What did it mean that he had remained silent…?
The minutes dragged by, and with every second that passed Sakura's anxiety grew, until it became impossible to contain. With no warning she shot forward, catching Kakashi by surprise.
"Sakura!"
"Sakura!"
"Sakura-san!"
She barely heard the startled calls of her friends and elders. Kakashi was following her, she knew, and soon fell into place beside her. She felt a measure of reassurance; that somehow everything would be alright as long as Kakashi accompanied her. They ran, for what seemed like an age, when they were both brought to an abrupt halt by the sudden appearance of two silhouettes in the smoky distance. A gust of wind cleared the haze for a brief moment, and Sakura gasped at what she glimpsed. Both Naruto and Sasuke were limping forward, Naruto heavily supporting his friend. Their pace was devastatingly slow, their movements laboured, and alarm bells were ringing deafeningly in Sakura's ears at the sight. She and Kakashi raced toward the struggling pair at super speed, and when they finally closed the distance, Sasuke fell forward, pulling an exhausted, wounded Naruto down with him. Both their faces were stained with ash, grime and cuts that were still bleeding.
"Sakura!" Kakashi called to her, but she was already at her teammates' sides, medically trained eyes scanning over their injuries. She reached for Naruto first, the subconscious fear of Sasuke that still lingered causing her to do so, but he gently pushed her hand away, gasping.
"Sasuke- help Sasuke!"
She didn't need to be told twice. With trembling hands she examined him, biting down on her lower lip when she discovered the worst of his wounds; a deep, angry stab injury to the left side of his stomach. So much blood…a quick glance at Sasuke's disorientated face informed her that he was on the verge of slipping into unconsciousness. But as she summoned healing chakra to her fingertips, Sasuke suddenly stirred, hand swiping at hers in a weak attempt to ward her off.
"Leave it!" he wheezed through clenched teeth. Sakura stared at him, aghast. He didn't want to be healed? But why?
"Don't make me beat you to death, you bastard!" Naruto growled. "Not now that we finally understand each other! Do it, Sakura-chan!"
Kakashi held a protesting Sasuke's arms at bay as Sakura set to work, a look of utter resolve on her face. Naruto and Sasuke would always outshine her, but this, at least, was something she could do. She was the one who supported them, the cement that helped hold Team 7 together. And she wouldn't let them down when they needed her most.
She concentrated, perspiration beading her brow, as she closed the most grievous of Sasuke's damages. It took ten minutes and she was near exhaustion by the time she was done. Kakashi remained behind Sasuke, allowing the raven-haired young Uchiha to lean back against him.
"You did well, Naruto, Sasuke," their sensei commended, before lapsing back into thoughtful silence as Sasuke released a derisive snort, then winced from the resulting ache in his chest. Sakura knew he would need to rest for a significant amount of time to completely recuperate; she'd only tended to the most life-threatening of injuries, and he'd require extra follow-up treatment once they returned to Konoha.
The thought of Sasuke in Konoha again almost drove her to distraction, but she soon pulled her thoughts together and turned to Naruto, who offered her a fatigued but triumphant grin. She could read the unspoken message in his eyes; they had won, and Sasuke was back amongst them at last.
A surge of warmth swelled in Sakura's heart as a depth of love and fondness stronger than any other feeling of amity she'd ever felt toward the blond shinobi overcame her at that moment. He was her hero in more ways than he knew. Tears prickled at her eyes as she set to work on him, and she was all too conscious of the weight of Sasuke's stare as he looked on in silence. But she refused to return his heavy-lidded gaze, focusing all her attention on assisting Naruto's wounds to close faster. She didn't have to exert as much as she had on Sasuke, for the kyuubi's chakra was already working to seal many of the abrasions. When she was done, she slid her arms around Naruto, who stiffened in surprise, before relaxing into her hold.
"Hey, Sakura-chan," Naruto murmured in a muffled, sly voice against her shoulder, "Now that I'm a real hero, how about we go on a real date?"
Sakura spluttered, surprised at the arbitrariness of his suggestion and shoved him away. He howled dramatically in protest. "Idiot!" she censured, but only half-heartedly, smiling helplessly at him. She then paused, feeling eyes burning intently into her, and turned her head just in time to see Sasuke avert his gaze. To the world he appeared nonchalant, withdrawn, but to Sakura he just looked sullen and resigned. Naruto was looking at him too, and then glanced pointedly at Sakura, who bit her lower lip anxiously. When her blond teammate nodded encouragingly, she shook her head, apprehensive. The last time she had stood so close to Sasuke, he had grabbed her by the throat with the intention of terminating her life. At their limited, subsequent meetings she had kept a carefully calculated distance from him and allowed Naruto to do most of the talking.
