The characters mentioned in this fanfic are by no means ours. All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of the Naruto franchise.*
Hiya there! Please note that Haruno Sakura is nonexistent in this fanfic. Ahiko Yuma will replace Sakura in Team 7 and will continue to posses the same qualities as Sakura in terms of a shinobi (she will be a mednin and kunoichi just like Sakura). If you have any questions please let us know. Feedback and criticism is greatly appreciated! Enough talking, let's get on with the story!
The streets of Konohagakure were rather busy this Friday evening. Civilians and shinobis alike occupied the many little shops and cafes here and there. It was a pleasant evening, despite the cold bite of the Autumn weather. Ahiko had just returned from a briefing with Kakashi about her previous mission in Sunagakure. Apparently, the medical ninja's there were surprisingly inexperienced when it came to outbreaks. The Hokage received a message from Gaara-sama asking for assistance with a minor outbreak of what was assumed to be a Chicken Pox related disease that was more commonly seen in children. Later that day, Kakashi called Ahiko in his office and explained her important mission and what was at stake. As soon as Kakashi gave her the details, she gathered a few other skilled mednin's and set out immediately. Ahiko furrowed her eyebrows in mere concentration at the thought of her previous mission. She had seen this disease before months ago in Konoha. She was positive it was Chicken Pox, but since she did not bring the equipment needed to treat it, she could only use her chakra to ease the patients only a bit. She would have to return to Sunagakure again once the antidote was manufactured and ready to bring to Suna.
Ahiko snapped out of her trail of thoughts when her stomach growled hungrily. "Oh Kami..." she cursed quietly. She scanned her surroundings and fortunately, her favorite Manju café was just a few feet ahead. Wearing a bright grin, she made her way towards the café. "Hello there, Ahiko-san, would you like the usual?" a polite feminine voice asked as Ahiko entered the shop. Ahiko smiled politely and nodded her head. "Yes please". Ahiko fished out her wallet from her jacket pocket and handed the woman the money. "Here you go Ahiko-san." Ahiko took the little bag from her hand and said her 'thanks' and didn't even make it out of the shop when she was noticed by a certain blond. "Hey there Ahiko-chan, wha-are those Manjus?" he stopped mid sentence and pointed to the bag in her left hand. She looked down at her hand and wore a nervous expression. She knew where this conversation was going and did not want to stay a minute longer. "Uh-no?" she sheepishly exclaimed. "Come on Ahiko-chan, whatever happened to sharing?" he grinned from ear to ear and snatched the bag out of her hand. Ahiko sighed, there was nothing she could do now. "Fine, just don't eat it all, alright?". He nodded, stuffing his mouth with the small pastries.
When they exited the café, the cold breeze prompted her to zip her jacket up further and rub her hands together. "So, what did you do today?" she asked in between exhaling on her hands. Naruto paused for a second with a blank expression before answering. "I uh, went to visit Sasuke at the military police force earlier". Ahiko instantly dropped her hands back to her sides. Sasuke. She wondered how he was doing. "Is he doing okay?" she asked slowly. He nodded and passed (Name) a Manju, to which she nodded her head in gratitude. They walked silently after that, with the occasional shinobi expressing his or her thanks to Naruto and Ahiko.
After the Great Ninja war, this became a common daily occurrence for Naruto and Ahiko due to their enormous role in aiding the success of the war. On the contrary, Sasuke was shunned for his dark past, despite all that he did to help in the war. Constantly, Ahiko would overhear citizens wanting Sasuke to be imprisoned for much longer than he was supposed to be. Since it was the Hokage's decision, Kakashi received many indirect threats because civilians thought that the short amount of time Sasuke was spending in jail was due to Kakashi's biased opinion. This angered Team 7 very much. It was true though, it was a bit biased, even someone as dense as Naruto could interpret that. But everyone knew that without Sasuke, they could have never risen victorious. Sasuke has proved that he has changed and is no longer targeting Konohagakure. The fact that he is imprisoned proves this enough. Ahiko wondered when Sasuke would be allowed out of custody. Kakashi called for a meeting to discuss this issue not too long ago, she remembered. She and Naruto were still a bit shaken up when Sasuke was beaten up and hauled by shinobi forces right after their victory. Kakashi assured them that he would try to get Sasuke out of imprisonment as soon as possible, but Team 7 knew that it would not be anytime soon. Ahiko was scared, if she's being honest. Scared and hurt to see him caged up in a prison. She couldn't find it in herself to see him like that. It embarrassed her, since Kakashi and Naruto knew her way too well and saw right through her. She just couldn't face him after all this time.
Once again, Ahiko snapped out of her thoughts. When she looked up at Naruto, he had already stopped walking and stared up at her with a curious and worried expression. She sighed, a white puff of moisture escaping her lips and disappearing in the crisp night. "Are you okay? Ya' know you can tell me anything, right?". Ahiko flickered her gaze to her surroundings, calculating the amount of people around her. She stepped closer to him, trying to feel for any shinobi chakra near them. When she came up with nothing, she started "Has Kakashi-sensei said anything about Sasuke's imprisonment? Its been a while, don't you think?". Naruto's expression saddened, and she felt her heart twist into painful knots. "No, I was ordered to take the last 5 days off after my mission, but don't worry Ahiko-chan! I know Teme will be free soon enough. I promise!" his forced enthusiasm made her want to puke. She nodded slowly, a grim smile plastered on her face. Naruto noticed her tired expression and exhaled a white puff. He fully turned towards Ahiko and pulled the hood of her jacket up. She looked up curiously and Naruto grinned his signature smile and handed her the bag of Manju she had forgotten about long ago. "Here, you seem exhausted. Let me walk you home, its getting late." You huffed, "I can walk home myself Naruto, you don't have to." He folded his hands behind his head and walked before her. "No way." He hummed, heading off to the direction of her apartment. She shook her head and a small smile made its way to her face. She was so grateful for Team 7. She jogged over to Naruto, conversing about everything and nothing in the Autumn night.
Thank you all very much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll try my best to update 1-2 times a week. Please let us know if you have a request or an idea of how you would like this story to go. I'd also like to apologize for the rather boring chapter, I promise it will get better. Thank you once again and have a good day / night!