Disclaimer: This is a work of a fan fiction using characters from Naruto. This story is for entertainment only and is not part of the official story line.
Chapter 13
Sasuke began spending some nights at her place.
Their routine was pretty much the same. Sasuke would catch up with her at the hospital and from there, they would head home.
Even after a long day at the hospital, Sakura liked to cook rather than to eat outside. After knowing Sasuke had taken a linking to eat her food, this had motivated her to keep trying new things. Sometimes she would visit her mom and get some recipes from her and other times, she would assault the Uzumaki household and steal Hinata for a few hours when Sasuke was out for a mission.
She wouldn't admit it out loud to her mother, but Hinata's cooking was one of the best things she had ever tried. No wonder Naruto had been been healthier considering he had the worst eating habits.
She wasn't that much better if she was honest. She had the tendency to only eat her soldiers pills not so long ago. But seeing Sasuke enjoying her food made her truly happy.
She refused his help at the beginning. She wanted to make all by herself. But the man was stubborn and she had to admit it was faster when he helped.
He was also surprisingly handy with some utensils. The way he carried himself so calmly made her forget sometimes he only relied on one arm.
"It's not that great... You know." He told her when he saw her gaping at him.
"It kinda is," she blushed. "But still, you making it look so easy."
"Hn."
When he was out of tasks, he was in the living room reading one of the books Sakura own. Most of these books were medical related, but they were entertaining enough (and challenging) for the black haired man.
During dinner, it was mostly her talking. She liked to tell him silly things she came to know around the hospital. She avoided gossiping during work hours, but that didn't mean she could find some amusement in and Ino was always full of them. Sometimes he had some things to say, or complain. Either Kakashi or Naruto (and sometimes Sai) would fed up his patience. He was not as good with words as her, but he would give enough detail for Sakura to make a mental image of the other idiots.
"Do you want to lie down for a bit" she always asked after they were done with dinner. Her cheeks tinted like the colour of her hair.
"Yeah." He always answered.
In her room, Sakura healed some minor injuries Sasuke had inflicted in himself during his sparring sessions. She always said it was going to be last time, but she never failed to heal him every time. She joked that maybe he liked being touched by her, a comment she regretted the moment it left her mouth.
"Yeah, could be that." He said with a smirk.
"Idiot." She replied flustered and hit him lightly in the shoulder.
When she was done, they lay down on the bed.
It was her favourite part, he letting down his walls and embracing her, and she with her head and hand over his chest. Falling asleep came easy when they were like that, but sometimes due to caffeine she would take longer for her to doze off.
Sakura would find herself asking him questions. He sometimes answered, sometimes he didn't. But that's how she learned he was still looking around the remnants of the Naka Shrine and the archives of the Hokage Tower. She asked what he was looking for and he would tell her to sleep.
His missions were also not discussed, but that was normal protocol, she did the same with hers. She usually eyed him to see some kind of reaction but unfortunately his stoic expression was so perfect that she eventually had to let go those nagging feelings and asked instead, about Itachi or his mom. Sasuke talked fondly of them, specially Itachi and she always wondered how things would have been if they were still alive.
Sometimes he would stay. Sometimes he had to leave early in the morning. And sometimes they weren't even in her place.
When she had to leave the hospital at late hours she would crash at Sasuke's place.
That night, she climbed to his window and knocked lightly. He was there the next moment with a frown in his face.
"Your shift ended three hours ago."
"Yes I know, but something came up."
"Yeah?" He said with a scold.
"Yes." Sakura yawned. "Sasuke you should be sleeping as well. Come on, let me through."
Sasuke sighed and moved away from the window, letting Sakura in.
She had complained about his sleep habits, but when she crashed at his place she was glad he was still awake.
She lay down in the spot Sasuke was resting before she got there.
"Sakura, that's my side."
"I know, but it's already warm." She said cuddling herself.
Sasuke shook his head and picked up the scrolls that were in the night table next to her. He sat on the opposite side and resume his reading.
"What are you reading?"
"Something."
"What is something?"
"Something," he shifted his gaze to meet hers. " you should sleep, your next shift is in a few hours."
"Yes mom!"
Sasuke glanced at her and scuffed.
"I'm kidding." Sakura chuckled.
Unfortunately, she wasn't as sleepy as she wanted to be. She changed her position and lay on her side, her arm under the pillow and her gaze fixed on Sasuke.
She noticed his sharingan was activated.