But now Naruto was looking at her with clear blue eyes that screamed at her to follow the instructions of her heart and not the cautions of her mind. They both knew she had waited so long for the window of opportunity that now beckoned to her. Shakily, she slid back over to Sasuke, her heart galloping wildly within her. His heavy lashed eyes darted back to her immediately, but his expression remained guarded and, she thought sadly, a little mistrustful. Yet how could she blame him? It hadn't been so long ago when they'd both tried to eliminate one another in respective moments of madness.
"I'm glad you're alright, Sasuke-kun," she said earnestly, hoping he could read the genuine sentiment in her eyes. His bottomless onyx orbs searched hers for a moment, before he averted his gaze once again.
"Hn," was all he offered dismissively, and Sakura's heart ached. She didn't dare to move closer, to do what her heart yearned for, to throw her arms around Sasuke and to hold him close and tight, the way she had done so often back when they'd been Genin. Yet she couldn't summon the courage to do so, was terrified of how he might respond. A weighty pause ensued, which prompted Kakashi to raise an eyebrow. Naruto and Sasuke had seemingly settled their issues on the battlefield, but the tension between Sakura and Sasuke was palpable, hung heavily in the air like a thick, smothering cloud of smoke. He made note of how guarded and rigid Sasuke's body language was toward the girl he had always permitted to hang on his arm as a child, and how nervous Sakura looked in proximity to him.
Things had changed, the renowned copy ninja wearily acknowledged. The question remained, would things ever revert back to resemble the days of old? He hadn't lost hope for his students; with time, and with Naruto and Sakura's good influence, he was optimistic that Sasuke would come back around.
A multitude of blurred forms suddenly alighted into existence, causing the original members of Team 7 to tense as the masked faces of a platoon of ANBU guards encircled them. Kakashi was on his feet in an instant. Naruto ignored his aching, screaming limbs and jumped up in turn, jaw clenched, ready for confrontation if necessary. Sakura shifted to crouch in front of Sasuke, as if to bodily shield him from what they all knew was coming.
"We must ask you to step aside, Kakashi-san, Naruto, Sakura." The tallest guard who they assumed was the leader of the unit informed then. "We have a warrant to arrest Uchiha Sasuke for crimes committed against Konoha."
"Crimes?" Naruto echoed. "It's Konoha that's committed crimes against him!"
"Please," Sakura pleaded, "He needs medical attention at the hospital, this can surely wait until-"
"Negative," the leader cut in. "He is to accompany us immediately to the Hokage's office."
"Like hell we're letting you take him!" Naruto snarled, hands balling into angry fists.
The ANBU guards unsheathed their weapons, and then Sakura was on her feet too. Kakashi held up a hand to dispel the tension that had rapidly escalated.
"Naruto, Sakura," he said pointedly. To the ANBU, he entreated, "Please put away your weapons. There is no need for them; Sasuke is out of chakra and is no longer a threat."
The ANBU glanced uncertainly at each other, awaiting instruction from their leader. Even a chakra-depleted Sasuke was unpredictable and dangerous in their eyes.
"Rest assured that we will take Sasuke to Lady Tsunade ourselves, just as soon as he is patched up at the hospital," Kakashi added. "I will supervise this personally."
"How do we know you'll really take him there?" the leader demanded mistrustfully. "He's your old student, after all, and it's natural for you to want to protect him."
"You have my word," Kakashi replied evenly.
Sasuke was glaring heatedly at Kakashi, but wisely chose to remain silent. The ANBU leader regarded the young Uchiha for a long moment, before returning his dagger to its scabbard. His unit mimicked his action, visibly relaxing.
"Very well then. Hatake Kakashi, we expect you to report to the Hokage's office, with Sasuke, three hours from now."
"Affirmative," Kakashi replied. The ANBU leader nodded, and then he and his unit disappeared as swiftly and silently as they had arrived.
"Bastards," Naruto hissed after them. Kakashi gave him a look that told him to let his old sensei handle such affairs, and then all three of them turned to look back down at Sasuke, still seated on the dusty earth. He looked petulant and proud, and a little indignant at the fact that he'd just allowed himself to be defended so openly.
"Well, Sasuke?" Kakashi said lightly, as he and Naruto held out their hands to the last survivor of the Uchiha clan, in a token full of warmth and acceptance, ready to take him home at last. Sakura clasped her hands over her fluttering heart, breath seized in hope, as their sensei added, "Shall we?"
.'End/Flashback"'
Toru clutched anxiously onto the clump of common lawn flowers in his grasp. If he'd had any idea that Yamanaka Ino would ambush him at the end of his hospital shift and intimidate him into approaching Haruno Sakura, he would have never bothered crawling out of bed that morning.
"Thank Sakura," Ino's parting words echoed in his mind, "And while you're at it, they're opening a new ward in two days, aren't they? You're pretty familiar with the layout; why not ask Sakura if she'd like a tour of the place? She's been curious to see it for months!"
