Sliding into his training gear, Sasuke threw a look at Naruto's sleeping form and stopped to think should he wake him up or not. On the one hand Naruto will probably bitch about it later but, on the other hand, Sasuke really liked to train alone. And so after 2 seconds of thinking about it, he exited their room alone.
At the moment they were near Tokyo, they were 4 hours away from the city coming back from the mission they were on. The accommodation that was provided to them belonged to the agency so it was fully equipped with everything they needed. The mission was boring, nothing they couldn't handle and that required for them to have a rest so near the agency's headquarters, but Sasuke didn't complain because every moment he could be away from that place, was good. He felt suffocated by missions, agency's ambitions and lack of common sense that displayed itself daily.
He passed the kitchen and saw a few agents there enjoying their breakfast. He would eat later, maybe by then Naruto will be awake. He didn't want to sit with anybody he didn't already know and answer their questions. To be honest, Sasuke hated, HATED meeting new people. He was quite content with his social circle and didn't see any need in broadening it.
He went into the training grounds, found the perfect spot and started with his morning routine. With his weapons, his equipment, his trained movements he felt at peace. This is what he was bred to do. All his life, this is what matters, he has to be good at this, nobody cares about anything else. Sometimes he feels that this lifestyle is wrong, that it is twisted, but that is all he has. All they have.
The agency brings children from the streets, offers them a home, food and education they deem appropriate. And this way they make soldiers. Loyal soldiers that have nowhere else to go, perfect employees.
Sasuke wasn't always poor as a child, he wasn't on the streets from the beginning. He had a family once, maybe that's why he can see what's wrong with this picture… Because he got a glimpse of what life should be like. But, then he lost it all.
That's why he hated Naruto and Sakura at the beginning. Because the two of them annoyed him the most. The others were annoying too but he didn't have much contact with them. Growing up he saw their gratitude to the agency, because it was all they ever had. They were determined to keep it and cherish style, Sasuke couldn't muster himself to care about an organization which only took and took and gave very little in return. He only wanted out.
But then, in the middle of his angst and infinite plans of getting out of all that, he started considering Naruto as a rival, maybe as a friend even. He saw Sakura's loyalty to the two of them, that was greater than her loyalty to the agency. And he thought: if I leave I am leaving them also. And that is something he couldn't do. Because once you lose your family you really appreciate when life gives you another one. And besides where would he go, to whom?
After an hour of sweating he sat down by his bag and took his bottle of water. He was tired, and the day wasn't near its end. Actually it was at the beginning. Sasuke let out a sigh. He was staring at the sky and remembered a discussion he had with Sakura about meditation. She told them to try it… Naruto of course tried it right away but Sasuke scoffed it as a childish method and didn't even try. She looked offended and threw him the look he knew said: I know I am right. So Sasuke just smirked and told her that meditation could never excuse the things they have done… nothing could do that. And so when she just looked away, Sasuke felt bad instantly because she was always trying to cheer them up, to make them right somehow and he always, without an exception found a way to make it sound stupid.
And so, sitting beneath a tree after just an hour of training, he straightened his back, put his hands in his knees and started breathing. He would never admit to anyone that he was actually meditating, and he tried remembering everything she told them to do. So Sasuke thought about a green field, silence and smell of rain in the air. He didn't know how much time he spent there but when he went back to his accommodation he saw that another hour has passed. Who would've thought?
He showered and woke Naruto who just turned to the other side. Well, at least Sasuke tried.
-Naruto, I'm going to eat. We should leave for Tokyo in the afternoon, we have to report there before dinner.
-Nahm, oh, ok… Sak'ra, frog…-was all he heard. Sasuke didn't know what kind of a dream he had and he didn't want to know.
He picked his breakfast on his tray, adding tomatoes and even though he didn't like sweet things, he took 2 puddings. He knew one of his teammates would eat it.
He scanned the cafeteria for a familiar face and he saw her. She was sitting next to the window with a tea in one hand and the other was turning pages to the book she brought on this mission. He remembered that Sakura told him once that the thing she was most grateful to the agency for was that they gave her the opportunity to learn how to read. She would never learn it on the streets. And then she told him, the second thing was meeting Naruto and him… And then she joked how depending on the day, and how they behaved, they can find themselves on the first place.
-Hey,-he said as he said on her opposite side.
She looked up from the book through her too-big-for-her-face glasses and smiled.
-Good morning Sasuke-kun. Done with the training?-she asked turning back to the book.
-Aa,-he just sighed. And started eating looking out of the window.
-I suppose Naruto is still sleeping. Still it took you longer than usual to finish your training, I wonder why. – she said and although she was keeping her eyes on the book he could see she was smiling. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Did she see him? He didn't want her to see him doing that. So feigning disinterest he just made a sound that sounded like: Hnnn.
She continued smiling and closed her book.
-Can I have your pudding?-she asked smiling and leaning her head to one side. Her long pink hair was tied high on her head. She looked like a big child. But he knew better, she was trained to kill. But it was still ironic to him that she, who yesterday helped them track and kill a man, is now asking sweetly for a vanilla pudding while wearing a green scrunchy on her head.
-Just take it.
-Thank you Sasuke-kun. Sooo, how do you feel? Relaxed? –she asked licking the pudding cover. He tried not to stare at that action but it was hard. He also hated that she looked so innocent doing it.
-I'm good. You?-he asked not knowing where she wanted to go with this.
-A bit tired but, I'm okay. I got a mail from Shikamaru this morning. He wants me for their next mission, it's in two days. I don't know if we have anything on our schedule so I wanted to check. –she told him.
-I don't think we have anything. But you shouldn't go. Why would they need you?-Sasuke said, feeling himself becoming irritated… this is the second time in a month. The first time Neji's team required her help.
-I should go if we don't have a mission. I should help. And Ino isn't that good in forensics you know. He wants me to check something, I won't even do field work. I'll be safe. –she told him. In the end she was holding his gaze as if begging him for approval and giving him a promise at the same time.
He just sighed…-Ok. But tell them that we never asked for their help and that they should feel incompetent at least to have to ask help from other teams all the time because they can't solve a case themselves.
-I'm not going to say that.-she just said as-matter-of-factly.
In that moment Naruto came, dragging himself and sitting besides Sakura. He took the pudding from Sasuke's tray without asking and started eating.
Sakura resumed her reading trying to focus on the words and not Naruto's loud chewing and swallowing.
-Could you be any louder?-Sasuke spat at him.
Naruto continued eating: -Geez, Sasuke, tense much? Maybe you should try meditating like I did, I feel great.
Sasuke just growled and Sakura started laughing at Sasuke's annoyed face and Naruto's confused one.