"Those scrolls are not from here, are they?" Sakura asked.
Sasuke blinked a few times and turned to her. There was no more red in his eye.
"No... I found them."
"Did you find something then?"
Sasuke shook his head. "Nothing useful to be honest."
They looked into each other eyes for a moment. Sakura felt her cheeks flush at the intensity of his eyes, but then he averted his gaze.
"I might need to leave again..." he said soon after.
"Oh." Sakura breathed. Her mind had started to wander off.
Will it be a few days? Weeks? Or is he...
Her eyes were closing slowly, but then he spoke again.
"You can come this time... if you want."
And she opened wide her eyes.
"Yeah," she answered so eagerly. She couldn't stop smiling and buried her flustered face in the pillow. "I would love that."
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A few days went by and Sakura found herself taking a nap in her office. That day had been brutal and she barely had break.
Even in peaceful times, she was still summoned outside her working hours because ANBU squads would be rushed to the ER. They constantly needed her around for the survival rate to be higher.
If things were easy today, she could go home after her round at the therapy center. She would ask Ami to take over the few surgeries she had since she already proved herself and ask Haru to take over the lab.
She took a deep breath and stood up from the couch. As in cue, the door snapped open.
"Forehead?" A blonde made her way through her office.
"Don't you know how to knock?" Sakura scolded.
"Or what? It's not like I found you in a compromise position with certain man?" Ino said with a sly smile.
Sakura's face turned red due to anger and embarrassment.
"What do you need?" She muttered.
"Relax! I just need you to sign this. It's about the volunteers we requested at the therapy centre. Remember? The stupid council asked us to give a more detailed report of what we needed. I proofread the document, so it only needs your authorization and to hand it to the Sixth.
"Ah! Thank you Pig, you didn't have to!" Sakura said while hugging tightly her friend. "I was going to do that some time at the end of the week," she added.
"Pfff. You?" Ino said in a mocking tone. "You barely have time after all the long shifts you are not supposed to take. I kicked you out yesterday and here you are. Again."
"I know, I know!" Sakura exclaimed and sat behind her desk. "I did leave. I crashed at Sasuke-kun's place but came here after a few hours of sleep. I was worried about the guy's infection in room 205 but he made it through the night."
"Oh, I see." Ino raised an eyebrow, but Sakura didn't noticed.
"I'm responsible enough and didn't stay her—."
"So not even in the arms of your man can't stop the workaholic in you."
"INO-PIG!" Sakura exclaimed, red all the way to the tip of her ears.
Ino burst out laughing and Sakura though her horrible laugh could be heard across the hospital.
"Sorry, sorry!" Ino said, wiping away the tears of laughter. "You just make it to easy to tease, but now that we are changing the topic." Ino leaned against the edge of the desk with a playful smile. "How are things going with you two?"
Sakura stared at the blue eyed girl and looked away instantly. She smiled thinking about him.
"You know, I dreamt about it for a long time and what we have right now is... It's nice. I don't know how to explain, but after all that went though, we... we fit. Does it make sense?" Sakura said a looked up at her friend.
"Ah." Ino blushed. "I know what you mean. It feels right."
"Yes." Sakura smiled sheepishly. She then remember the other night she spend at his place. "He might leave again and he said I could come with him," she added.
"Oh really?"
"Yeah. I'm excited you know."
"Well, I'm happy for you." Ino said. "I guess he is happy as well because his scowl has ... decreased," she added with a laugh.
Sakura gave her a small glare.
"He does smile. Sometimes."
"Ha. I doubt it. You are the only one who has seen him."
Sakura grinned and Ino rolled her eyes.
"So, you have been sleeping at his place?"
"Yeah. When I get out of here late."
"Ah... I see. Sleeping." Ino said with a smug smile.
"Yes. I already said that. I have been sleep—." Sakura groaned. "Ah fuck Ino. I'm serious. We haven't gone that far yet." Sakura shamelessly looked away.
Ino snorted at her friend's reaction and Sakura only pouted more.
"I can believe you didn't realize my terrible joke sooner. Anyway, it's not my business." Ino turned to Sakura with a more gentle smile. "But, I'm here for whatever you need."
Ino pushed herself from the desk and walked to the door.
"I gotta go, the psychologist asked my help with some of the kids and I should head there now."
Sakura nodded and waved goodbye. She picked up the documents her loud friend had brought her.
"Don't forget to send those to the Sixth!" Ino yelled from the hall.
