Sunday, April 18th, 2013.

Hey guys! I think this was a better chapter than the last one. Okay, but not fantastic.

But luckily for all of us, the next chapter is going to be the start of the "Sasuke's Birthday" thing.

Two be honest, I already 2 chapters for that months ago. I think Sasuke's birthday will be a period of 3-4 chapters. Long, but good nonetheless.

Then after that will be a chapter or two about what the others like Karin, Itachi, and Temari are all doing at this time. 'Kay?

The Chunin Exams will be next. I want to go pretty quickly through the Chunin Exams this time - in DoOver, I spent over 20 chapters on it. Not going to do that again.

Answer to last Question of the Week: 1. One Piece. 2. Naruto. I haven't seen much of Bleach yet so I can't rank it. But yeah. OP's my number one anime overall, too, while Naruto is #2. OP was my favorite for 5 years some time back, and then played limbo with Naruto before and afterward until it took its place now as number one. There's my Naruto peeves I've told you about, and the lack of character development for some characters and overkill of filelrs that bumped Naruto down some. So OP's number one. It may be like 0.0001% romance, and for a hopeless romantic like me that may usually be bad, but OP's good points make up for it. I suggest you watch it if you haven't - the animation may not be stellar at first, and it may be slow at first, but so was Naruto and see how much you love it now? You'll love OP. Believe me.

And for fellow OP fans, it'll be on Toonami starting May 18th I THINK, working with FUNimation since they dub it now. Sadly, they'll be starting at the Davy Back Fights (it's not filler - it was an actual arc in the manga, believe it or not), which I think is kinda stupid since you'll be skipping a shitload of stuff. Despite the fact that they say they'll have flashbacks to show people what went on before, I think they should've started at Arlong Park, since it'd be a bad move to start at the beginning since OP's so long. You may skip some stuff at Arlong, but not everything. And you wouldn't skip Alabasta. (Though Vivi wasn't actually part of the crew, I don't believe she should be skipped). It'd give more value to the Merry and Robin when they get to Water 7 and Enies Lobby. How would you explain Laboon when you get to Brooke? And the Dials from Skypiea when you get to Water 7? Flashbacks, sure, but still...

Toonami, I haven't been this disappointed in you since I learned MAR won't be coming back.

So yeah... for those of you who haven't seen One Piece yet, don't worry about the above paragraph. Just an annoyed rant...

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, there'd be successful, canon, romance. How much canon romance is there in Naruto that ended well? Basically just MinaKushi, right? Hayate Gekko died, so he couldn't marry his fiancee, and Asuma died before he could marry Kurenai. That wouldn't have happened had I owned Naruto.

So yeah. It's an okay chapter. But with SasuSaku in it, so I hope you like it. I wanted some SasuSaku!Development so when the REAL romance starts, it won't be abrupt. It'll actually have foundation. 'Kay?

Btw, I had a weird dream the other night induced by some stuff I wrote in this chapter. I'll tell you at the bottom of the page if you want to read it. Actually, it was a good dream, kinda, and one of the most normal dreams I've had in a while.

So yeah... READ!

Chapter 10: Goodbye Waves and Hello "Get-Together"!

Sakura POV

It was only hours later on my futon, fighting sleep, feeling beaten, bloodied and dirtied despite having taken a shower that I thought back on what had just transpired.

After Gato had surrounded us with his men, our team had done our best to fend them off, though vastly outnumbered.

Even the tired Zabuza and even more exhausted Haku pitched in. Unfortunately, Haku was so drained, he resorted to targeting the men with his senbon from the trees nearby, and I cast a genjutsu around him to keep the enemies from finding him in his tree and try to kill him. Notice I said "try" to kill him.

Luckily for us, the men were weak, and many were beaten easily.

Soon, all that was left was some of the stronger men, two of Gato's lackeys, and Gato himself.

Slowly running out of steam, Sasuke, Naruto, and I all fought together against the last of the mercenaries. Sai fought Zori and Waraji (the two lackeys I mentioned) with Kakashi's help, and we let Zabuza handle Gato.

Gato's death wasn't pleasant, and eerily similar to before. Though, instead of complete decapitation like last time(1), he was killed by Zabuza slitting his throat with a kunai in his mouth.

The scene was kind of nostalgic, in a sick way.

Afterwards, Sai helped Haku from his tree and to the clearing where we all resided. None of us had much energy left, and only wanted to remain in the clearing, watching the sunset after Zabuza had dispelled his mist.

Right then, Tazuna came running to us with some of his co-workers, saying they heard a commotion. We gave him a brief summary of what had happened, and made sure to get across that Zabuza and Haku were no longer threats. For now, at least – Kakashi wasn't very trusting of them quite yet, and neither was Sasuke.

