A/N: Hello, hello, hello!

How have you guys been? Sorry for the super super late update but I'm pretty sure I'm in bum mode now so expect new chapters.

Anyway, I wasn't going to update today but I caught up with the Naruto manga and my shipper feels just won't let me rest so I thought of doing something good, too, like Kishi-sensei (I hope he's not just trolling).

Anyway, here it is!

Chapter 36 Game On

"The recording's done, Tsunade-sama."

"Give it to me."

The junior intern gave Tsunade a copy of the EEG printout. Tsunade looked at it for a moment and her grip on the paper loosened. Her clenched jaw relaxed and she allowed herself a small smile. "Alright, you may all go back to your respective stations," she said. "Good work, everyone."

The junior interns rose from their chairs and offered her a small bow before they filed out of the room.

Tsunade made her way to the side door that led down to the examination room behind the glass in front of her. When she reached the observation table where Sakura was lying down, she gently unclasped the leather cuffs around her wrists and ankles and disconnected the electrodes on her temples.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes when Tsunade started stroking the hair out of her face.

"Is it over?" Sakura asked, her voice still groggy from sleep.

"Yes. How are you feeling?" Tsunade said, helping her sit up.

"My heads a bit fuzzy but I'm fine."

Tsunade smiled. "It's past two and we've been here since lunch break. Are you hungry?"

"Your treat?"

"I'm the one with the money, you freeloader."

"You're in a good mood," Sakura said, skipping off the table. "Good news?"

"Got that right," Tsunade said, gesturing for Sakura to follow her. Sakura walked beside her as they went out of the room. "The results came back normal, much better than the last session we had." Tsunade put a hand on top of Sakura's head. "Whatever you're doing, keep it up." Sakura smiled back at her with a small nod.

As they were about to exit through the front door, however, an intern came running to them.

"T-Tsunade-sama," he said as he tried to catch his breath. "There's… been an… emergency! We can't seem to… stabilize Miyamoto-san and we couldn't… do the operation. We n-need you."

"Miyamoto-san?" Sakura pondered. "Isn't she the one who's been beaten and locked up for almost a month by her husband?"

"Yes," Tsunade answered. "Apparently, she became severely malnourished and depressed. We can't communicate well with her." She turned to Sakura. "Well, I guess we should postpone our lunch or dinner, or whatever it is. You can go back first and eat."

"But I want to help."

"I know. But, right now, you don't have the qualifications to do so, do you?"

"I can just watch over and give advices, like always."

Tsunade smiled at her. "Sakura, you know I can't just let anybody in the operating room, right? Anyway, hurry up and graduate. I'll be waiting for you. Come to think of it, I'll probably dump all the cases to you once you're licensed to do so."

"Tsunade-sama…"

"I know, I know." Tsunade began walking briskly back inside and the intern followed closely. "Tell me the current status of the patient in detail as we go."

"She has been on a feeding tube for a week now to prepare her for the operation. Her nutritional status is good enough and the surgeon said we can operate already but she's having fits of seizure…"

That was all Sakura heard as they rounded the far corner from where she was standing.

She let out a sigh and went out of the hospital.

Konoha seemed busier than usual during the weekends. Or was it because of the coming holidays? Sakura found all the shops full even though it's already 3:30 in the afternoon. Her stomach growled loudly and she wondered whether the people who passed by her can hear it. She almost decided to just eat in a dango stand on the side of the road when someone called her.

"Naruto?"

The said boy jogged up to her. "Hey, Saki! What are you doing here?"

Sakura thought for a moment. If she told Naruto she's been in the hospital again, he'd surely worry unnecessarily like he always did. So she settled for, "I'm looking for something to eat. You?"

"Sasuke and I are looking for a third member."

Sakura realized then that he wasn't alone. Standing behind Naruto, also in his casual clothes, was Sasuke. Their eyes met for a brief moment and Sakura averted hers away. She has been really fidgety around him lately. Trying to steer her attention from the said boy, she continued, "Third member? For what?"