Sakura shook her head and signed the papers.
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Sakura woke up and this time she was in her home.
She tried to move but something heavy was holding her back. She turned her head and Sasuke was there, embracing her from behind.
She smiled and turned her whole body to face him.
He was sound asleep.
His hair had grown a little more in the last few weeks and was covering half of his face. She brushed some strands away and he frowned, probably because she had stirred his sleep.
She moved closer to him and placed her hands were against his chest. She could feel his steady heartbeat.
She closed her eyes for a a moment, taking in his aroma. When she lifted her face, he was no longer sleeping.
The slow pace of his heart suddenly accelerated, contradicting his calm expression.
He was fixated on her and she on him. There was something new in his eyes, something she had felt before. There was a need behind them.
His hand, that was on her waist, traveled along her back, her neck and lastly took her cheek, bringing her face closer.
She closed her eyes and their lips met. She panicked for a moment thinking about her morning breath but very thought went out the window when Sasuke deepened the kiss and she allowed him.
It was slow at first, but the more she allowed him, the more he took, growing aggressive with each passing second. Their kisses were not enough for her, so at some point, her hands had left his chest and were now exploring other parts of him while his hand was following her curves.
When she gasped for air, Sasuke was hovering her. His lips that had left her mouth kissed her ear and then her neck and they continued to travelled down.
"Sasuke-kun." She moaned his name when he reached her clavicle.
And everything stopped abruptly.
Her dizziness dissipated and she could clearly see a confused Sasuke looking right at her.
He suddenly pushed himself off of her and sat at the edge of the bed.
Sakura panicked by his sudden action. She didn't know what just happened.
"Did I do something wrong." She asked after a long pause.
Sasuke snapped his head back at her and shook it.
"No, Sakura. No."
She sat up and brought her knees closer to her. "Okay..." she said not convinced.
Sasuke let out a heavy sigh.
"Sorry, I ... I'm not sure why I did that. Or what you are doing to my body." He said without looking at her.
Sakura's eyes widened. She wasn't expecting that reaction.
"Ah. You... you are not the only one feeling like that." She said and held her knees tighter.
Sasuke looked up at her again and his face slightly turn red. Sakura offered a smile in return.
"I should go," he finally said.
Sakura nodded and saw him got up and head to the bathroom.
She looked at her clock and realized she needed to get ready as well.
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Unfortunately, the events of that morning didn't repeat.
Sakura found herself with more work than unusual the following weeks.
Konoha was reaching a point where they needed to expand their current services. As the city grow, its population as well.
The hospital wasn't enough for the current flow of civilians that were looking for medical care and this became a big concern for Sakura who noticed that most of her patients were not part of the ninja world.
She proposed opening new clinics around the city, and maybe opening a new division to focus on civilian care. Kakashi agreed it was necessary and asked Shizune to step up to help setting this new plans.
Because of this, Sakura wasn't able to see Sasuke as much as she wanted to.
She barely had time to go home and sleep a few hours before being back at the hospital. Sasuke tried meeting her during her breaks, but she sometimes had to cut short his visits because there was always a problem around.
She also noticed Sasuke started to leave the village more often and for longer periods, but it wasn't only him who became busy as well, seeing her friends was also harder with each passing day.
Naruto was taking more seriously his duties and was constantly send along with Shikamaru to diplomatic missions. Ino had to cut some more hours from the hospital so she could keep up with the Sensory division training and Sai was working alongside Kakashi overseeing the ANBU and taking care of internal investigations.
Hinata and Tenten were the only ones she got the chance to see lately since they occasionally dropped by the hospital.
Sakura struggled to find some balance, but she was grateful when her staff help her to free some time so she could spend it with Sasuke.
The few times they were both home, Sakura was the one to tell him about the new changes around the city. She always got excited when she talked about the work she was doing with Shizune and how it would help their current medical care in the long run.
Sasuke always listened and he was proud of her work, she knew that. But at the same time, she couldn't help to notice he didn't enjoyed it as much as her.
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.
Days went by and Sakura had a hunch that something was bothering him.
She tried asking him, but every time he poked her forehead and said everything was fine. She could tell he was hiding something but she didn't want to nag about it either.
She brought up the journey at some point, thinking it would lift his spirits and would be something to look forward in the future. She was hoping that maybe in a few months things would slow down so she could be able to help him plan everything.
But it had the opposite effect.
He barely said a word and said she shouldn't worry about it.