Naruto was totally fine with them, though. Especially with Haku.

So with the bridge builders' help, we got to Tazuna's house, as they, per Tazuna's orders, spread the word about Gato and dealt with his body.

I remember some of the men whispering about throwing a party tomorrow, to celebrate their freedom from Gato. Tazuna, overhearing, smiled a true smile for the first time since I first met him in the other timeline. It must feel good without Gato reigning over them anymore… now the Land of Waves can flourish.

Tsunami-san had cleaned and dressed all of our wounds as best she could, as an excited Inari, post learning about Gato's fate, hounded Naruto for details of the skirmish. Naruto of course, made it exaggerated and elaborate, and I'm sure that Inari could smell the bullshit from miles away anyway, but his eyes were gleaming so brightly that no one said anything. Like I said, I'm sure he knew. He finally believes that nothing is impossible. That's all we wanted, right?

Once my wounds were dressed, I used a bit of medical ninjutsu to partially heal as many injuries as possible. I suck so bad right now… damn it!

Tsunami welcomed Zabuza and Haku to stay for dinner, and unable to deny their grumbling stomachs, they accepted, but left the house afterwards to sleep at their own place wherever that was.

"We wouldn't like to impose any longer than we already have," they had said. Note this came from Zabuza's mouth. It was.. odd hearing something so formal and polite from Zabuza, and he seemed to feel just as odd, shifting uncomfortably. He must not be used to such treatment. He IS an S-ranked Missing Nin after all...

Inari begged them to stay –the moment he heard the stories of Zabuza's abilities and saw his sharp teeth as he ate, he was hooked– but they insisted.

So now, my team lays here, sleeping, like logs, and it's now time for me to, judging from my yawn.

What more is there to think about? The plan was a success, Zabuza and Haku are both alive, and we leave the day after tomorrow. There's nothing else to it. A mission successfully completed.

I allowed myself to fall into the irresistible world of sleep.

"Can we open our eyes yet?" I asked. It was 2 days since the death of Gato, and today we go back home to Konoha.

Tazuna had led us all to who-knows-where -actually, I think I know where- with Tsunami and Inari with our eyes closed, to give us some kind of going-away-gift.

Now, here we stood, waiting for the moment to open our eyes. I'm pretty sure I know what the surprise is.

"Yeah, you can open 'em," Tazuna replied to Naruto.

I took my hands away from my eyes and gasped.

"What do you think?" Inari asked, practically jumping in excitement.

In front of us was the entrance to the still-unfinished-bridge. Above the bridge was a large sign.

It said, "The Great Bridge of Seven."

Our team gazed at it in amazement and shock.

"If I may ask… why the 'Great Bridge of Seven'?" Kakashi asked. "Not that I'm not grateful and flattered and all that, but just out of curiosity."

Tazuna shrugged. "After the story about you guys and Gato, all of the workers decided to name the bridge after you all. The 'Great Bridge of Seven' has a mysterious sort of ring to it, and it sounded cooler than the 'Great Team 7 Bridge'. Too archaic and plain, I thought."

Tazuna thrust a thumb over to Inari. "This little guy's 2nd choice was the 'Great Naruto Bridge', to be honest."

"Really? Sweet, Inari!" Naruto high-fived Inari.

"What about Zabuza and Haku? They helped against Gato and his goons just as much as we did." Naruto asked.

"They can't very well have a sign thanking two missing nin, can they? That wouldn't be good at all." Sai replied.

"Oh." Naruto said simply.

"The title of the bridge represents, it implies seven people, and it does - you all, and Haku and Zabuza. But if anyone asks, we'll say it's for you guys, Team 7. But if the two decide to join a hidden village and get their names cleared and start over or something, then we'll make it known that the title thanked them, too," Tazuna commented. "But for now, like the kid said, we can't do anything like that."

"Thank you everyone, for this." I said.

"It's the least we could do for what you all did for us." Tsunami said.

I wanted to say something like, "Oh, we didn't do all that much," but to them, I knew we did. We freed them from Gato and his greedy ways. Without him, the village can grow in wealth and economy. The village wouldn't be so poor anymore, in a couple years' time. How is that not a big deal?

The others must've understood this as well, because they didn't say anything about it.

We said our goodbyes to the family -full of hugs, grunts, tears, and promises of meeting again in the future- and headed down the road out of the village once we had crossed the river.

"I really wish we could have said goodbye to Haku and Zabuza…" Naruto said, pouting.

I nodded. "Yeah…"

"Well, here's your chance." Kakashi said.

What?

Just then, the aforementioned men leaped from the trees and down to the front of us.

Zabuza looked the same as usual, minus the threatening air and the addition of bandages.