Her suggestions were easier said than done. But Ino wasn't the sort of girl who took no for an answer. Toru's grey eyes shifted up from the cobbled road he'd been staring at deploringly, to rest on the back of the dark-haired young shinobi known as Sai, walking a few footfalls ahead of him. The junior doctor was a little unnerved by how pale in complexion Sai was, and even more disturbed by the strange smile that seemed permanently plastered on the youth's face, not to mention the small matter of the ink creations he was able to paint and bring so effortlessly to life.
Toru silently prayed that Sai wouldn't succeed in locating Sakura. He couldn't think of anything more humiliating than having to face his secret crush, only to have rejection thrown at him. He winced at the very thought; better to be oblivious to Sakura's true opinions of him, if she even harboured any at all, than to confront painful reality. He wondered if she had even noticed how she captured his attention whenever she breezed into a room he occupied. She was so fair and lovely, the very personification of springtime.
Ino had certainly noticed his staring, he thought miserably. That was why he was in his current predicament to begin with.
His heart leapt in his chest as Sai came to a sudden halt before him. "I have located Sakura," he informed Toru. "Two o'clock, at a distance of five minutes."
Toru stared at him in confusion. Why was Sai mentioning the time, and the wrong one at that? He wasn't familiar with ninja jargon. When the dark-haired shinobi turned expectantly to him, and acknowledged the blank look on the unfortunate stranger's face, he gestured to one of his ink creations.
"It will lead you to her."
Toru wanted to do nothing more than to turn and run as far away as he could. But he didn't doubt that Ino would land him in a great deal of trouble if he acted upon his understandable impulse. Sighing heavily in defeat and shaking his head, he trailed obediently after the ink rat.
Following on from his brief encounter with Sasuke, Lee had rendezvoused with Ino at the designated meeting point behind a particularly grand horse chestnut tree.
"Well?" Ino questioned, soft blue eyes mirroring her impatient anticipation.
Lee stared at her for a long moment, still wholly uncertain as to the logic behind his assigned mission. "I located Sasuke," he informed her.
Ino leaned forward. "And?" she prodded breathlessly.
"And Sakura-san was not accompanying him," Lee replied.
Ino clapped her hands together in delight. "That must mean she hasn't located him yet. Perfect! We still have some time!" She whirled around, before spinning back to Lee abruptly, her flying golden tresses whipping him in the face and causing him to splutter in protest as she did so.
"Oh! The most important part! What did Sasuke-kun do?"
"What did Sasuke do?" Lee echoed blankly.
Ino rolled her eyes in exasperation. "What did Sasuke-kun do when he saw you looking for Sakura?"
"Nothing," Lee said. It was the truth; Sasuke hadn't actually done anything he wouldn't usually do; he'd worn the same nonchalant look that had edged on a scowl upon seeing him, but Lee was used to receiving that kind of hospitality from the stoic Uchiha.
"Nothing?" Ino repeated. "He didn't say anything to you?"
Lee rested his chin thoughtfully atop a fist. What had Sasuke said to him exactly? He couldn't recall much from their short exchange. Ino was ready to pull her lovely hair out in frustration as Lee's contemplative silence dragged on, when Konoha's Green Beast perked up in sudden recollection.
"Ah! That was is! I believe he told me to "get lost"!"
A small, conniving smile began to work its way onto Ino's rosy lips. "How?" she pounced. "How did he say it? Was he annoyed?"
Lee let out a dejected sigh. "Sasuke is always so discourteous to me, when I have nothing but respect for him-" he broke off, for Ino had grabbed onto his arm and was shaking him excitedly.
"Don't you see, Lee? Don't you see why?"
Poor Lee couldn't see much from the aggressive way Ino was shaking him.
"He considers you a threat! Of course he does! He's noticed the way you pay Sakura attention and he doesn't like it!" She released a high-pitched squeal of laughter. "Oh, this is so perfect!"
"What? Ino-san, I don't quite follow-" Lee's world was spinning by the time the kunoichi relinquished her grip on him.
"You're his rival!" Ino exclaimed.
"Ah- n-no, I think you are confused, because that would be Naruto-"
"Naruto's just his rival in the battlefield. You," Ino jabbed her index finger into Lee's chest, "are his rival in love!"
Lee stared at her with his odd eyes. His thick eyebrows scrunched together as he processed her words, before rising animatedly. "His rival in love? But- that would mean-"
"Exactly!" Ino grinned. "He knows you have a chance at stealing Sakura out from right under his nose," she tapped her own little nose pointedly as she said this, before finishing, "and that's why he's always so defensive around you!"
Lee shook his head in confusion. Sasuke surely didn't feel that way toward Sakura, did he? Lee desperately hoped not, because then he really wouldn't stand a chance. "She is Sasuke's teammate. He doesn't hold the Passion of Youth for Sakura-san in his heart. Not like I do," he sighed wistfully, shoulders slumping. "What must I do to make her acknowledge me? I've already done one hundred press-ups a day for one hundred days, two hundred and fifty seven laps around Konoha in a week…am I not youthful enough?"
