Sakura moved her pen light slowly in different directions, watching as Naomi's eyes followed its movement. The pink-haired woman stashed the item back in her pocket before placing her fingers along Naomi's arm. For a few minutes, she applied pressure in various spots before moving to her legs, watching for some kind of reaction. Naomi had not made a sound during this entire process; so far, the only indicator that she was aware of it all was her eyes. The nurse that had called for Sakura to come in stood at the edge of the room, not daring to interrupt or get in the way.
"Naomi, if you can feel the pressure, I would like for you to blink. Can you do that?" After a few seconds, the woman's eyelids closed and opened slowly—deliberately. Sakura smiled brightly at this before setting back to her task. She started moving her fingers gently to various points, checking to see where Naomi could feel sensations. After another few minutes, Sakura straightened up and motioned to the nurse for the medical chart. The girl stepped forward and handed the item to Sakura before stepping back and clasping her hands over her heart. The older woman made some notes on the medical chart before placing it down on the table next to the bed.
"Good," she said softly. "Naomi, can you move anything? Fingers, toes?" Sakura watched closely for any sign of movement. For a few minutes nothing happened. Eventually, Naomi sighed and closed her eyes tightly. Sakura smiled kindly before grabbing the immobile hand next to her. "It's okay," she said softly. "This is already so amazing. It will get better, I promise." Naomi's eyes fluttered open and stared at Sakura. Her gaze seemed so desperate for hope. It nearly broke Sakura's heart. "I will be back later, okay? Get some rest."
Sakura walked out of the room, the nurse following her out. The two headed down the hallway towards the elevator. "I will be back later this evening to check on her reflexes again," she said. "Keep a close eye on her. Let me know if anything changes, got it?" The young nurse nodded before heading off to finish her rounds.
On her walk home, Sakura's mind was filled with thoughts on Naomi's sudden change in condition. She didn't know what had caused things to turn for the better, but she was not going to waste this chance.
Now more than ever, Sakura was determined get Naomi back to full health.
If Sakura had her way, she would have dropped everything to work on healing her friend. However, she was not just any person; there were duties to fulfill first and foremost.
One of those being that she still had lectures to give.
In all of the craziness over the past two months, Sakura had not been able to give all of the lectures to the students and doctors-in-training. She was more than grateful that Ken had taken over many of the lessons, but Sakura knew that she needed to get back on track. At this point, she had just over six months left to get the hospital staff up to par with surrounding villages. If she didn't get back to work, that was never going to happen.
And so, Sakura was back in the multi-leveled lecture hall, going through an elaborate presentation about using chakra to extract poisons from the human body. The entire lecture reminded Sakura of her time in Suna healing Kankuro after his fight with Sasori. The whole experience had challenged Sakura's skills as a medic, and she was better for it.
Poison extraction was a delicate process, dangerous if not done properly. "This technique requires precise chakra control. You have to be able to transfer the poison out from whatever organ it is targeting, through surrounding organs and skin, without damaging any other part of the body." She answered a few questions from the class before walking back behind the desk at the front of the room. "Now, here is the starting technique that you will all be practicing over the next week." Sakura gabbed the thermos from the corner of the desk and poured its contents into a clear jar for the class to see.
One of the girls in the middle of the room gasped longingly. "Coffee . . ." A round of laughs echoed in the room at this. Sakura smiled.
"Yep," she said cheerily. "Hot coffee with lots of creamer. But you won't be drinking it." The girl from the middle groaned, placing her head down on her table. "Your task over the next week will be to use your chakra to carefully separate the coffee and milk." Sakura placed her hands on the jar and performed a quick demonstration. The homogenous mixture began to churn as it slowly separated. The bottom half of the jar was now a creamy white while the top was a dark, rich black coffee. "Now, you'll want to be careful when practicing this exercise," she warned. She extracted the black coffee into a different container. She was going to drink it herself, but changed her mind before walking it over to the coffee-obsessed student in the middle. ("Oh thank goodness!"). "If your chakra control is too weak, the contents won't fully separate. If you use too much force, they will spill everywhere. Or worse, shatter your container. You'll have an assessment over this technique in one week, so I would advise you to start training immediately. Class dismissed!"