Haku, his mask hanging on a string on his side, was still covered in bandages, even more than Zabuza. But I knew he was healing well.

But the weird the was what Haku had in his hand.

It was his rabbit. The white one that showed up before.

I used to think he was the rabbit, but I guess it's just a really weird, cute, bunny.(2)

As he stroked the white ball of fluff, he and Zabuza approached us.

"I insisted that we say our goodbyes." Haku began. "Zabuza wanted the dramatic 'they-know-that-we-can't-meet-with-them-now-so we-say-our-goodbyes-in-silence-leaving-a-message-b ehind' sort of thing, but I insisted on a direct farewell. I think he's been watching too many dramatic action movies."

Zabuza rolled his eyes, and Naruto stifled his laugh.

Zabuza shook hands with all of us, leaving me for last. When it was my turn, I purposely squeezed his hand harshly, and he returned with equal strength.

In the end, there wasn't a winner, but I had the feeling there would be some kind of rematch in the future. His wink proved my suspicions.

The ruffling of my hair only served to piss me off, though.

Haku hugged and fist-bumped Naruto –it's so weird seeing the feminine-looking Haku doing that– and shook hands with Sai, Sasuke, and Kakashi.

When he got to me, Haku hugged me and kissed my temple. My face burned.

"I hope we meet again soon," he said, winking at me. He's just teasing me… damn him!

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sasuke's fists clench, but I didn't think on it.

"Here," Haku said, pushing a small, square-shaped, maroon, case decorated with traditional Japanese flower designs into my hand. "I hope this will become of use to you, and that you'd like it."

I opened the box.

Inside was a cherry blossom hair pin, the kind with comb teeth. He must've gotten a pin rather than a hair stick because of my short hair…(3)

The pin was simple, but beautiful and I loved it. It's gorgeous… where did he get it?!

I hugged Haku in excitement and thanks. "Thank you so much, Haku! It's beautiful!"

When I pulled away, he said, "Your welcome. Think of it as a beautiful gift for a beautiful young woman." Woman, huh? Is that a hint of our real age, or just a compliment?

I nodded at him, blushing again. Is he flirting with me? But I know he's not attracted to me… maybe he's just being nice. And teasing me or something.

Who knows? Or cares? Not me!

Again, from my peripheral vision, I saw Sasuke scowl. Maybe he's impatient to leave?

Zabuza grunted. "That's my cue, I guess." Haku said, turning.

Before he walked away completely with Zabuza. "We hope to see you again soon, everyone. Until then."

And they leaped into the trees and disappeared.

"What'd he give you, Sakura-chan?" Naruto said.

I opened the box again, showing everyone.

"It's pretty, Sakura," Kakashi commented.

"Yes, it is. I wonder where he acquired such a thing." Sai said.

"Who cares? I don't! But it's really beautiful, Sakura-chan! It'll look great on you!" Naruto replied.

"Thanks, Naruto."

Sasuke looked at it for a moment, and turned away, grunting. "It's nice, I guess." It was obvious he was upset about something. To me at least.

I'm not sure where his sour mood came from, but I decided not to ask about it. "Mm." I hummed. He must really want to get home.

*Knock knock, evening of the next day*

Ugh… Who is that? I'm hungry!

It was past sundown of the next day and I was going to prepare something for dinner with the groceries I just bought, since most of the food in my fridge had gotten old from the unexpectedly longer mission. It was about a week - longer than predicted

I walked to the door and threw it open, seeing Sasuke standing there. "Sasuke-kun?"

He fidgeted, and it reminded me of when we talked in the forest in Waves. "Um, wanna go eat dinner?"

I tilted my head, signaling I'm not sure what he meant by what he said. ...What? Dinner?

"Well, I thought we might as well have a celebratory dinner for the mission, you know?"

I decided against a comment about the irony of Sasuke planning a social gathering of all people and replaced it with something else. "But we ate a ton of ramen yesterday," I said.

"Ramen isn't food. I was going to get Kakashi and the Dobe but the Dobe's sleeping like a log, and Kakashi wouldn't answer his door or phone. I have no idea where Sai is."

"So you want us to eat dinner together." I stated, still not quite understanding what was going on.

"Aa."

"…Okay." What just happened?

The dinner was actually pretty fun. We went to a new, local restaurant that sold good, inexpensive food and essentially pigged out. It was way better than the ramen yesterday. I need to come here again sometime! This place is amazing!

Surprisingly, we had the place all to ourselves, and we talked openly –or as open as Sasuke could get– with each other, similar to our talk in the forest, but one hundred times better.

We talked about all sorts of things – anime, training, books that we've read, our team, etc. It was fun. Spending a night like that with him is like a dream…

Almost like a date! *squeal*

It's not a date! It's just a get-together between friends.

