I don't own Naruto, there that's my disclaimer.
Remembering…
It was a cold rainy morning when Sakura rose from her sleep. Looking to the clock at her bedside, letting her know that it was still too early to be up. However, this was where she was. Turning off the alarm so it didn't go off in forty-five minutes, then stubbing her toe it was clear that it would be one of those days.
'For the last two weeks, every time we've had training it's been terrible weather.' Sakura thought to herself
Not planning on trying to mope around, Sakura hurried to get her day going. At least in a better direction. Getting her clothes for the day, she moved onto the shower with hopes of washing the sleep from her body. That seemed to help her feel a little better, more awake at least. Making her way to get dressed, it was time to make the trip downstairs.
Becoming a master at moving in the house was a must, if she disturbed her parents, it could make a bad day worse. They were low-rank shinobi, so she had to learn the basics quickly. They didn't think that she could become a shinobi, so when she graduated from the academy, their temperaments did too. They wanted her to stop there and proceed no further, yet she enjoyed it. Yeah, she wasn't the greatest and probably spent too much time fanboying. Her parents would drone on about what happened twelve years ago as if she cared! She was just a baby, and her parents weren't even involved; they were out on a mission. They made it so hard to deal with, and it seemed that lately, they were just looking for excuses to be nasty. Stopping only to grab a few grapes, she didn't want to take anything else for her breakfast.
It was becoming harder to eat anything more, her parents said that if she wanted to be a shinobi she could pay her own way. She'd been having to pay them rent, which didn't include any food. Plus, they were even saying the food she got if she didn't eat first, they had rights to it! Having no other options, she ate when she had the money. Being as her team hadn't been on a mission in a while, all her money was wrapped up in rent. There was nothing left for food.
'Well, I guess this is a good way to keep up with my diet.' Sakura thought, feeling her stomach want for more than a few measly grapes.
Hoping that maybe her parents would finally come to their senses, she could come home and have a homecooked meal. Making sure to toon those thoughts out, she wanted to get going before the house woke. Making sure her parka was snug; she left the house without leaving a trace behind.
Wondering the city for a while, Sakura could start to feel the cold from the rain that was slowly letting up. Granted, the parts of her that were not protected by the parka were drenched and were frozen. It was a bonus for the day, Sakura could feel her inner self start to chant about what a lousy day it was.
Quickly silencing her inner self, she didn't need to add that either. Seeing that dawn was breaking, Sakura hurried along to get to Naruto's apartment. In her sulking state, she'd almost lost track of time! Arriving in the nick of time, Sakura studied the building while she traveled her way up to Naruto's door. It was not one of the fancier parts of the city, but it wasn't the poorest either. Wishing to not have to worry about parents overlooking your shoulder or even telling you that you're a bother must be nice. Naruto was lucky to live alone. Moving to knock on his door, she'd noticed that the door was slightly ajar. Checking it for any traps that knucklehead could have set, she finally made her way in. Picking up the carton of milk that seemed to keep the door open, she tossed it into the trash. Looking around, the bed wasn't even made it was as if a twister rampaged his apartment. Not wanting to see the bathroom she waited a moment.
"Naruto? Where are you?" Asking the silent room, with no response
Feeling annoyed with him, it was his idea to meet here in the first place. Leaving the destroyed apartment, she made sure the door was shut. Not locking it, because knowing Naruto he'd lost his keys again.
"Where's Naruto?" Sakura heard from behind her
Turning around, the blush presented itself. "Good Morning Sasuke-kun! No, he's not. Can you believe that he left his door open for people to just go in?"
Watching him roll his eyes and the standard 'hn', he began walking away.
Hurrying to catch up with him, "Where are you heading? Do you have an idea where he might be?"
"I'm going to find that dobe, we have training. I don't want to be late, so what do you think I'm doing?" Pushing his way past Sakura
Sakura stood astonished that he would push past her, they were teammates and she'd shown him nothing but kindness. "Well, sorry I asked you!" Sakura huffed, walking away. Trying to figure out how to break the cold heart, he only seemed to break with Naruto. What did he have that she didn't? Feeling a quick touch that was only there for a second on her shoulder, she turned to see Sasuke there.
"What do you want Sasuke-Kun?" Sakura questioned him, crossing her arms
Watching him take a deep breath before any words were released from his mouth, "Why don't we look for the idiot together. That way we can do our training."
Blushing different shades of red, she couldn't help but giggle. Sasuke-Kun actually wanted her to join him! Maybe she was working her way into that cold exterior!