The only time time he had said something, was during a dinner Naruto and Hinata held in their house.
Naruto was the one who had asked and instantly regretted it when Sasuke glared at him.
To Sakura, this exchanging of glares between them was common, but that one in particular caught her full attention.
"I don't know. Haven't thought about it." Was the only thing Sasuke muster to say.
Naruto frowned at his response and glanced at Sakura, but didn't say more.
After leaving the Uzumaki household she tried talking. But her timing was interrupted once again when one of her slugs made a sudden appearance.
They needed her at the hospital.
Sakura felt guilty.
She was the one asking and then leaving.
She apologized but Sasuke didn't say anything. He instead poked her forehead.
"Go," he said quietly. A weak smile showed up on his face and Sakura smiled back.
When she was on her way to the hospital, she couldn't shake the feeling that he was slowly drifting apart.
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She was in the lab research when Ino complained that her working hours had increased once again.
"Forehead, I need you to take things slower. You can't keep this pace in the long run."
"I know, I know! It's just for some time. I'm just helping a bit." Sakura said taking her eyes from the microscope.
"A bit is an understatement."
Sakura rolled her eyes at her and went back to her sample.
"When is the last time you saw Sasuke?" Ino asked.
"Ahm..."
"See."
"He has been out more lately you know," Sakura replied. "It's not only me who is busy."
"Really?" Ino paused but Sakura didn't elaborate. "Have you guys talked about the journey?"
Sakura gave a sidelong glance at her friend and shook her head.
"Oh well. Don't stress, he probably isn't in a rush to leave."
"Yeah... Probably..." Sakura said with weak smiled.
Why he hasn't said anything? It's been weeks...
"I have to go in ten minutes. Anything you want to run by me before I leave?" Sakura suddenly asked.
"Work related? No. But I do have some news to tell."
"Oh really?" Sakura giggled. "What's new Pig?"
"Guess who I saw the other day?"
"Who?" Sakura said while finishing storing some samples.
"Ami."
Sakura scuffed. "Pig, you see her everyday."
"No idiot. Not cute, wonderful Ami." Ino let out a short sigh and then composed herself, raising her finger. "The AMI."
Sakura stopped and turned her head slowly.
"Oh. Ohhh!" Sakura said in realization. "Bully Ami?"
"Yep."
"How?"
"She came by the flower shop. Apparently she is a regular. My mom greeted her the moment she went in."
"Ah. Did she said something?"
"Nah. She talked to me as if we were old friends. She actually told me to say hi to you."
"Oh wow!"
"I know! But to be fair, she seems to be less bratty. It wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be. Her greeting sounded genuine." Ino shrugged.
"I guessed she changed for the better."
"Yeah. I guess she did." Ino agreed.
There was a long pause.
"Actually... We all changed." Sakura said with a playful smile.
"What do to mean?"
"I mean, did you ever think you will be running a therapy center with me while being in the intel division and taking care of your family business?"
Ino thought for a moment.
"That's very specific. But no. I never thought about it like that." Ino smiled. "Same goes for you! Look where you are now Forehead."
"Yeah." Sakura laughed.
She though of all the people that had been around her and had helped her resolve become stronger, like the blonde in front of her. Ino had always supported her even when they were rivals.
"I'm glad we stick together." Ino said as guessing the pinkette's thoughts.
"Yeah, me too." Sakura smiled sheepishly.
"You bloomed into a beautiful flower even with that forehead of yours."
"Hah. Thank you?" Sakura said dubiously.
"But I'm prettier, just so you know."
"Yes," Sakura snorted. "Yes, you are."
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.
Sakura finally got a day off.
She had been looking for that day for quite some time and even told Sasuke to not make plans. She wanted to surprised him with a dinner since it had been a while from last time she cooked something.
Nothing could go wrong.
Except everything did.
Everything started when she had left her grocery bags unattended for a few seconds. She was just finishing paying the vendor of the meat stall and when she reached for the bags, and these were gone. She blamed the stress of the hospital because how a ninja like her didn't noticed she was being robbed was beyond her. She thought of going back and redo all her previous shopping, but she only had a few ryos left. Frustrated she decided to go home instead, but spend the rest of the money in some tomatoes.
She fortunately found some ingredients home, but while she was prepping dinner, her stove broke down in the middle of her cooking, leaving her with with uncooked meat and underdone rice.
She sighed, heavily.
She grabbed her keys, some more money from her purse and went to a close restaurant to get some take out.