Sakura watched as the students slowly filled out of the lecture hall, talking about training together and coordinating schedules. The girl to whom she had given the coffee came up to the front; the jar was now empty.
"Thanks for the coffee!" She handed the jar to Sakura, who smiled knowingly.
"I'm guessing you had too much fun last night?" The girl stuttered a bit before blushing. "I was passing the bars just before midnight; I saw you and your friends out partying," she explained.
The girl smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, it was my eighteenth birthday. We decided to celebrate."
Sakura smirked before sending the girl—woman—off for the day. She remembered her own eighteenth: Ino had insisted on hitting up the best bars in the Leaf, determined to test Sakura's alcohol limit. Too bad for Ino, Sakura had already built a high tolerance by that point. Needless to say, she had outdrank the blonde before the end of the night.
"And now I don't have any coffee for myself," the woman sighed. And she needed some coffee.
So without a second thought, Sakura grabbed her stuff and marched out of the building. She was going to get herself some damn coffee, and there was a coffee shop conveniently down the road.
By some stroke of luck, the line to the coffee shop was short enough that Sakura didn't have to wait long to place her order. As she moved to the other end of the counter to wait for her drink, she saw a familiar face and made her way over.
"Good morning, Isamu," she greeted warmly. The older Jounin nodded in greeting, smiling.
"Morning, Sakura." The man brought his hand up to stifle a yawn. "How have you been?"
"Pretty good, actually," she said. This caught Isamu's attention. He straightened a bit, taking a closer look at her. She was definitely tired, but her eyes were bright this morning and she seemed full of a newfound energy. "Naomi woke up last night."
Isamu's eyebrows raised in surprise. "I thought she wasn't going to make it . . ." he said softly. "Not that we didn't have faith in you, but she got hit pretty bad."
Sakura nodded. "Honestly, I was starting to lose hope, too. But something clicked and she is starting to respond and gain control over her body."
Just then she was interrupted by the barista calling out Isamu's name. He walked forward and grabbed two large coffees. Sakura eyed him, causing him to laugh. "They aren't both for me," he explained. "One is for my husband, he's at the bakery across the street." A moment later, Sakura's order was ready. She walked forward and collected her own drink, thanking the man behind the counter.
Sakura walked back over to Isamu. "I didn't know you were married; you never mentioned it," she commented. "Why didn't you say you had a husband?"
Isamu led them out of the shop and towards the bakery across the street. Through the window they could see the crowd of people; they opted to wait outside. "I guess it just never came up," he replied. "It's been so busy these past couple of months. I don't think we've ever caught each other outside of our jobs," he added, as if just now realizing this. "Ah, there he is — the man of the hour."
Sakura turned her gaze towards the door to the bakery and felt a small bit of shock. The man stepping out was the Jounin that accompanied Sasuke to the Leaf Village for the Hokage Ceremony.
"Sakura, this is Kazuo, my husband."
The man approached the pair with a bright smile. Sakura had only talked with him a small number of times. But she remembered how kind he was; she recalled how she was relieved that he had gone with Sasuke to Konoha. He was a trustworthy shinobi.
Kazuo greeted Sakura with a nod as he took his coffee from Isamu. "Well, if it isn't the almighty medic," he said lightly. "You know, I didn't realize until visiting the Leaf that you have quite the reputation." Sakura gave him a questioning glance. He grinned suddenly. "I hear from some of the men of Konoha that you pack a wicked punch."
Sakura laughed then, shaking her head. "I'm guessing you met Naruto?" The trio began walking down the street, sipping hot drinks, the men eating their baked sweets. Kazuo nodded, mouth too full to answer properly. The sight reminded Sakura of her blonde friend from home. "Isamu was just now informing me that you two are married," she commented. "A fact he somehow neglected to share these past several months." Sakura paused a moment, looking carefully at Isamu. "Come to think of it, I don't recall you wearing a wedding ring."