"What?" Sasuke asked confused by the giggling
"Oh! Nothing!" Sakura smiled
Rolling his eyes and giving his trademark statement, he placed his hands in his pockets walking to find their teammate. Hurrying to catch up, they started their search. However, by the time was finally able to come out, they'd had no luck in finding the blond-haired knucklehead. Finding a bench to sit down at, they'd gone to most of the places he could be. Feeling her stomach start to growl, she'd found that placing her elbows on her knees helped to quiet the sounds. Looking up at the smell of food, there he was! At the only place, neither of them thought to look and somehow managed to avoid: Ichiraku Ramen. Why hadn't the amazing Sasuke not noticed this? Looking over to him, he appeared to be sleeping. He had never looked so relaxed before and it made him all the cuter!
Shaking her head, she had to stop for the moment. Standing up, she yelled to Naruto. Noticing that Sasuke had reopened his eyes, along with some of the passer-byes were not pleased with her yelling this early. Quickly apologizing, she'd noticed that Naruto turned around lazily. Noticing it was his team, he perked up waving them over. Sakura walked over to him, giving him a good clock on his head.
"What was that for Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, rubbing the spot in hopes of making the pain go away
"You said to meet you at your place this morning, we get there and there is no sign of you. Even your door was open to everyone to look in." Sakura spoke annoyed, and possibly exaggerating a bit
"I'm sorry, food was calling to me. Plus, there were some things I wanted to get done before our training! We've been training so hard, then the extra training has me so tired at the end!" Naruto spoke paying for his meal
Sakura sighed, everyone else was getting extra help. She was starting to fall behind her teammates. Watching her blond teammate finally stand with his hands clasping behind his head, letting off a large smile. Hearing a let's go from Sasuke, they started to walk together to the training grounds.
During this walk, Sakura could only think of how the others were getting more training. Sasuke was getting extra help from Kakashi-sensei and Naruto had some crazy old man helping him. Sakura was stuck helping at the hospital in her free time. Right now, she was no more than a volunteer, at least it got her more time away from home. Some of the nurses were keen on her, helping her learn some of the basics of medic training when they could. Many of them were surprised that she was a quick study, pushing her to do some medic training. Sakura was skeptical that she could be anything more than just a helper, that's how everyone else treated her.
Noticing that they would be nearly an hour late, Sakura pondered their punishment. However, when they arrived there was no sign of Kakashi yet. Standing around, the rain had begun again. Sighing, hoping that their sensei would arrive sooner rather than later. Another twenty minutes passed before Kakashi popped in his cloud of smoke, reading his "Come, Come Paradise" book.
"Start with some blitzing, then I can see where you are," Kakashi spoke, never once looking up from his book. Glad to hear the disapproval from his students.
Moving away from their sensei, they began. As always, Naruto and Sasuke had the upper hand. The one thing Sakura could use to her advantage was her excellent chakra control, something Naruto lacked the most out of the group. You would never hear Sasuke say it, but her control was something that he wanted. No matter, Sakura tried her best to keep up with her teammates. Going until the rain had stopped and the sun was starting to show itself from behind the clouds, showing that it was close to midday. Each had their fair amount of superficial damage, with Naruto almost already healed. That was still a mystery for Sakura, it took days for her to heal a cut. Naruto almost as soon as it happened, was already healed.
Looking down, they were covered with mud and wet. Sakura sighed; taking the only shower that was allotted to her today. That was a bad decision on her part. Seeing their sensei walked over to them, seeing that they were stopped.
"Good work today. That is all." Kakashi smiled
"What do you mean?" Naruto yelled, clearly not agreeing. "We have to be doing more! I want more missions! I want to be ready to tackle anything that comes my way!" Naruto yelled
"I had to make some observations today, there will be more in the future." Kakashi smiled, turning to walk away from his students
Moving to catch up with their sensei, it was clear that Naruto was not done with this conversation as he started to run his mouth when they were next to him. Walking the small distance to the bridge they seemed to walk to after their training, Sakura began to not feel well. Trying to shake it off, it only got worse.
Stopping abruptly on the bridge, "Kakashi-." Sakura barely got out before the dizzy spell took over, causing her to blackout
Kakashi had noticed that the pink-haired girl had been doing careless mistakes today, it was unlike her. Watching her walk behind the group, something was wrong. Not sure if he was the right person to address it, he tried to ignore the nagging feeling. Not the one Naruto was creating. Hearing her begin to mutter his name, he turned just in time to catch her before hitting the bridge. Ignoring the questions Naruto was spilling out, he checked her forehead. It was clearly warmer than it should be, even with the training they just endured. Not a medic, he should get her to her parents they might know what was going on.
"I'm taking her to her parent's house," Kakashi announced, tired of the endless questions from Naruto. Disappearing in his cloud of smoke, leaving the two other males confused.
"Do you know where she lives?" Sasuke asked, wanting to know if she wasn't going to be aiding in their training
"Yeah, I do teme!" Smiling, Naruto took off running. Sasuke sighed, following the annoyance.
