-We Will Never Part-

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the plot of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

-Chapter Thirteen-

-Cloud Nine-

"What the HELL is going on here?"

Sakura sat bolt upright, absolutely startled by the shrill sound. She looked around, trying to make sense of her situation. Only moments before, she'd been totally asleep. Her brain was still booting up. Slowly, she processed that she wasn't at her house, but at her grandmother's. Then she put together that she was not in her bedroom at her grandmother's, but was, in fact, in one of the numerous sitting rooms, on a rather comfortable couch. Next, she realised she was not alone on said couch. Finally, she discovered her grandmother standing a few steps away, a look of shock and disgust clearly on her face.

"Sakura! I demand you explain yourself this instant! What are you doing with this-this-this boy?" The word 'boy' came out like it had a terrible taste to it. Sakura turned to her companion, still obviously asleep on the couch beside her.

"He was helping me babysit; that kid is quite a handful. Then we came back here and, exhausted as we were, must have fallen asleep," Sakura explained, hoping that if her grandmother knew that nothing untoward had happened, her anger would abate some. They were fully clothed and sleeping with their heads on opposite sides of the couch, their feet and legs coming together but not much else. It really didn't look that scandalous.

"You were interacting with him? How dare you! No! No! No! No! No! I will be telling your parents about this! Now wake him up and show him out! And NEVER see him again!" Her grandmother then stormed out of the room, leaving a very confused Sakura sitting on the couch.

After her grandmother left, a butler entered the room. He stood silently in the corner, watching over them. Slightly self-conscious from the butler's starting, Sakura turned to Sasuke, her companion on the couch, and poked him forcefully in the ribs. He snorted and shifted slightly in his sleep, but did not wake. Sakura stood, aghast at Sasuke's ability to sleep through almost anything. At that thought, an evil plan formed in her mind.

Carefully, she wrapped her arms around his back, planted her feet firmly on the ground, and pulled as hard as she could. Sasuke rolled off the couch and hit the floor with a loud bang. The butler in the corner chuckled at her. Sasuke sprung up, now very much awake.

"What was that for?" he exclaimed. His hair was sticking up at odd directions and there was a small speck of sleep goo in the corner of his eye. He looked at her, enraged, and Sakura felt her stomach do a strange flip-flop.

"My grandmother came by earlier and found us asleep. Together. So, she freaked out, yelled a whole bunch, and told me to kick you out as soon as possible. I don't know why she's so upset by it all, but I'm already in a huge fight with her and I don't want to give her any more things to throw back in my face. So, I'd really appreciate it if you left, just for now." Sakura spoke very quickly and, about halfway through her speech, had begun shoving Sasuke towards the door.

"Your grandmother saw us asleep together!" Sasuke asked sounding extremely concerned by it. Instantly, he began to walk quickly to the door. The butler fell in step behind them.

"Thanks for helping me out today, by the way. There's no way I could have done it without you," Sakura spoke. However, as she said the words, she found herself unable to look him in the eye and her stomach flipped again.

"Yeah well, I was an ass before so it sort of balances out," he responded, shrugging off her thanks. It was obvious he was feeling awkward about the whole situation.

"Still, I want to make it up to you. When are you available next?" Sakura was quite surprised by her brash action, but didn't regret it. She wanted to spend more time with him. Despite their less-than-decent previous interactions earlier, she'd started to see a different side of him. And it was a side she wanted to experience more and learn more about.

"You really don't have to do that," Sasuke responded, slowing his pace slightly.

"I insist! My parents always told me to repay kindness and you've done me a kindness. If you're uncomfortable, it doesn't have to be something big. A coffee or something." Sakura wasn't quite sure why she was pushing so hard, but she chose not to question it for fear of the answer. Sasuke paused to think about it. The butler cleared his throat, signalling his desire that they continue to move towards the door.