At this, both men pulled silver chains from underneath their Jounin vests. On the chains were identical gold bands, glinting in the light of the morning sun. "Kind of hard to do shinobi work and not risk damaging a ring," Isamu explained before stuffing the ring back under his shirt. Sakura nodded before taking another sip of her coffee.
The group continued walking down the street, chatting about any casual topic that came to mind. Watching the two, Sakura saw how connected the men were, how naturally they interacted. She wondered how long they had been in a relationship; they couldn't have been much older than herself. But watching them now, Sakura had only seen this kind of love—deep, composed, natural—in older couples, ones who had known each other for decades.
She voiced these thoughts out loud, curious to know more about the couple. Kazuo shrugged nonchalantly. "We met about six years ago. Not the instant connection you hear about in children's fairytales." At Sakura's curious stare, he grinned. "Isamu here had a bit of a stick up his ass when we met. Followed every rule exactly; incredibly bossy."
"Hey," the other man interrupted. "It was necessary! You had a habit of pulling pranks on missions. It was obnoxious," he retorted, huffing slightly.
Kazuo leaned towards Sakura. "Clearly, I'm the fun one in this relationship."
The woman laughed at that. 'Definitely like Naruto,' she thought to herself, smiling. "You two seem so happy together," the woman commented. She looked up to the clouds, sighing lightly. "I want that someday . . . to be happy like you two."
The men shared a knowing look with each other, smirking.
At that moment the three reached the walkway that led to the hospital's front doors. Kazuo reached out his hand to Sakura, which she took. "It was good to properly meet you after all this time." He gave her hand a final squeeze before letting go. "You're exactly like what I've been told about you."
Sakura's eyes widened a bit. "What all have you been told?" she asked, suddenly feeling a little nervous.
Kazuo laughed, a hint of mirth in his eyes. "Oh, nothing much," he said teasingly. Before Sakura could question him further, he gave Isamu a quick kiss before turning to leave. "Maybe I'll see you around soon, Sakura. I wouldn't mind sparring sometime, actually." He grinned. "It's not every day you get to train with someone who punched a goddess."
Sakura flushed at that as she watched the man walk away.
"Don't mind him," Isamu said, rolling his eyes. "He loves to tease people. I promise he knows how to be normal." Sakura shook her head lightly before turning back to the Jounin beside her. "We should get together sometime, actually. It would be nice to relax for once. I think we all deserve it," he insisted. "Come to think of it, are you free tonight?"
Sakura thought on it for a moment. She had a long list of things to do. But realistically, half that list could wait at least another day, if she were honest with herself. Smiling then, she nodded at the man beside her. "Anytime after six should be good," she answered.
"Good," he replied. "I'll meet you here when you're off."
Saying their goodbyes, Sakura made her way through the hospital up to her office. When she opened the windowed door to her office, she expected to see a stack of papers and folders on her desk. Exams to grade, evaluations to schedule and complete, plans for upcoming lectures — that was all there, of course. But there was something else that she knew wasn't left by her.
Sitting on the desk was a medium-sized box, unmarked and plain. Sakura eyed it for a moment before undoing the folded top. The first thing she noticed was a small white card, no larger than a standard notecard. She picked it up, reading the brief message. The slanted handwriting was immediately familiar.
Sakura,
Let me know if it isn't the right size. Stay warm.
-Sasuke
The woman smiled to herself, her heart swelling. Placing down the card, she carefully pulled out the bundle of wrapping and tore away the paper. In her hands was a thick black winter coat, the inside lined with fleece. Sakura eyed the garment, jaw going slack; the coat was sleek and stylish, long enough to reach mid-thigh. She flipped it around her shoulders and tried it on — it fit perfectly. On top of that, it was incredibly comfortable on her. And glancing at her reflection in the window, it even looked amazing on her.
She was at a total loss for words. It was such a kind and unexpected gesture, Sakura couldn't think of how to thank him next time they saw each other. But she was so grateful and happy in that moment; at the very least, she wanted him to know that much.
After a couple minutes, Sakura eventually took the coat off and draped it over the back of her chair. She eyed it a few seconds longer, a smile lingering on her lips, before grabbing her clipboard and heading out of the office.