Kakashi appeared, with no time to spare, to the door of Sakura's home. Adjusting his student so he could knock, he waited for someone to come to the door. After waiting some time, a middle-aged woman came to the door, hands on her hips. Knowing he was at the right house as this woman also had the green eyes that his student had.
"What do you want?" Eyeing the man holding her daughter
"Your daughter is clearly sick; can I bring her in," Kakashi asked politely, he'd never met her parents
Watching her move from the door, to bring back to large bags. "No, no you can't. That little thief took some of our grapes this morning, she didn't bother to leave any money for them. I told her if she wants to be a shinobi, she can act like one." Kakashi stared at the woman before him, he didn't know this was happening, "She's an hour late with rent again, I packed all her room into these bags. Take them and her away from this house, when she's done being dramatic you can tell her she is no longer welcome here." Slamming the door on them, Kakashi was dumbfounded
"Wow," Naruto spoke, hearing most of the speech. "What do we do now?" Kakashi pointed to the bags, having them each grab one. Both were insanely heavy.
"Follow me." Kakashi moved quickly, taking off to an apartment building near the Hokage tower. Entering the office, the man at the desk wasn't fazed by the passed-out Kunoichi, asked what he could to help him.
"One apartment for this kunoichi, please. How much?" Kakashi asked
"I can do room 8, for 100 a month." The man spoke handing the key to him "It has basics such as a bed, fridge, table, and couch."
"Very well. I will be back later to pay." Kakashi spoke, ushering the two boys back out the door.
Naruto and Sasuke moved to allow their sensei the ability to get to the room. Neither having to pay rent before, weren't sure if that was a good deal or not. Being as Kakashi agreed, it must have been a good deal. Giving their sensei a moment to situate their teammate, they look out at the road. Naruto instantly saw someone he knew!
"Hinata!" Naruto yelled, making the girl turn and begin to blush. Sasuke watched the interaction and rolled his eyes, telling the dobe that he was going to see what was going on. Hinata walked over to see what the commotion was about.
Her companions, Neji and Tenten, stopped and waited for her. Tenten was amazed at the affection Hinata had for the blond loudmouth of the village. Still amazed that it had lasted this long, maybe Hinata was sure that he was the one. Looking at Neji, he had annoyance written into his posture. Moving so that she could whisper that clearly, she liked him, along with there was probably a good reason why he called out to her.
Taking the moment to look over his cousin, her pitiful actions were now understood. The blushing, stuttering, and finger playing while she talked to him all made sense. Remarking that there should be no time for that nonsense, he was ready to leave. Before doing so, it hit him that there were standing outside of one of the newer apartment buildings in the village. It was odd, as the last, he'd heard Naruto was still staying in the one by the Hokage tower. Making his way over to his cousin and the blond, he had a quick question to ask.
"Naruto, when did you move here?"
"Oh!" Naruto stopped his thoughts, throwing one hand behind his head. "That's what I wanted to tell you! You can't say anything to anyone else. Sakura's parents kicked her out and something is wrong with her now. Kakashi-sensei is taking care of her."
Hinata gasped throwing her hands over her mouth, Tenten not knowing the pink-haired kunoichi withheld her gasp. "How could you forget that Naruto? Will you take us to her?" Hinata asked politely
Naruto became flustered being called out on his forgetful nature. "Yeah, follow me." Hoisting the bag that Kakashi wanted him to bring up the stairs to find the right room. Walking in, the room was void of color. Noting that it wasn't very Sakura. Moving further into the room, they found Sakura already on the couch with a cold compress. Sasuke was sitting beside the couch and Kakashi standing in the middle of the room deep in thought.
"What's wrong with Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked placing his bag next to the one already on the floor
"While waiting on you, I already had a medic come and go. She has exerted her body beyond the nutrients that were going in, that being said she gave her something to alleviate some of that. Yet, when she wakes, she will need food." Kakashi answered
"What about her mother? Can she really throw her out for being a Kunoichi?" Hinata asked confused how a parent could disregard a child
"Yes, however unfortunate this is, Sakura has made her choice. Being a shinobi has given her more rights, with that her mother has full right to evict their daughter. No matter how wrong it is."
"Is that true?" Everyone turned to see Ino standing in the doorway
"Yes, it is Yamanaka." Kakashi answered, wondering how in the world this news traveled so fast "Where did you hear of Sakura being displaced?"
"I saw Hinata talking to Naruto and then his body language. I followed behind to see what was going on, clearly, I heard you sensei."
Kakashi nodded, she clearly had a good knack for reading people. Seeing that Shikamaru was standing in the doorway looking in, wondering if they'd had training. Ino had come in taking a place beside the couch, staring at her friend who was unconscious at the moment. What surprised him was the fact that Yamanaka didn't pay any heed to the Uchiha sitting beside her. Glad to see she had friends, Kakashi felt in a way that this could have been avoided. He'd been focusing on his other two pupils, giving only Sakura the basics.
