Chapter Three
In a booth filled with laughter and alcohol four girls currently sat, sakura took another swig of her whisky, it stung in her throat, she was starting to feel a slight buzz, ino beside her was noticeably already drunk with the way she was already slurring her words , hinata never drank much , someone had to be sane and make sure everyone got home safely, tenten was almost as drunk as ino. They had been conversing for a while, mostly about current gossip which ino never seemed to lack
'this one is going to shock y'all' she drawled… a beat.. 'kakashi and shizune' she whispered like she was telling a top secret info, well technically it was …
'No way' tenten enthused in disbelief
She had to admit she was shocked too, sometimes ino had really good gossip, she was so going to tease kakashi when next she saw him, won't be anytime soon for he was currently on a mission, she chugged another shot of whisky. She turned to hinata who had been silent for a while, the girl was always so shy
'So, hinata how's it been going with naruto? Y'all have any plans yet' wriggling her eyebrows suggestively
Hinata went as red as a tomato as usual 'actually na-naruto kun and I are planning on getting married' she fidgeted with her glass cup
Of course sakura knew this already so this came as no surprise to her, she just wanted to hear her purple haired friend say it hehe
'Whaaat!' ino and tenten slurred at the same time
Suddenly she was being dragged by a stumbling ino to the dance floor with tenten and hinata trailing not far behind
'let's dance to celebrate!' as she pulled on hinata and tenten who began to dance with her, maybe it was the combination of the alchohol, loud edm music thumping hard in her ears, and the sound of her friends laughing for no absolute reason but as she joined her friends to dance she felt so happy .
She woke with a start, her head hurt, sitting up she glanced around, the room was slightly out of focus but she was sure she was in her house, how did I even get home… hinata …she immediately massaged chakra into head to ease the pain, 'that's better' she said to no one in particular, she checked the clock, 6am, she better prepare in case the escort came early
Stepping out of the steamy shower she applied some lotion and sunscreen , dressed , packed her hair into a low tight bun and then looked into the mirror at the finished product, pink fitted tank top which was slit at both sides, black spandex shorts that stopped mid-thigh and made her hips pronounced, she was satisfied with what she saw , just then the expected knock came , she grabbed her emergency medical kit from the bed and hooked it on her belt, then the scroll where she sealed everything she packed in as she went to open the door and nodded knowingly to the anbu member informing her the escort arrived
It was already 7am when she arrived that gate to see tsunade, naruto and ino who by the way looked hung over as hell, she felt her eyes watering, they all came to see her off even though it was so early
Ino hugged her first, 'you better write regularly' she started, still in the embrace, 'and also, don't be a hermit, go out, have fun okay? She added softly
Sakura nodded with a wry smile as ino released her from the embrace, 'I'll try… also you look like shit' they both laughed
She hugged naruto too who told her to take care of herself and that he'd miss her
'you and hinata better not get married without me being present' she warned playfully
'hinata would kill me first if I tried that sakura chan…'
'you just reminded me naruto, tell hinata I said thanks for getting me home safely'…' you got a good one naruto' she added with a pat on the shoulder
'Alright, enough now, sakura is not living in suna forever and y'all are keeping the escort waiting' tsunade cut in sternly
Sakura took the chance to look at the escort now, she hadn't even noticed him cause she had been preoccupied with her friends, brown hair, anbu mask was all she got, great…
Tsuande engulfed her in her a shoulder crushing hug while whispering in her ear 'make konoha proud 'to which she nodded in response
She turned to leave, well this it…
As her feet crossed the gate with the escort in front , she didn't know how she felt exactly , she spared one last glance and wave at her friends at the back before jumping on the trees with the sand nin and matching his speed , seems like they'd be going at full speed , at this rate they'd reach suna by evening
The sand nin never spoke except when he needed to indicate they stop for a short break which usually lasted for 10 minutes tops, they made a total of three breaks throughout the journey in which she replenished her strength with energy bars and water.
She was parched, and felt sandy and sticky, not the best combination, she needed a shower pronto, steamy shower, she could already imagine it, the gates of suna were visible already, they were almost there, as they got closer she could see the outline of two people at the gate, it was too dark to make out who they were from the distance, how did they guess the exact time she'd arrive, the anbu must have sent a message, damn sneaky anbus…
As the approached the gate they slowed down to a walk, she could see who they were now, two sand siblings , kankuro and temari … when they finally approached the , the escort let immediately while temari and kankuro welcomed her
'Welcome to suna' kankuro started with a polite smile and handshake which she reciprocated with a smile and thank you
'We appreciate you for volunteering to help our health center' temari continued with a handshake which sakura reciprocated as she replied
'It's nothing, our villages are allied we should help each other in any way we can'
They both nodded in agreement. 'Unfortunately gaara couldn't be here to welcome you, late meeting with the council' kankuro said
Sakura waved her hands as she shook her head 'No no, its fine, you too are here that's enough'
'Ha you sound a bit too relieved' kanuro jabbed as temari gasped
Sakura flushed in embarrassment 'I uhh don't understand' she managed to get out
'we get it our brother can be a bit scary' temari replied as they both laughed
She laughed a little too, as they walked her to her would be residence she thought that maybe her time in suna will actually be fun, temari and kankuro were so nice and easy to talk to
They finally stopped in front a big 2 storey building all sakura could think of at this point was that bath and food, she was famished
'We live here too' temari began
'A room has been prepared for you upstairs, let's go in, you must be tired'
'and hungry'
She was currently dressed in an oversized tshirt feeling content, the bath and food had been everything, she didn't feel like unpacking yet, she stood and gazed around the room, she had been in a haste to shower that she didn't really look around, the room was big for sure , queen sized bed with a study table and chair by the right , she walked over to the window by her left , opening it , the chilly breeze hit her face with force, wisps of her still damp hair flew about 'this is nice' she smiled quietly
It got too chilly so sakura decided to go to bed, tomorrow was going to be filled with a lot of introductions, she'd meet gaara, new people at the hospital, she closed the windows and walked to be bed, plopping down face down and wondering how it was so soft as she closed her eyes in the hopes of a peaceful sleep
Groaning in frustration, sakura sat up , she couldn't sleep, instead she'd been tossing and turning for the past 20 minutes , she was instantly thirsty ,opening the door of her room she peered at the dark hallway , she closed it behind her ,It was so dark but she could make out some light downstairs where the moonlight seeped In from one uncloaked window , she briefly wondered if the two siblings were back yet ,before treading cautiously down the hallway, simultaneously searching for the light switch in vain. She finally made it downstairs without tripping and rolling down the stairs , she could see a little better now , thanks to the small moonlight seeping from one window, she found the fridge by the kitchen , she grabbed the water and chugged , as she walked slowly to the stairs , she wondered what ino and the rest were doing , 'probably out somewhere getting wasted' she thought with wry smile, just then her thoughts were interrupted when she came in contact with a hard chest
'owww'… she groaned 'kankuro?' she mumbled as she rubbed on her forehead , when she didn't get a reply she looked up and her breathe caught in her throat
'well shit' inner sakura chuckled
Different thoughts ran through her brain as she stared in stupefaction while sea foam green eyes stared back at her-
'Gaara?'
A/N : i know the chapter was really short but had to speed up the moving process...