The smile would stay there for most of her day after that.
The rest of the day moved slowly for Sakura. There were only a couple minor surgeries that she sat in on to observe some of the medics to assess their progress. Overall, she was impressed with how well the staff was moving along and growing. They worked together almost perfectly, smoothly cooperating and balancing each other's skills. By the time each procedure was wrapping up, Sakura would feel a swell of pride in her chest. These people were growing and learning much faster than she anticipated, and she felt so grateful to watch it happen.
Afterwards, she spent a couple hours in Naomi's room. There was no significant change in the woman's condition, but this didn't discourage Sakura in the slightest. It had only been less than a day since she had started showing signs of improvement. Sakura spent time just talking to her friend, catching her up on things that were going on. At one point during a rather obnoxious retelling of drama among the younger staff, Naomi's lips turned up in a tiny smile, eyes shining. The mere reaction, though small, made Sakura's own smile grow. By the time the visit came to an end, Sakura made sure to keep the room's curtains opened enough so that if it started snowing again, Naomi would be able to see it.
By the time Sakura was walking out of the hospital it was just after six in the evening. As promised, Isamu was waiting outside. He eyed her as she approached him. "I like the coat," he complimented lightly. Sakura smiled as she thanked him; she didn't share that it was a gift, nor that it was a gift from his Otokage.
"So where are we headed?" Sakura asked, pulling the coat closer to her body. The wind had picked up considerably, causing the two adults to start walking quickly so as to get out of the cold.
"Tashiki's," Isamu answered. "They opened shortly after the village was established after the war. Kazuo and I go there at least every other week—the food is great and it's never too crowded."
They arrived not five minutes later to a large building with dark red walls and tinted windows. Upon entering, Sakura took in the elegant decor of abstract paintings and glass pieces; there was soft music coming from somewhere inside the restaurant. The greeter looked up from the front stand and immediately smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Hey there," Isamu greeted casually. Sakura wondered if the staff considered him a 'regular'. "Is Kazuo here already? I told him to grab a table for us."
The girl nodded, pointing off in a general direction behind her. "Yep! He took your usual table. A server will be with you all shortly," she said brightly. He led Sakura between tables and into a side room that was sectioned off from the main area of the restaurant.
Sakura felt her breath catch for just a moment. Sitting at the table in the far corner was not only Kazuo, but also Sasuke. They seemed to have not noticed the new arrivals yet as the two men were deep in conversation. From opposite ends of the table they leaned in, the discussion seeming to grow more intense. Sakura couldn't hear a word, but could only guess from the furrowed brows and sharp hand gestures. Contrary to his teasing nature earlier that day, Kazuo looked now like a man who could rival Sasuke in terms of serious authority. Sakura watched as something that Kazuo said caused Sasuke to pause and sit back, eyes narrowed.
From beside her, Isamu huffed in amusement. "Whatever politics you're debating, save it for later," he called, alerting the men to their presence.
Sakura watched as Sasuke's eyes shot over to her, staring at her with careful subtlety. After a moment his gaze shifted lower, taking in the coat on her form. A small smirk graced his face, causing her to blush slightly. He kept his gaze on her as she slid into the spot next to him, sliding the coat off her shoulders to drape over the back of the chair. "Finally got yourself something for winter, I see," he commented lightly, taking a sip from his drink with a smirk.
Sakura raised a delicate brow at this. 'He's keeping it all a secret,' she realized. The fact didn't bother her; rather, it saved them both an awkward conversation in public. She returned his look with a knowing smile. "Actually, it was a gift," she replied, playing along. "An old friend got it for me. They must have known I'd forgotten to pack one when I left Konoha." She watched as the corners of his lips softened just the slightest bit, taking the teasing quality out of his smirk and replacing it with something sincere.
"That must be a really nice friend," Isamu chimed in, eyeing the coat with interest.