Fine. Maybe it isn't, but this "get-together between friends" is incredible!

Agreed.

Unfortunately, when we were done, Sasuke wouldn't let me pay a cent of a bill. It wasn't a very huge one, since like I said, the restaurant was not an expensive one, but it wasn't cheap either with all the food we ate.

"Deal with it, Sakura, I'm paying." He had said. He also brought out the point that he had a lot more money to spend comfortably than I did, which was true: I live off my mission money and the money and credit card the Third gave me, while he is part of a rich clan, though he lives alone. Sounds legit.

Sasuke walked me home, and in thanks, I hugged him and kissed his cheek, saying "Goodnight". I know I saw a blush on his cheeks as he replied with a "G'night" and left.

I didn't want to think on what that could mean. I would build up false hope… and then be crushed when I learn the truth – there wasn't anything there.

I yawned, turning over in my bed. "Time to sleep now," I muttered, and drifted off.

Sasuke POV

Why the hell did I blush then? I thought, laying in my bed.

She just hugged me and kissed me on the cheek… nothing big.

Maybe we're developing feelings for her. I mean, she's your friend, and you're ready and willing to admit that even, especially with all she's done for us. And she's also a pretty girl, like Haku pointed out. She probably likes us, too.

Hell no. No. Way. Inner.

Why not?

Because… she's just my friend. Nothing more.

Okay, so maybe we don't like her yet. But I think, at this rate, it could happen.

Tch. Yeah right.

Do you also deny that you were jealous when Haku kissed her, complimented her, and gave her that hair pin?

Yes I do.

Then how do you explain your fist-clenching and scowls?

I simply was impatient to get going.

Right. *sigh* Puberty is such a pain in the ass… This'll be a long journey, Outer.

Just shut up and let me sleep.

And with that, I was out like a light.

(1): In the manga, apparently, Gato was decapitated completely, whereas he drowned and was cut several times in the anime. So his first death was manga-verse here.
(2): Remember in the anime Kakashi found the white bunny odd? That's because it should've been brown this time of year or something. That's why Sakura's calling it weird - its fur color is unnatural. I'm not actually sure if the "should-be-brown" thing is true in real life, but whatever. To this day, I'm not sure if the bunny was Haku transformed, or Haku's pet or something, but I don't feel like looking it up and here, the bunny's going to be his pet.
(3): Had Sakura had long hair (remember she cut it at the bell test) and Haku knew she'd keep it that way (he knew she was going to cut it if it wasn't already) I would've had him give her a hair stick. But she doesn't, so a pin it was. The kind with comb teeth. I wanted him to give her some kind of traditional gift because he's a traditional guy, I think. Sorta.
Links to parts of the pin:

I'm afraid the links aren't showing up, so I'll leave it to your imagination, guys. Sorry. Look up "hair combs" on Google Images. The teeth are like that, but instead of acting like a comb, the gift is a PIN, so it remains in your hair. The teeth are to keep it there. And it has sakura blossoms on it.

Get it?

And HAKU DOES NOT LIKE SAKURA! HE'S JUST TEASING HER AND SASUKE! He flirted with Sakura to make Sasuke jealous and tease her.

So okay, my dream

The day I wrote about Haku petting his bunny (about two days ago) I had a dream about some guy, a cute one I think, who had a lot of baby rabbits and let me play with some. I got really attached to one, and I REALLY wanted it - I wanted a bunny period. They were all the same color - gray-ish and white.

The bunnies seemed more white with stripes or vice-versa rather than totally gray. Kay? And they were really small: they could fit in your hand easily, and about the length of a Samsung Galaxy, if not a bit longer. And a tad thinner. Like a skinny guinea pig.

They all looked basically the same, but I identified them all buy a color - the one I wanted and was attached to was "orange". There were six of them in total, maybe five, but the only "colors" I remember now are "yellow", "blue", and maybe "green" and/or "purple".

Anyway, the guy said I could pick one up to keep the next day, so I came back to his place (a mostly empty house that is the setting for many of my dreams that I've never seen anywhere - not in a show, anime, real life - nowhere) but got the "yellow" one instead. I really wanted "orange" since I was attached to it, but yeah. Oh, well.

So that was my dream. It was actually connected to another dream, some sort of treasure hunt (the treasure was a jewel in a game I played way too many times: FireBoy and WaterGirl. The green gem) and having that treasure allowed me to get a bunny in the first place, but yeah.

So now, I crave to own a little bunny rabbit. Not that it'll happen. I don't think I could properly take care of one, and my parents won't take in pets.

Question of the Week: What are your favorite music genres?

Love you all!

Don't forget to review!

Wow... 1.5k words of this chapter is just AN.

-Cherry

...I WANT A BUNNY!