Ino bit her lower lip, manipulative mind already bounding ten steps ahead. But the plan that had progressively presented itself to her while Lee had been uttering his sorrowful little speech was a cruel one that would require Lee to partake in a scenario that could very well end up with him hurt, depending on how an unstable Sasuke reacted.
For Sakura, Ino thought, dismissing the fleeting guilt she'd experienced for a fraction of a moment. For every great cause, sacrifices had to be made, and Lee had to be one of them, because how he felt toward Sakura made him perfect for the job.
"Lee," Ino began in an innocent tone of voice, to which the dark-haired young shinobi was unfortunately oblivious. "What if I told you that there's a definite way to get Sakura to notice you…?"
Lee met her eyes directly and blinked.
Sasuke kicked a stray stone aside. The path he'd chosen had finally led him back to one of the more open, central streets in the village, and as he stepped onto it, his body tensed at the sound of a familiar, feminine voice calling his name.
"Sasuke-kun!"
His eyes, which had been following the lines of the cobbled stones beneath his feet, rose to find Sakura jogging toward him. He stopped, hands stuffed in pockets, as she joined him, a little breathless from exertion.
"I've been searching everywhere for you!" she exclaimed, greatly relieved to find that he hadn't returned to his apartment after all. "I thought you'd gone home already," she let out a nervous little laugh, and Sasuke didn't miss the way she seemed to deliberately avoid his gaze. "I thought I was in trouble for a moment- if Tsunade-shishou found out I'd lost tabs on you she'd-"
Sasuke began to walk forward again, not waiting for her to finish. Sakura's voice trailed off, and she looked sadly after him. How like Sasuke to completely and effortlessly destroy all the progress she and Naruto had believed they'd been making prior to the disastrous events that had unfolded that day.
"I-I guess we should head back now," she said softly, following dutifully after him. She didn't expect a response and wasn't surprised when Sasuke offered none. They walked in silence for a while, and Sakura chewed unhappily on her lower lip the whole way. Talking with Sasuke about nothing in particular had always come so easily to her in the past. Why couldn't she summon any words now? Why was she so hesitant, and almost disinclined, to start a conversation? She'd never had a problem with him ignoring her before.
That was the precise issue, Sakura knew. Before she had been a child, and blinded by childish infatuation. She'd been full of boundless optimism that Sasuke would, someday, somehow, come around and return her interest. Her older, wiser self didn't share such optimism. Now every rebuff, every harsh rebuke, every stony silence Sasuke directed at her cut at her very core, crushed her pride and self-esteem.
Sasuke cared for her as a teammate and a friend at most. That was all. She had to get the reality through her thick skull, sooner rather than later, for choosing to wait for an unyielding Sasuke would bring her nothing but heartache.
She trudged slowly after the reticent young Uchiha, her petite shoulders hunched up in a way that openly betrayed her inner insecurity when walking in the shadow of an unreceptive, unreachable Sasuke.
Toru's breath caught sharply in his throat as he rounded the corner of the alleyway. Just up ahead, walking away from him was the familiar, unmistakable form of Haruno Sakura. The sight of her caused instant panic to explode within him and he hesitated, fingers tightening worriedly around the flowers. Maybe he didn't have to do this. Maybe he didn't care if he got in trouble. Maybe Ino was bluffing and he was about to make a fool of himself for no reason whatsoever. Maybe she wouldn't even find out that he hadn't done as she'd ordered.
A tiny squeak at his feet notified him that Sai's ink creation was still by his side. Any hopes of Ino not finding out were promptly squashed. Toru looked back toward Sakura, growing farther and farther away. He wasn't usually the particularly shy type, but when it came to Sakura he lost the ability to string a coherent sentence together. What chance did a loser like him have of wooing one of the most well-known and desirable young kunoichi in the village?
No chance if you stand around so pathetically, Toru silently censured to his inner coward. What was the worst that could happen? Sakura was a kind and compassionate soul; the fact that she had chosen to specialise in saving lives was testament to that truth. It wasn't like he didn't have a reason to approach her; Ino had armed him with one. All he had to do was hand the Hokage's apprentice the stupid flowers, and then he'd be on his way. He could go back home and drown his misery out with a bottle of sake.
Heart pounding, he stepped forward.
Sakura had resorted to counting the number of steps it would take to reach Sasuke's apartment, to snuff out the tiny voice that pleaded with her to say something, anything, to Sasuke.
Fifty seven, fifty eight, fifty nine, sixty, sixty one…
"Sakura-san!"
She blinked at the sound of her name being called by a familiar voice that she couldn't immediately place. Turning, she was astonished to find the young trainee doctor who sometimes shared shifts with her from the hospital, approaching her at a rapid pace. When he finally reached her, he stood with an arm behind his back and offered her a rather nervous smile.
"H-hi," he greeted. His heart almost leapt out of his chest when she offered him a beautiful, genuine smile in return.