Sakura smiled to herself; she knew if she added too much, she would give it all away. In a way, the secrecy behind the gift made it more special. Sasuke had no interest in hiding it from her—the note was signed, he wanted her to know it was from him. But that fact was to be kept between the two of them. Sakura would honor that silent request.
The group slipped into easy conversation over drinks and food. Isamu discussed his recent visit to the academy classes, commenting on how dedicated the students were to excelling in their studies. This brought up the topic of the academy graduation ceremony that was now scheduled for the spring, which led them to a general discussion of how the village was doing since the attack. Kazuo talked about the bar that had opened on the other end of town; Sakura expressed her satisfaction with how the hospital staff was coping; Isamu shared how the housing developments were going, noting that families were starting to prepare to find new homes.
At some point, Kazuo brought up the 'rumors' he had heard while in Konoha several weeks back. He and Isamu laughed when Sakura confirmed her tendency to have a quick temper—she would have to get back at Naruto for that, whenever she next saw him. Even Sasuke chuckled at this, remembering her outbursts towards the blonde during their Genin days.
"Now I really want to spar with you," Kazuo said with a light laugh, shaking his head. "I can only imagine what your battle skills are like."
Isamu looked over at his partner with a raised brow. "Don't tell me you didn't hear about her before going to the Leaf," he chided. "She had a reputation even before the war." At a questioning glance, Isamu sighed and smacked Kazuo on the arm. "She trained under Tsunade Senju."
"I just assumed that she only studied medical ninjutsu," Kazuo exclaimed defensively. "I didn't think she was trained in combat on top of that." He paused, looking at Sakura carefully. "Wait, when did you start training with Tsunade?"
Sakura had to think for a moment. For years, her mind associated the start of her training with the event of Sasuke leaving the village. "I was almost fourteen," she said casually.
"You're not serious," Kazuo said with widened eyes. Sakura nodded, smiling—she knew what was coming next. "So you mean to tell me that in—" he counted in his head quickly, "—three years' time, you were trained in medical ninjutsu and combat and managed to get as strong as you were by the time the war started?"
"And I was still going on missions," Sakura added lightly, sipping her drink.
"Damn." He leaned back, running a hand through his hair. "That's impressive. What drove you to work that hard?"
Isamu sighed while giving Kazuo a warning glance. "You know that can be a personal question."
Sakura shook her head. "No, it's okay. I've gotten that question a lot, actually." She leaned back, thinking about how to phrase her response. She noticed that Sasuke was watching her, too; he seemed just as curious as the Jounin couple across from her. "There were a few things," she started slowly. "But the biggest is that I felt like I was always left behind. People were always having to protect me back then. I was put into a situation where they suddenly had to rely on me, and I couldn't protect them. Another team had to intervene." Memories of her first Chuunin Exams crossed her mind's eye. "I promised myself that I would one day be strong enough to not watch their backs. I wanted to fight alongside them, to be their equal."
There was a beat of silence as the party took in her words. After a moment, Isamu called over the waitress and ordered a round of shots for the table. When the glasses were placed down, he raised his own in the air. He eyed the others, waiting for them to follow suit.
Sakura grabbed her own, confused. "What are we toasting?"
Isamu thought for a moment. "A toast . . . to strength. To being able to protect the ones we love." Kazuo snorted before raising his own glass, muttering about his husband being 'a sentimental sap'. "To protecting Otogakure. To the village we dream about it becoming."
After a moment, Sasuke raised his own glass and clinked it with Isamu's. "And to the one we live in now." He waited for the others to do the same before tossing back his shot glass swiftly.
It was late into the evening when the group exited the restaurant, bellies full and spirits light. Snow was falling lightly around them, glittering in the lights of the building's exterior decorations. Sakura laughed as Isamu half-carried a very drunk Kazuo down the road alongside her and Sasuke.
"I have never seen anyone outdo this man at drinks," he said with amazement. "I can't believe you're still standing."
Sakura shrugged. "My shishou frequented the casinos and bars. I learned to build a high tolerance."
Although, she would admit to herself that her head was feeling rather heavy. There was an odd tingling in her limbs whenever she moved. Sakura took a couple deep breaths, allowing the cold air to help sober her mind enough to walk home.