When she came back, Sasuke was there and he had also bought take out.
She smiled though. She wanted to see him, so double take out would do it.
She was about to set up the table when Sasuke shook his head. He had to leave almost immediately. Before Sakura could ask why, he let her know. He had a lead and needed to rectify the information he received. Information held by someone Sakura despised. Orochimaru.
The moment that name dropped, she couldn't help but explode.
She started yelling, about how that serpent shouldn't be allowed to live. How after everything that has happened, that thing was still around and experimenting, because she knew that his experiment were still going on. And how reckless it was for Sasuke to go to him.
In reality, it was her thirteenth year old speaking, afraid of Sasuke leaving and afraid that he was not coming back.
She realized that was the feeling she was having those last days. Of him drifting apart and she couldn't explain why she was feeling so insecure.
She broke down in tears because everything had gone wrong, but then Sasuke's hand was wiping the tears away and he lifted her face up.
"I will be back." He stated. Black and violet looking right at her.
"Why him?"
"If you are worried about me, don't. I killed him once, I can do it again."
"I can come with y—."
"No." His face hardened. "You need to stay here, they... need you here."
"I need you here..." Sakura mumbled.
Sasuke kissed her forehead and pulled her into an embrace.
"Please Sakura."
She nodded and didn't held her tears back.
She clenched to his shirt and he didn't let go of her. He rested his chin on top of her head and his hand began brushing her hair.
When she calmed down, he left. No more words were exchanged.
Sakura left the food untouched.
She went to bed, but she couldn't find any sleep, not when everything smelled like him.
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Sakura took double shifts the following days. Part of it was because she didn't want to dwell in her last conversation with Sasuke. But the main reason was that she needed to finish a bunch of paperwork for the chūnin that were graduating in a few weeks.
She was almost done evaluating which of those young shinobis could become a full time medic at the hospital and which of them were more suitable for battle.
Most of them were supposed to go back to their teams and assist in medical emergencies. That was the original plan, to get one medic per team.
But because the village has been growing so much lately and more civilians were able to look after their health thanks to the peace they were experiencing, they definitely needed more medics than ninjas inside the village.
If she was honest, most of those cases were about internal diseases. Not always visible. Not always treatable.
A person came to mind that could be perfect for the job. Haru.
He was her first choice to offer a full position as medic because of his abilities to treat illnesses that were not always a result of a battle. But Haru refused and Sakura was at loss of words.
He then explained himself.
He actually wanted to work full time, he knew his limitations as ninja and he was embarrassed to admit he was more fit for research than for battle. Ami was more suitable for that, he remarked and Sakura agreed. He then said that he wanted to study more about the methods of extracting poisoning, specially Suna. This took by surprise Sakura, and when Haru saw the confused expression of his mentor, he quickly added that he had learned a lot by watching her, but a lot of of the things Sakura did so easily were harder for him to grasp at first and it was because most of the substances he had worked with were local. He needed some experience abroad and he though Suna would be a good place to do that, considering that they have a bigger greenhouse and the hospital had expanded their research lab regarding poison and antidotes.
She was surprised by his request because he hadn't say a thing before. It was as if he was hiding it. She said she would make the petition with the Hokage and Haru thanks her greatly and apologized once again.
Sakura also thought of Ami, but that girl didn't have a lot of patience. She also was eager to return to her regular missions and Sakura knew Ami was an asset out there. She was quick to assess risky situations and her abilities in fighting were not bad, she didn't specialize in close range combat but she had a way with long distance weapons. In a few years she could also made her way to ANBU.
Sakura stopped writing the individual reports. She folded her arms on the table and rested her head on top.
She didn't want them to go.
It was a selfish thought, she was well aware. But it saddened her to know those two brats had decided their path, and she should help them.
She wondered if she should have also helped in their fighting techniques. but they never seemed interested as much as the medical field, specially Haru.
A knock on the door woke her up from her thoughts.
"Sakura?" The voice said behind the door.
"Come on in." She said.
She knew her blonde friend was behind that door. But the lack of her nickname told her that Ino wasn't alone. Behind her, Sai came into the office as well.
"Hello Ugly."
"Ahhh. There's the missing piece." She said with a laugh. "What brings you here?"
Ino then look at Sai with a cheerful smile and he nodded. He took three long steps and offered an envelope.
There was a beautiful bush clover design at the back of it. The one she saw at Ichiraku.
"May I?"
"Yes Forehead, open it." Ino said excited.