Toru, Sakura recalled his name, was an intelligent, hard-working young man, who was eager to pick up on knowledge. She'd sometimes spotted him in Konoha's recently expanded library, brushing up on his medical know-how.
"Toru-san," she said, tilting her head curiously at him. It was a surprise to see him, although not an entirely unwelcome one. He'd always seemed like a pleasant sort of person from the brief exchanges they'd shared over patients. A quick glance back over her shoulder notified her that Sasuke had stopped; his dark head was angled their way.
Toru knew he was openly gawking at Sakura. He couldn't help it; she was utterly gorgeous. When she turned her attention back to him, still smiling, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Uh, s-so, I heard that you missed out on being crowned winner of the Ribbon Race today," he said, parroting what he'd heard some nurses mention just an hour earlier.
"Oh," Sakura shrugged dismissively, inwardly wincing at the reminder of the madness she'd partaken in. "It's just a silly race."
"R-right," Toru agreed. He couldn't believe that he was actually holding some semblance of a conversation with her when his heart was pounding so hard that he was sure it was about to burst at any moment.
"Did you have a late shift today?" Sakura asked next, thrilling him by appearing genuinely interested. He was so engrossed in every word she was uttering and the way her face conveyed such expression as she spoke, that he failed to notice that he had now become the exclusive focus of the tall, dark-haired shinobi who was standing in the distance.
The brown-haired youth who had approached Sakura was unfamiliar to Sasuke, but his teammate obviously knew him. How well acquainted were they? It didn't matter to him anyway, thought Sasuke dismissively. The young Uchiha reasoned that the bespectacled fellow was likely just a colleague from the hospital; the guy certainly didn't have the posture and bearings of a ninja. He noted the odd way the stranger stood, with an arm behind his back, as if he were hiding something from view.
Sasuke stood hinged upon the scales of indecision; he knew the correct, polite, thing to do would be to turn around and continue walking slowly along his way, so that Sakura could catch up to him in her own time. But Sasuke had never been one for impeccable politeness; that had always been one of Itachi's strengths.
The fleeting thought of his older brother again made his already foul mood darken considerably. What he really wanted to do was flash-step home without anybody accompanying him, but he knew it would land both Sakura and Naruto in trouble, and for all his inexplicable irritation, particularly with Sakura today, he certainly didn't want either of them to be punished on his behalf.
Another, more annoying part of him hesitated at the thought of leaving Sakura alone with the sharp-featured stranger. Surely it wouldn't be right to depart when he didn't even know what the brown-haired young man was holding behind his back… What was taking Sakura so long anyway? What could they possibly be discussing?
"I, uh, got side-tracked on my way home," Toru was saying to Sakura. A furious blush spread across his cheeks as he sensed the time for taking the plunge and producing the flowers to Sakura was rapidly approaching. He suddenly wished that Ino had at least given him proper, respectable flowers, but it was too late to rue that fact now. "A-actually, Sakura-san, I wanted to, uh, well, I wanted to…"
He'd looked up at her, and suddenly noticed the lone figure that was standing ahead. From its distance, Toru couldn't make out who it was; a fellow ninja, perhaps? His eyes shifted nervously back to Sakura's bright, expectant, apple-green ones. They were so pretty, framed by lashes that seemed to tangle in places from their length.
He cleared his throat, before blurting, "I wanted to thank you for what you did the other day. You know," he paused, as Sakura directed an oblivious look at him. "Uh, the paperwork you sorted…yeah, I sort of, w-well I kind of had a lot to work with and might've mixed it up a little…" he offered her a strained little smile that manifested itself in the form of something more akin to a wince. Sakura stared at him for a long, awkward moment, before understanding finally dawned on her features.
"Oh! That was you? Haha!" she waved a hand dismissively. "That's alright, I mean, everybody makes mistakes don't they? Especially hospital staff, we're so overworked!"
Sasuke shifted his weight impatiently on his feet. Was Sakura coming or not? Irked at the time she was taking, he glared more pointedly at the brown-haired stranger. But it was no use; the bespectacled young man looked fully engrossed in his conversation with Sakura and obviously couldn't tear his eyes away from her. Sasuke didn't like the way he was staring at the medic-nin. He looked a little too absorbed.
A little too interested.
Toru felt some of the tension leave his shoulders at the pastel-haired healer's kind, empathising words. "Right- heh, yeah, I guess I had lots of cases going on and I had a little brain-lapse there."
Sakura thought that was completely understandable given the frequency of her own brain-lapses around Sasuke that day.
"Uh, w-well, anyway, so, you really helped me out then and I- well, I just wanted to say thanks-"
"Please, it was nothing!" Sakura smiled, thinking how awfully sweet and well-mannered the young trainee was to take the trouble to seek her out and thank her out of hours. "I just-" she broke off abruptly, for Toru had moved the arm he'd been hiding curiously behind him. Sakura stared in open mouthed surprise as he held out a collection of what seemed to be common lawn flowers.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, raising her left hand to her cheek.