The group started saying their goodbyes for the evening, Isamu promising there wouldn't be any massive hangovers in the morning. Kazuo went and hugged everyone goodbye, leading Sasuke to put up his hand and push away the Jounin by the face. This caused Kazuo to fall into the snow, which then led to him making snow angels in the middle of the road. Sakura doubled over in laughter at the sight as Isamu picked up his husband and almost literally dragging him away.
Sasuke had an amused smirk on his face; this was the most life he had seen out of Sakura in weeks. He observed the flushed complexion in her cheeks as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Before his mind could process his next thought, the words "Let me walk you home" tumbled out of his mouth.
"That's okay, Sasuke," was her light reply as she steadied herself from the laughing fit. "I know you live on the other end of town, my apartment is out of your way."
The man gave an indecent snort at this. "That hasn't stopped me before." He paused for a moment. "Besides, you can barely walk straight right now. High tolerance, my ass."
"I can walk just fine!"
However, as Sakura turned and started walking down the street, determined to prove him wrong, she heard a faint chuckled. Her head whipped around sharply - a mistake she immediately regretted. Her feet stumbled over each other as her vision and balance seemed to sway.
"Okay, so maybe I'm a little drunk," Sakura sighed in admission.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and your apartment is in the other direction."
Oops.
Sakura watched as her ex-teammate approached her slowly, eyes never leaving her face. He gently placed a hand on her back and steered her down the street. Even in her inebriated state, Sakura could acknowledge that she was way more drunk than she had been in at least a year. The lights lining the street seemed to dance, the buildings turning sideways as she walked. The hand on Sakura's back moved to wrap around her shoulders in an effort to steady her. "Careful," came Sasuke's low voice. "There's ice." Sakura wrapped her arm around Sasuke's waist, trying to prevent herself from falling over.
'Yep. Way too drunk.'
It was a slow walk to her apartment. Sasuke led the way, still keeping a firm hold around her shoulders. He didn't say anything about her arm around his waist. Halfway on their walk, snow started to lazily fall from the darkened sky. Unlike the previous night, the streets were empty of children; there was a hushed delicacy to the air around them.
"What were you guys talking about? When Isamu and I got there?" The question was asked so casually, speech every-so-slightly slurred.
Sasuke hummed lightly as he debated on responding. He wondered if she was just voicing the passing thoughts in her mind or if she was genuinely curious. "Ask me another time," was his reply to her. She wasn't sober enough for that conversation, he decided; he would want her honest and careful input.
"M'kay," she mumbled into his side.
The rest of the walk was quiet, though the silence was not uncomfortable. Before long the pair reached Sakura's apartment building. She pulled away from him to dig the keys out of her pocket as they approached her door. Sasuke ignored the sudden feeling of missing the warmth of her against him.
For a moment Sakura stood in front of her door before turning and leaning against it, facing him. She smiled brightly up at him, cheeks flushed —from the cold, the alcohol, or something else, Sasuke wasn't sure. "I didn't know you were coming this evening," he admitted.
Sakura laughed, eyes crinkling. "Yeah, I caught that." Her head tilted to the side slightly. "Do you go out with them often?"
"Not really. Kazuo and I already had planned to meet and discuss some matters. Apparently Isamu had decided on dinner without knowing that."
"I'm glad you have friends here, Sasuke," she said honestly. Slightly thrown off by this, Sasuke gave her a curious look. Sakura glanced away, feeling a bit more aware of what was coming out of her mouth. "I'm glad that you aren't alone."
Sakura wondered for a moment if she was crossing another line. Her train of thought was halted by the feeling of fingers in her hair. Her eyes shot to Sasuke's face as she stood still. His gaze was fixed above her eyes as his fingers brushed through the pink strands.
"You had a clump of snow in your hair," he muttered softly. He ran his fingers slowly through her hair once more before his hand rested on her shoulder. It lingered there for a moment before tilting, his palm now holding the side of her face. "I'm not alone, Sakura. You don't need to worry about me."