Naruto frowned. "Well you know, last week, Sasuke and I ate at Ichiraku when suddenly these guys bumped me and spilled my poor ramen all over the floor. I really wanted to beat them up but they got scared so they challenged me to a basketball showdown instead."

Sakura was appalled at the utter stupidity of what she just heard.

"That's not what happened, dobe," Sasuke said, now standing beside Naruto. "The owner didn't want you to cause a ruckus. You saw them holding a basketball and you challenged them."

Naruto waved him off. "Who cares? They spilled my poor ramen!" Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Anyway, it's a 3-on-3 match so we're short of –" Then, Naruto's eyes shone as he grinned from ear to ear. "That's right! Why don't you come with us, Saki?"

Sasuke looked at him like he was dumber than he usually was and Sakura's eye was twitching in annoyance.

"Oh? I thought you'd never show up." A brown-haired boy, probably around the same age as them, was already covered in a sheen of sweat. "Takeru, Shiro! Look who's finally here!" The one with the blond hair straightened up from a crouch, probably defending against the one with a short ponytail at the back. The latter dribbled the ball as they walked toward them.

"Heh, like I'll let you off that easily," Naruto countered.

The brown-haired boy's eyes slid over to Sakura, who was busy munching the bread Naruto bought for her. "And who is this pretty little thing?"

"Her name's Sakura. She'll be our third member," Naruto replied, smug.

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you didn't just pull whoever was available?"

"You say that because you haven't seen her play," Naruto said, arms crossed. "You'll eat your words later."

"Hmph, whatever," the brown-eyed boy said as he wiped sweat from the lower part of his face with the collar of his shirt. "So how are we going to do this?"

"Race to a hundred!" Naruto yelled excitedly. That earned him a smack from Sakura.

"Are you crazy?! Don't get too carried away!" The three other guys in the court were shocked at Sakura's display.

"B-but Saki… you didn't have to hit me that hard, did you?"

"Dobe," Sasuke said. Somehow, he likes the fact that someone else understood what it feels like being stuck with the insufferable idiot.

Soon, Naruto and the guy he was talking to earlier went to talk about the 'mechanics' of the game and Sasuke was left waiting beside Sakura.

"I should have just gone back. I knew I should have! How did I end up playing a stupid game with these idiots?" Sasuke heard her ranting under her breath. She sighed as she pulled her hair back and tied it in a high ponytail. "Why did I let Naruto drag me into this, anyway?" She thought of the scene Naruto caused by pleading in a very, very loud voice in the middle of the street and veins started throbbing on her forehead.

She turned around and saw Sasuke looking her way. "W-what do you want?"

Naruto returned before Sasuke could say anything. Apparently, they compromised to a race to 20 points. If they win, the opponents would treat them to the upcoming Ichiraku holiday special. Neither Sasuke nor Sakura was surprised with that but they thought it should have been something to boost their confidence up, not only Naruto's.

"Then, what happens if we lost?" Sasuke didn't care. He wasn't sure about Sakura but he and Naruto could take them down in no time.

"Eh?" Naruto's grin faltered. "Well, you see… Ryuu… the one with the brown hair… h-he wants to have a date with Saki." Both Sasuke and Sakura's expressions were beyond comprehension. "B-b-but, we just have to win, right? W-w-we c-could just win so it won't happen, right?" Naruto gulped.

"Naruto," Sakura said in a low voice. "Do you mean to tell me… I'm worth as much as a ramen coupon?"

"N-no, Saki, of course not – waaa!"

Hearing the ugly screaming and loud thuds, the three boys can only sweatdrop. "Hey, hey, will he be alright?"

Ryuu laughed. "At this rate, I should probably get ready for my date."

Ten minutes into the game and they were tied 8-8. Sasuke looked at Sakura who had the ball now, trying to get past the one Naruto called Ryuu. A while ago, Sasuke was convinced Naruto was just desperate enough to get anybody to play with them. But he was wrong.