"Alright, I guess coffee would be fine. I don't know my schedule but," he paused to dig through his backpack. He pulled out a notebook, turned past several pages of confusing and complicated math problems to a blank page. He quickly scribbled something in the corner and then gave it to her. It had a phone number written in a fairy messy scrawl. "Text me and we'll set something up."

The butler gave the pair a look and Sasuke hurried out the door. Sakura took the number and raced up to her room. She wanted to tell her friends all about her amazing day; plus a butler was staring at her and giving her a weird vibe.

From: Cherry Blossom (xxvery_cherryxx)

To: Fashionable piggy (littlemisspiggy); Hyuuga Hinata (lil-miss-sunshine); Bear-chan (10.10i-score-every-time10.10)

Sent: Tuesday, June 26; 10:12 pm

Subject: Amazingness

Hello my darlings!

So, my day started out extremely crappy (as you all know) and quickly got worse when I discovered I'd misplaced my sketchbook. I freaked out, almost called the cops and had a severe panic attack. You know how important it is to me. But don't worry and call off the National Guard. A guy who I initially found terrible and annoying but who has secretly grown on me returned it safely to me. (Ino, you'll be pleased to know he is extremely good looking).

Very epic turn around, so now I'm going to bed very happy.

Hope you're just as amazing!

xox

Cherry

Sasuke heard the large wooden door shut behind him. He then took a few more steps, and sat on the front stoop. He buried his head in his hands and began to process the day he'd just had. Two run-ins with the extremely unpleasant Haruno Chikara (though he didn't actually experience the second) and almost an entire day with a girl he initially loathed but now–

Now, he had no idea how he felt about her. He knew he could stand her, definitely didn't loath her, but where did that leave him? Did he like her? Were they friends? Friendly acquaintances? He had no idea. Normally, he flat out disliked people and didn't put in any effort to get to know them. But maybe with this girl he needed to put in the effort, just so he could know where they stood.

Having made at least one decision, Sasuke stood from the step and headed down the street to where he'd parked his car. As he walked he pulled out his phone and texted his manager, asking for his schedule for the rest of the week. This was more effort than he'd ever put into a relationship, and he wasn't sure if he liked it.

Hey, Alex. I forgot to check. What are my shifts for the rest of the week? –Sasuke

They're posted in the break room. Everyone had the chance to look at it. –Alex

I was distracted by personal problems as I left today. Can you send me a copy just this time? It's important.

If it was that important, you should have remembered to check the schedule.

Look, Alex, I don't have time for this. Just send me the schedule now and give me the lecture later, okay?

Nine am to six tomorrow and Thursday, then the weekend off. And you're bringing me coffee all next week.

Hey Sasuke (I hope this is you). It's Sakura. Just thought I'd send you my number so you have it. Text me when you're free so we can set something up. Also, if this isn't Sasuke, please ignore this message and please don't send me anything. Don't be weird. –Sakura

Hey. I'm off Friday.

Excellent! (This is Sasuke, right? You aren't being weird?) Want to go out for ice cream? My treat, of course (and assuming this is Sasuke).

Ice cream is good. There are also some halfway decent movies in the theatre.

Are you trying to bleed me dry? :P Movies are expensive :P But I'd be up for it. (Can you just tell me if this is, in fact Sasuke).

Pick you up at 7:30 Friday. – Sasuke

Sakura rolled over on her bed, oddly giddy over everything that had just happened. Even though she was paying for it all, she was pretty certain they had just arranged a date. Sakura had a date for Friday night! That never happened. Filling with glee, she got up off her bed, turned on the most sugary, upbeat song she could find, and began dancing crazily around her room.

After twenty minutes of dancing, she collapsed back onto her bed, decidedly out of breath, but still giddy beyond belief. As she lay on the bed, panting to steady her rapid and uneven breathing, her cellphone pinged letting her know that someone had just texted her. Thinking that Sasuke had more to say yet, she hurriedly grabbed up the phone.