Sakura continued to watch as his gaze met her own, eyes sincere. She grabbed his hand, bringing it down to hold between them. Her knuckles brushed his leg; there wasn't much space between their bodies. Sasuke could smell the alcohol on her breath as she gazed up at him.
"I always worry about you," she whispered. He gave her hand a light squeeze, holding for a moment before letting go. Sakura expected him to move away. Instead she found herself being pulled into his chest, his arm circling around her. She put her arms around his waist in response, shifting so she could place her cheek against his shoulder. "I don't want to see you alone, Sasuke. I want you to have people here that you can trust, people you can open up to."
Sasuke sighed against her hair, feeling a tightness in his chest. It amazed him how after their messy history she could still want to care this much, be this concerned for his wellbeing. There were so many things that he wanted to say in that moment, things he wished he could do to show just how much it meant to him for her to care so damn much. But even in his tipsy state, Sasuke knew it wasn't the right time. With her leaving in six months, there would never really be a 'right time' and still be fair to her—to himself, even.
So he pushed all of those thoughts to the back of his mind, storing them away to process another day (because the things he was thinking and feeling scared him just a little bit more than he cared to admit). Pulling back, he looked down at the woman in front of him and took the keys from her hands. He proceeded to open her door, leading her inside and helping her take off her coat. "Get some rest, Sakura. I'll see you later."
Sakura looked at him for a moment, a hint of something strange in her gaze before it disappeared as she smiled kindly at him.
Sasuke allowed her to give him one last hug before taking his leave. As he walked the streets back to his own residence, his mind was filled with images of her throughout the evening. Her teasing banter with Kazuo, the way she looked in the coat he bought her, her bright green eyes, the way her laugh sounded when she didn't hold back. He committed to memory the way her body felt against his, the softness of her hair against his cheek.
It was with a sudden pang in his chest that Sasuke realized just how much he cared about Sakura. And it wasn't that he was concerned that he was growing so fond of her—he rather enjoyed the feeling, actually.
Rather, he was brought down by the fact that these feelings were growing and she would be leaving in six months to return to the Leaf Village.
Ten minutes after Sasuke had left, Sakura was laying in bed, plagued by a number of thoughts. The first was that she was already dreading the hangover that was bound to happen the next morning. The next was that she felt suddenly lonely, like something was missing. This she blamed on the alcohol and the fact that she walked home with Sasuke's arm around her.
The main problem that kept her awake still was her conflicting emotions over the man she used to love.
"Damn it . . ."
His face came into her mind; she could hear his voice in her head, soft and gentle and kind. The way she felt when he held her, how he didn't seem bothered by the lack of physical space between them . . .
A pang hit her in the chest, pulling at her heart in a way that felt all too familiar. A small gasp escaped her lips and her eyes prickled with tears.
"Damn it . . ."
Even while drunk and exhausted, Sakura knew exactly what was happening.
'I love him.'
I have been loving the reviews you all leave! It's always so fun to read your thoughts and ideas about the story and characters - I'm glad it's being received well! I really don't like writing Sakura to be overly emotional and crying and just clinging to hope. I truly believe that she grows out of it after the war, especially during the 'Blank Period' when she and Sasuke spend time together and know each other.
So of course Sakura still loves him. The manga made it so clear that nothing would change how she felt. Upcoming chapters will delve into her processing this realization.
Fun Facts:
1. When I started planning this story almost ten years ago (holy shit, btw) I had to conceptualize all these original characters and how they relate to each other and the storyline. I remember deciding right away that Isamu would be the significant other to the Jounin that accompanies Sasuke to Konoha. I only just recently gave him a name - Kazuo. I think I remember the initial idea of this coming out being much more dramatized (like as Sasuke and Kazuo returned right after the attack), but this felt way more natural and casual, which is important to me now.
2. The scene during dinner when Isamu proposes a toast to strength and the village was heavily influenced by "Raise a Glass to Freedom" from Hamilton
I hope people don't mind so many original characters - it is kind of necessary when the story is placed somewhere other than Konoha and the rest of Rookie Nine are not involved.
See you all soon and please review!