"Theseareforyou," Toru explained hurriedly, words tumbling over one another. "I uh, I didn't have time to buy some proper ones s-so, uh, w-well, you get the point, I hope…?"
From the distance he was standing behind her, Sasuke straightened, his eyes narrowing marginally at the sight that met them. The brown-haired loser was offering Sakura what looked like a pathetic collection of weeds. What in the world was going on? A dark, burning feeling was slowly brewing to life in his chest, but Sasuke didn't acknowledge it as anything other than profound annoyance.
"Sakura," he called smoothly to her, in a tone that was perfectly level and expected her to comply with his unspoken demand for her to get moving. He didn't need to raise his voice for her to hear his words. She threw a nervous glance back over her shoulder at him.
"Y-yeah, just a second, Sasuke-kun!"
Sasuke was not impressed. Since when did Sakura keep him waiting? It had always been the other way around, and he didn't like it. In fact, he was all at once overwhelmed by a nagging, inexplicable need to know exactly what it was they were discussing. What was so important that he would be kept waiting? He was walking forward before he could reconsider, reasoning that he would just tell Sakura to hurry up when he reached her.
Sasuke-kun? As in, Uchiha Sasuke? Toru, who had been blushing feverishly, now blanched considerably. His poor nerves jangled with growing apprehension as the tall, commanding form of the young Uchiha began to stalk forward, drawing closer to them with every surely placed step.
"Toru-san, that's really…" Sakura struggled to find the correct words. "That's really, really nice of you! I-I mean, there was really no need-"
"Uh, y-yeah, there was, believe me," Toru muttered, eyes darting anxiously back to the rapidly approaching Sasuke. "Please accept them," So I can go home and just forget about this complete and utter humiliation, he silently added.
Sakura, you idiot, who cares if he probably picked them from the lawn right outside the hospital, just take the flowers! Sakura mentally berated herself, and blushing, reached out, accepting the chaotically arranged mass of flora. It didn't matter that it was the most pathetic-looking excuse of a bouquet she had ever seen; it was the thought that counted.
Toru let out his breath in relief. There. His job was done. He didn't need to stick around and say anything else to Sakura, but he'd noted the charming shade of pink that had blossomed to life on her cheeks and a small, tiny part of him was suddenly full of foolish young hope.
He had no idea of knowing that his decision to act on impulse would further ignite the displeasure of the last of the Uchiha clan, who was already peeved by the charade that was carrying on before his very eyes.
"Uh- y-you know the new ward's opening soon, r-right?" Toru said. Sasuke had reached them, and now stood behind Sakura. The manner in which he was staring at Toru, in frosty silence, unnerved the poor junior doctor even more than talking to Sakura did. He tried to keep his gaze focused on the kunoichi as he verbalised his offer, but his eyes kept darting nervously to an intimidating-looking Sasuke.
"I-I w-was wondering if you'd, uh, y'know, like- I could show you around- s-sometime- on the day it opens, I mean," he swallowed at the way Sasuke's eyes seemed to narrow fractionally at that, before finishing, "i-if you'd like that, S-Sakura-san."
Sakura had noticed the way Toru's eyes had been jumping erratically from her face, to the person standing behind her. She could feel Sasuke's distinctive chakra signature, rolling heavily like a smothering thundercloud, and with a hostility that set prickles of unease spiking through her body. She stood, tense and rigid, feeling horribly sorry for Toru, and a little cross with Sasuke. Whether he intended to or not, Sakura hadn't missed the way he seemed to terrorise the life out of any guy who innocently chose to engage her in conversation. Just what, exactly, was his problem?
She offered Toru her brightest smile, and noticed how he seemed to perk up at it. Suddenly her mind was jumping to silly conclusions; did Toru actually like her? Or was he just being polite?
"That'd be nice," she replied. "I've been bothering Ino about seeing it for a while now, I can't wait until it opens. Just two more days!"
She didn't notice the way Toru stiffened at the mention of the blonde kunoichi's name. He added, as a brave afterthought, "Th-then maybe we can go together to the grand opening, since the Hokage herself is going to do the honours-"
"She has a mission," Sasuke cut in bitingly, stepping up to stand beside Sakura, completely shattering the hope that had been cresting in Toru's heart.
Sakura twisted her head to gape openly at Sasuke. Of course, he was right; she'd almost completely forgotten that she'd be out of the village on medical duty in two days; but it was the fact that Sasuke had chosen to articulate it that astonished her.
"O-oh- w-well," Toru deflated, and actually took a step back, as if Sasuke had threatened to punch him in the face if he didn't. "Th-that's too bad. I-I guess- I guess we could- I'll just show you when- when you get back."
"That'd be great," Sakura replied kindly, but she was inwardly furious at Sasuke for interfering. It wasn't like him to do so. She shot an accusing look at him, which to her dismay, was completely overlooked.