Hey Sakura. This is Itachi (from the plane). Just thought I'd text you the info for the party on Friday. Starts at 8:30 and will be at my apartment in the city. Hope to see you there!

Sakura's heart dropped. She'd completely forgotten about the extremely gorgeous guy she'd sat next to on the plane ride down and the fact that, as she was disembarking from the plane he'd invited her to a house party. When he had, she'd been completely surprised. Sure, Sakura had been to a house party before, but that had only been because Ino was invited and dragged the other's along. She'd never been invited herself.

She was torn. The mere idea of spending an evening with Sasuke had overjoyed her so much she'd danced for twenty minutes. On the other hand, if she turned down the party offer, she may never get another. Sakura was fairly nerdy, a reputation well known back in Konoha. However, here in Kirigakure, no one knew her. She could be whomever she wanted. She could be the fun-loving, carefree type of girl who went to a party thrown by a stranger.

Her stomach churned as she made her decision, and she hoped it wasn't a sign that she'd end up regretting it.

From: Fashionable piggy (littlemisspiggy)

To: Cherry Blossom (xxvery_cherryxx)

CC: Hyuuga Hinata (lil-miss-sunshine); Bear-chan (10.10i-score-every-time10.10)

Sent: Wednesday, June 27; 2:20 pm

Subject: Re: Amazingness

Eeeeeeek!

Cher, I'm so happy for you! You deserve some amazingness! Though I must say, you did give me a little heart attack when you took your sweet time telling us you actually hadn't lost your sketchbook! Don't do that to a girl! It's terrible for my health! I'm now blaming any and all grey hairs on you!

You know you love me,

Ino

The minute Sakura got to the party, she regretted her decision.

It had taken her two busses and a cab (at which point she wondered why she hadn't just taken the cab in the first place) just to get from her grandmother's house in the suburbs to Itachi's apartment in the city. When she finally arrived, somebody who definitely wasn't the guy from the plane answered the door. He raked his eyes over her body, paying a lot of attention to her sizeable breasts that were accentuated further by the tight bandage dress Ino had loaned her for her trip. She cursed herself for choosing to wear it, desperately wanting a large sweater to hide herself in. Instead, she chose to push passed the leering boy in the doorway and walk into the apartment.

Instantly, she was hit with the overpowering, and slightly disgusting smell of alcohol and marijuana. She was quickly realising how far from her normal self she'd strayed by choosing this party over Sasuke. Still, she'd come so far; she was going to find some way to enjoy herself.

Sakura scanned the crowd, sure that once she finally found Itachi she'd start to feel better about the whole thing. After five minutes, she found him in the kitchen with a large group of males surrounding a metal keg. Cautiously, Sakura entered the kitchen. Stepping on a creaky floorboard, she alerted the twenty-something-year-old males in the kitchen to her presence. Itachi made eye contact with her and smiled.

"Hey! You showed!" he exclaimed. Sakura smiled, shyly and blushed slightly. Luckily, the room was dark enough that no one noticed. "And without a drink in your hand! That must be rectified, immediately." He then expertly grabbed a cup, twirled it around and then shoved it beneath the keg tap and filled it with a frothy amber liquid. After, he handed it to her.

Sakura momentarily hesitated. She'd never, up until that point of her life, had a sip of alcohol. Was now the moment she'd want to have her first? Itachi and the others looked at her expectantly. Without too much thought, she grabbed the cup and chugged it. Thankfully, the beer was chilled, though that was about all that was good about it. She nearly spit it out the moment it touched her lips but, worried about how that would look, she forced it down her throat.

"Better?" Itachi asked, coming around from the keg and moving closer towards Sakura. She nodded her head in agreement but chose not to speak, slightly worried about keeping the beer down. He smiled at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She nearly melted into a puddle at the action.

"Excellent!" he continued, squeezing her into him, "now how 'bout I show you around and do some introductions."

-To be continued-