Just as he was thinking this, Sakura went past Ryuu, dribbling the ball between her legs to get it away from his reach. She was under the basket but Ryuu caught up with her. However, the ball was no longer in her hands and Naruto, as flashy as he was, went for the dunk.

10-8.

"Nice one, Naruto!" Sakura said as Naruto landed back down. Naruto raised his hand and Sakura clapped hers against it with a grin almost as big as Naruto's. Sasuke thought he'd never understand how this girl's brain worked. Just moments ago, she was beating Naruto to a pulp, but now, it seemed like she was enjoying herself too much.

"Sasuke! What are you doing?"

Sasuke looked back and saw that they were running to the other side of the court already. He remembered they were on defense now. Sasuke ran. The guy with the ponytail, Takeru, had the ball so he went straight for him. Carefully timing his steps, Sasuke slipped his hand past Takeru's torso and stole the ball. He saw the look of utter confusion on the guy's face. Sasuke smirked and ran back to their court.

All the others were running so fast they couldn't accelerate back as fast as Sasuke did. Before any of them, Naruto and Sakura included, could catch up, he shot the ball in a simple lay-up.

12-8.

"Alright, alright," Ryuu said. "Let's take a breather."

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke went to sit down on a bench near the court, all of them breathing heavily. Sakura picked up the water bottles they bought from the store along with her bread and gave it to each of them.

"They're good," Naruto commented after a large gulp of water. "Almost as good as Shikamaru and the others."

"They are," Sakura agreed. "But they have far lower stamina." Sakura recapped her bottle and set it down. "It's probably also because they were playing before we arrived. Now, listen." Sasuke stopped drinking while Naruto downed another gulp before recapping his bottle, too. "That blond is good at long range shots and his form is good enough that he'll get most of his shots in. We have to make sure he doesn't get the ball. Ponytail is the fastest among them and it's good that Sasuke showed him he's faster." She met Sasuke's eyes for a moment before she continued. "That surely knocked his momentum off. He mostly assists the other two but is ridiculously good at defense. If he guards you, pass the ball to someone else."

"Woah, Saki," Naruto said, awe evident in his voice. "You talk like Shikamaru."

Sakura rolled her eyes and continued, "The tall guy is all about power. He lacks the good qualities of the other two but he sets the pace for them. Like clearing a path for the ball. If he tries to shoot, though, I'm sure he'll get them in one way or another. He's one of those idiots who always go for rebounds."

"Hey, now," a voice said from behind them. It was Ryuu. "That's kinda offending. Rebound is also a skill, you know." He eyed Sakura and smiled. "By the way, you look sexy when you're all wet."

"Cut it out, you pervert!" Naruto yelled. "Stop saying stuff like that about Saki!"

"Chill! It was just a joke!" Ryuu said brushing him off. "Anyway, Takeru says he has something to do so we better get this over with." With that, he walked back to his friends, who were already back in the court.

Sakura looked at her watch. "He's right. We better go back soon. Give me the bottles." Naruto gave his and went back. Sakura placed both their bottles back in the plastic bag. She held out her hand to get Sasuke's and when he did hand it to her, she noticed the middle part was all crumpled. "Eh? What-?"

But Sasuke was right behind Naruto now. 'Well,' Sakura thought. 'It's a good thing there's not much water left.'

15-17.

'All because the blond guy got three consecutive 3 points in,' Sakura thought. She knew her stamina wasn't as good as that of Naruto or Sasuke. She was still hungry and this game was making her more edgy. She wanted to go home and sleep. No, scratch that. She wanted to win, and then, go home and sleep. And probably give Naruto another round of beating.

She was thinking all of this and wasn't able to notice Ryuu running toward her, his eyes on the ball his teammate was about to pass him. Naruto was able to barely touch the ball with the tip of his fingers causing it to soar high. Ryuu jumped up to get it and landed down with a loud thud. But the thud wasn't his feet hitting the ground.

"Saki!"