"I-uh, I guess I'd better g-get going, then," Toru stammered. The stark, warning look in Sasuke's eyes suggested that he wholeheartedly agreed. The trainee doctor bowed politely in parting, "Good evening Sakura-san…U-Uchiha-san," with that, he began to retreat, taking quick, nervous steps backward.
"Thank you for the flowers!" Sakura called, waving after him. The poor youth almost tripped up over his own two feet as he waved back, before turning to dash hastily out of sight.
Sasuke felt the beginnings of a disdainful sneer tugging at one corner of his lips. He promptly obliterated it, replacing it with his default, nonchalant expression, and turned his back, satisfied that Sakura would now follow after him. After a brief pause, he heard the heels of her sandals clattering on the cobbled ground as she jogged to catch up to him.
"Sasuke-kun, why did you do that?" she demanded. She felt awful; Toru had obviously wanted to speak further, but Sasuke had decided that they'd spoken enough. What gave him the right to dictate that?
Sasuke blinked. "I did nothing," he replied flatly.
"Toru-san was just being nice, and you- you scared him off! He works with me at the hospital; it's not like he's a stranger!"
Sasuke didn't want to hear about how nice this 'Toru-san' was, or the justifications Sakura was offering about the outsider. The former nukenin came to an abrupt halt, nearly causing her to collide into him. Whipping his head around to direct an irate glare at her, he bit out acidly, "Have you forgotten, Sakura? I have a curfew." He uttered the final word with great emphasis, disgust dripping like deadly venom in his voice.
Sakura stared up at him with wide eyes, and he held her gaze for a brief moment, before spinning on his heel and continuing casually along his way, as if the little outburst hadn't happened at all. He seemed so furious, but why? Sakura was at an utter loss to explain the foulness of his mood, and raised her hands imploringly.
"But Sasuke-kun-" she broke off suddenly, for something had caught her eye; something bright and fat and markedly not flower-like. Crawling on the head of one of the white daisies was a huge, colourful bug. She screeched in alarm, and Sasuke turned back instantly, to find her waving the clump of flowers around in a desperate attempt to displace the insect.
"Eww, yuck, a bug, a bug!" she cried. Puffing out a breath in quiet exasperation, Sasuke reached out and swiftly snatched the pitiful excuse of a bouquet from her grasp. Sakura watched incredulously as he walked straight up to a small, public rubbish bin close by and promptly tossed the collection of flowers into it. Her jaw dropped as he shoved his hand back in his pocket and continued indifferently along the road. The medical kunoichi stood gaping after him, lips floundering like a fish, as she tried in vain to form the words on the tip of her tongue.
"S-Sasuke-kun!" she eventually spluttered. "It was just a bug! Why did you throw all the flowers away?" She was quite distraught at losing the flowers; they symbolised a sweet, thoughtful gesture, and being terribly sentimental, Sakura had actually planned on putting them in a vase when she returned home. That was until her raven-haired team-mate had decided it wasn't going to happen.
"They were weeds," Sasuke retorted frigidly, wholly unsympathetic to her open dismay. Sakura's jaw hung lower as she stared helplessly after him. Finally, she snapped out of her state of stupor and followed, calling bewilderedly after him.
"Sasuke-kun, wait! Sasuke-kun!"
Behind the safe retreat offered by a tree, Ino was hopping up and down excitedly after witnessing the scene that had just unfolded before her. The scenario had worked out even better than she'd anticipated, and for a moment she'd held her breath fearfully, certain that Sasuke had been ready to break Toru's glasses. But although the Uchiha hadn't physically confronted the trainee doctor, his body language had been threatening and the way he'd taken his place by Sakura's side had screamed possession to Ino. The blonde kunoichi released a delighted little squeal. The foundations were definitely there, and plain to see. Sasuke cared for Sakura. He clearly didn't like other men approaching her. Sakura loved Sasuke, despite what she claimed. The only thing the explosive equation was lacking was Sasuke realising the depth of his feelings for the pastel-haired medic-nin. Their reaction required a catalyst. And Ino had always loved being the mover and shaker of situations.
She turned her attention back to the two dark-haired shinobi who'd been spying with her.
"What is our next course of action?" Sai questioned.
"Do I get to prove myself to Sakura-san now?" Lee blinked.
"Patience is a virtue!" Ino hummed. Throwing countless admirers into Sakura's path was perhaps effective in irritating Sasuke at most, but Ino knew that he'd effortlessly succeed in intimidating them away each time. She needed a more physical plan, something that would require Sasuke to actually touch Sakura. What better way to get him to come to terms with the reality that he was physically attracted to her?
"Alright you two, here's the plan. Watching from the side-lines is so boring, so we're going to mix it up a bit! Ooh, this'll be so much fun!" she grinned.
"Why don't I like the sound of that?" a new voice droned wearily from behind her. Ino gasped, and whirled around to find none other than Shikamaru, standing with his hands in his pockets, and an extremely wary expression on his face.