Sakura carefully opened the envelope and hold with both hands the wedding invitation. She was mesmerized not only by the illustration but also by Sai's handwriting.
They were marrying in autumn.
"This is beautiful." She said with a smile and glanced at her friends.
Ino was hugging Sai's arm and resting her head on his shoulder. She was smiling back at her friend.
"We were supposed to give one to Sasuke, but I think it was a better idea to invite you guys as a couple, I don't think he would even open it." Sai said, too direct as always.
"Yeah... That's possible " she said with a wry smile. She put the invitation down and pulled from the envelope the reply slip. She write her response down before handing it out to the couple.
"Here."
"Oh, okay." Ino detangled from Sai's arm and grabbed the small card. "I already knew you were coming," she said with a smirk.
Both girls giggled. They started to talk details about the wedding but their conversation was cut short when Sai reached for Ino's hand.
"Ino," he said. He was looking at the clock hanging on the wall.
"Right, right!" Ino yelped. "We gotta go Sakura. We just came by to give you the invitation in person."
Sakura nodded.
"That's fine. I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Yes!" Ino replied.
The engaged couple waved goodbye and walked out her office.
Sakura sighed. She admired the invitation one more time before getting back to work.
She was back in good spirit.
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Three days later, Sakura signed the last evaluation.
"Shanaroo!" She cheered in victory when she filed the paperwork.
She looked at her schedule and found herself with no more work for the rest of the day. She wasn't on call as well and her non emergency surgeries had been pushed since Kakashi had made a priority the evaluation. She also did a round to the Children's Therapy Center last night, but things have been running smoothly there so there was no need to go again unless it was an emergency.
She thought about visiting the clinic, but she usually did that to see Ino, and the Yamanaka girl wasn't even at the hospital that day until later. The other people who normally would be around were Ami and Haru, but they were also busy with the writing tests.
In short, she could take the rest of the day off.
Sakura smiled brightly. She grabbed her things, put her coat lab away and left the building.
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.
.
Instead of going directly home, she took a detour around the hospital to buy some dango. It had been a while since she treated herself.
She was walking carefree enjoying one by one the three balls of sweetness when she spotted two familiars figures.
Naruto and Sasuke were talking outside a familiar building.
She glanced around and took noticed of the apartment building Sasuke live. She had arrived by the opposite street so it wasn't a familiar view. She shifted her gaze back at the pair who haven't noticed her presence.
She hurried her steps and was about to shout their names when something stopped her.
They weren't just talking. Naruto was pointing accusing fingers at the Uchiha. Sasuke on the other hand, had a loomed expression all over him, but wasn't fighting back whatever Naruto was confronting him about. Sakura found weird this exchange, but then she gasped when she saw Naruto punching the wall next to his face. Sasuke finally lifted his gaze to glare at his friend.
From the distance she was, she couldn't hear what they were arguing, but it didn't matter because soon enough Sasuke pushed Naruto with shoulder and walked past him.
Naruto didn't followed. Instead he shook his head and pinched his temples.
She throw the rest of her dango in the closest bin and hurried to where Naruto was.
"Naruto?" She asked.
The blonde flinched and quickly turned his head in her direction.
"Sakura-chan?" He said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
Sakura instantly narrowed her eyes. He tried to hide the uncertainty in his voice but he had always been very bad at that.
"What happened?"
"Shit. You saw?" Naruto said and turned his gaze away hastily. He also drawn his eyebrows together.
"Naruto, what's going on?" She said alarmed.
"I thought you were at the hospital."
"You didn't answer my question."
"I fucking told him you should be there." He said quietly. He heaved a sigh and glanced at Sakura.
"He is leaving again Sakura-chan."
Author's notes:
Hi!
It's been almost two months and I apologize for the delay.
The draft of this chapter was done a few months ago but I wasn't that happy with it and when I picked it up again a few days ago, I had to rewrite a lot of things. I think the problem was that it ended up being longer than previous chapters and it was driving me crazy how I couldn't connect properly the ideas.
Hopefully I made a decent work, and the chapter isn't that bad and you like it.
Like I mentioned before, I think it will be about three more chapters and the story will be done. There is some angst in the next one, but I promise there is happy ending after all :P
I'll try to get the outline for the final chapters, but this might be the last update I have for this year.
Again, thank you so much for reading my story :)
Anyway, happy holidays and til next year!
(And please forgive my grammatical errors).
December 23rd, 2020