She was looking at different people – no, children – lined up against the wall. After a brief once over, she wrote some things on the clipboard she was holding.

"Um, excuse me," said a girl from the end of the line. "C-can I go to the bathroom?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Not until after I finish my evaluation."

"But you've been at it for half an hour already and I-"

She walked over to her. "Did you just talk back to me?"

"You're doing it again," a voice called from the entrance. Due to the lighting, she wasn't able to see his face clearly but somehow, she recognized the voice.

The next thing Sakura knew was that the side of her face was stinging where it hit the cement and her right shoulder throbbed like hell. Slowly, her eyes focused and her ears picked up bits of sound.

"Sakura."

She slowly looked up to see Sasuke gripping her shoulders to stabilize her in a sitting position.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded slowly. "What-?" However, like resurfacing completely from water, her ears registered the obnoxious noise that was making her head hurt more.

"You bastard!" Sakura turned her head and saw Naruto grasping Ryuu's collar. Instead of lifting him off the ground however, given Ryuu's height, Naruto just pulled him down so they were face-to-face. "Look what you did! I swear, if something happens to her you're never gonna see the light of day again!"

"Naruto," Sakura tried to call out but he didn't hear her. "Naruto!"

Hearing her voice, Naruto loosened his grip on the shirt. "Saki, are you okay? We were about to get you to a hospital and-"

"I'm fine, Naruto," Sakura pushed herself up from the ground but Sasuke gripped her shoulders harder. "You can let go now, Sasuke. Thanks." Sasuke did as he was told but his arms were still awkwardly lingering near her, in case she fell. Sakura tried to stand again. She was a little wobbly and Naruto ran to help, too.

Ryuu also went to her. "I'm sorry, I really didn't see you. I didn't mean it."

Sakura was going to ask what he was talking about when she suddenly felt dizzy. Ryuu extended an arm to her when Sasuke slapped it away. Except for Sakura, all eyes turned to Sasuke. Although the glare wasn't directed at him this time, Naruto still felt petrified on the spot.

Right after the game, Sasuke's cell phone rang.

"Mom."

"Sasuke, dear, where are you? It's past 5 now."

"I'm on my way. There's just been…" Sasuke turned around to the benches where Naruto kept asking Sakura if she's really okay. "I'll be there."

Sasuke heard a temporary silence as if Mikoto suddenly stopped whatever she was doing. "Is that Sakura? Are you with her?" Sasuke didn't know how it was possible for his mom to hear her when he was practically on the other side of the court. "Sasuke?"

"Yes." Sasuke could just imagine where this was going. "Naruto's here, too," he added. But his mom completely ignored it.

"Oh, then why don't we invite Sakura over? It is a family dinner, isn't it? And she's part of the family now."

"I don't think that's a good idea, mom," Sasuke said, trying to rack his brain for any reason.

"You know," Mikoto said in a clearly faked sad voice. "Itachi can't make it today. I tried to convince him but he said it was an urgent mission and…"

Mikoto sobbed. Sasuke closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. How manipulative can his mother be? Mikoto began to tell him how when they were young boys they always clung to her but now that they were getting older, she felt as if they didn't love her anymore. And a lot more things Sasuke didn't want to hear about. Because he already heard it probably a million times every time she didn't get what she wanted.

"All I'm asking is for you to spend some time to have dinner with me, but…"

"We'll be there, mom."

"I'm sorry?"

Sasuke sighed. "I'll bring Sakura."

"Alright, I'll be waiting." If he could her face, Sasuke was sure she had that smug look again. "Be careful."

The line went dead.

A/N: Well, how is it? I know the ending is meh but please do something good, too and review, okay?

I really have mixed emotions about the next chapter of the manga because 1) Kishi-sensei is a TROLL (a huge one), 2) I'm afraid something might happen to Sakura and 3) Sasuke's statement didn't really say he'll come back to the village. He'll probably help defeat Obito and Madara but not come back, you get me?

Well, let's hope for something remotely SasuSaku. *fingers crossed*