"Shikamaru!" she exclaimed, caught off-guard. She'd been so engrossed in her scheming that she hadn't picked up on his familiar chakra signature. "What are you doing here?"
The Nara genius cast a critical eye over Sai and Lee, before returning his gaze to Ino. He'd stayed at Ichiraku's for a while, and watched Naruto and Chouji battle it out for the title of who could eat the most (Shikamaru had thought it was pretty obvious that it was one battle Naruto would definitely lose), before rising to find his meddling girlfriend. "Making sure you don't do anything troublesome. Sasuke isn't one to mess around with, Ino."
"We're not messing him around," Ino defended. "Well," she added, as an afterthought, "Not much."
"Ino…" Shikamaru sighed. "You should let them deal with their issues in private."
"What!" Ino screeched in response. "If I did that, they'd never get together!"
"Perhaps they aren't meant to be," Shikamaru replied, not holding much hope that he could actually convince his girlfriend to drop the matter. After all, Ino was renowned for being outrageously stubborn.
"You don't really think that!" Ino argued.
Shikamaru didn't, but that was beside the point. A memory from long ago echoed in his mind, a small, private exchange he'd witnessed between Sasuke and Sakura back when they had been Genin, in which Sasuke had given, intentionally or not, a degree of verbal precedence to Sakura.
"I can't forgive even you if you take that away from me."
It was Sasuke's inclusion of 'even you' that had caught Shikamaru's notice at the time. On his subsequent observations of the two interacting, he had been convinced of how protective Sasuke was toward his delicate teammate. But how far those feelings of camaraderie had run exactly, he couldn't tell. Sasuke was a notoriously difficult individual to decipher.
They were older and wiser now, and while it was still plain for Shikamaru to see that Sasuke did indeed care for Sakura, he wasn't comfortable with the idea of pushing the two together. Who knew how Sasuke would react? Besides, with Ino's involvement, things had the potential of going disastrously wrong, and Shikamaru didn't want to see Sakura emotionally hurt. He didn't much like the thought of trying to keep a murderous Sasuke at bay once he found out who'd orchestrated the entire idea, either.
He placed his hands onto Ino's slender shoulders, looking her straight in the eye as he did so. "Ino," he said to her, and she grew quiet at the seriousness of his tone. "Think carefully about what you're doing. Think carefully about how this might affect Sakura if things don't go according to plan."
Ino's eyes lowered, and Shikamaru held his breath as a look of sadness washed over her face.
"I know walking away is the sensible thing to do," she said softly. "But I can't give up on Sakura. She's my best friend." Her golden lashes swept up, fixing her boyfriend with a determined stare. "I won't abandon her when she needs my help! Someone's got to make Sasuke-kun realise how much Sakura really means to him, and since she can't do it, then what's stopping us? And if it doesn't work, I'll own up to everything, and even though Sakura will probably never speak to me again, I-" her voice cracked with emotion for a brief second, before she finished angrily, "I'll at least know that I tried!"
Shikamaru released a heavy sigh. "You women are so troublesome."
Ino gripped onto his arms. "Shika-kun, we'll stand a better chance at succeeding if you help us."
Shikamaru withdrew his hands from her shoulders. "No, Ino. I told you, Sasuke is-"
"Sasuke's smart, sure, but so are you. You're Shikamaru of the Nara clan, a genius in your own right! You can make this work! You want to see them as happy as we are, don't you?"
Shikamaru shook his head. But Ino could see the waver of hesitation now flickering in his gaze.
"If you walk away now, I might do something really stupid," she said, blinking pointedly up at him.
Her boyfriend grumbled in frustration. Ino had a point; who could tell what kind of mischief she would get herself, and poor Lee and Sai into? If he accompanied them, he would at least have a measure of control as to how foolish and reckless he allowed the plans to get.
"Fine, fine!" he sighed in defeat, earning a squeal from his girlfriend, who proceeded to reward him by throwing her arms gleefully around his neck. The things he did for her. As she pulled back, grinning artfully, he rolled his eyes in exasperation. Why did he have the feeling it was going to be a long evening?
"Welcome to Operation Love," Sai said, and Shikamaru thought that only Sai could say it so seriously, and with complete obliviousness of what the silly title connoted.
"Well?" The Nara genius cast his lazy gaze back to Ino. "What did you have in mind?"
Author's Note
Phew, a long chapter! Things are finally picking up people! Next chapter will be full of all kinds of mischief, with Shikamaru and his handy abilities now on board. All I can say is poor Sasuke and Sakura. I'm really going to give them a hard time in chapter 11, mwahaha! Hope everyone enjoyed this update, it's just a little starter; the SasuSaku pendulum really starts swinging in the next one!
I'd like to wish each and every one of my readers a Happy Christmas. Be safe and merry and enjoy the winter festivities everyone! And if you read this on your way out, please leave me a review. Consider it a small xmas pressie for me xD Thanks for reading everybody! : D