"We have prior arrangements so we must take our leave. If there are any improvements, please inform us Hinata-sama." Neji spoke, gaining the attention of the room. Leaving after receiving confirmation from his cousin. Hinata knew that they were on their way to training with Guy-sensei, if they were late who knows what he would have them do. One thing Hinata didn't understand was why Neji was concerned with what was happening, why was he concerned with the pink-haired Kunoichi? It wasn't like she could ask him, knowing for sure that she'd never understand his cousin.
The room remained quiet after Neji and Tenten left, Kakashi was the only one to be making noise. He'd begun moving Sakura's bags around the house, setting up the pictures and knick-knacks. It made it seem less dreary if only a little. If Sakura hadn't been placed under his care, he would have left the deafening silence. Even Yamanaka was quiet, from what he'd heard from Asuma that never happened. He didn't understand the friendship they held with one another, they always seemed to trash talk the other. Maybe one day their friendship would return once they found out that the Uchiha would never be able to give them what they wanted.
"I have to get going. Will you tell billboard brow she needs to keep herself healthy if she wants to keep up with me?" Standing, Ino kept her head down not allowing anyone to see her face. Feeling remorse for calling the pink-haired girl fat just a few days ago, if she'd known what she was going through she wouldn't have said it! Leaving soon after, with a Shikamaru who trailed behind her.
"What is up with everyone?" Naruto asked the quiet room
Hinata blushed shaking her head, however, she truly didn't have an answer to give him. Kakashi moved to Sakura, taking the cloth away. Hearing the running water, they all knew what he was doing. Entering the room again, he felt Sakura's forehead before replacing the cloth.
"Her fever has gone down; she will need to continue to rest. You three keep an eye on her while I go buy some groceries. I can even bring us back some dinner." Before getting an answer, he was gone
Time seemed to move slowly, Hinata was too embarrassed to try and start a conversation. Watching Naruto get up, he went to the picture of team seven. Holding it and looking at it, each wondering what he was thinking. The other picture was of only Sakura, Naruto wondered who'd taken the photo. It wasn't too long ago, Sakura looked like she'd just come from training. So, who was the person behind the camera? Moving back to the bags, Naruto started to fish out what appeared to be pajamas. Turning back to the other awake occupants, he could see the relief on their faces.
"What's the matter with you guys?"
"Never know where your mind is dobe," Sasuke spoke smirking
"I would never invade Sakura's privacy! I just thought that we should get her out of the wet clothes."
Hinata sighed, glad to hear that. Taking the pajamas from Naruto, Naruto picked up the Kunoichi going down the hall looking for the bedroom. Laying her on the bed, he went to take the clothes. "Naruto, I don't think you should be the one to change her clothes."
"Awesome, thanks for volunteering. I want to make sure she's comfortable before I head home. She's going to need to focus on getting better! She needs to be at her best!" Naruto smiled
Hinata blushed, agreeing. Sakura would want to know what he'd gotten himself into. "Alright. I will get her changed." Confirming Naruto's volunteer
"You're the best! I'll head out now, see ya later teme!" Naruto gave Hinata's cheek a kiss before heading to the door
Sasuke watched Hinata become red as a tomato, chuckling at the poor girl leaving the room. Hinata wasted no time getting the muddy clothes of the girl, transferring her into the clean warm ones. Not sure if she could pick her up, she gave it a try and was surprised. She saw that Sakura was skinny, she hardly weighed anything. Picking her up, she returned to the couch. Sasuke had returned to the spot he occupied, watching Hinata bring out his teammate and set her down.
"She's that light?" Sasuke asked surprised
Hinata looked up startled, "Yeah. I wouldn't have thought I could actually carry her. In a way, I should've guessed. Her ribs are fairly prominent, can I ask you something?"
"Hn."
Taking that as a yes, Hinata continued. "Do you know how long this has been going on?"
"I don't talk to her, that would be a better question for the dobe."
"Oh, right. I'm sure that she will get better." Hinata spoke
"Of course, she will. If she wants to be a shinobi, she has to." Sasuke spoke, it sounded harsh. In a way, he meant it, at the same time she was family. Not that he would ever admit to either of his teammates being his family.
Saving the awkward silence was Kakashi entered the room with arms of groceries. Moving to help him, he maneuvered through the apartment right into the kitchen. Starting to help him, all of them stopped when they heard the doorbell going off.
"That must be the food, will you two go tend to that?" Kakashi asked
Looking at him, they wondered how much food he bought. Going to great whoever was at the door, they found the delivery person. There was enough food that it did require both of them to carry the food in. Opening all the containers, they set it out so they could all dig in. Kakashi came out to join them, all taking a turn to look at Sakura. Not sure how long whatever the medic gave her would take to work.
After they finished, they cleared up the empty containers. Kakashi and Sasuke hung back in the kitchen, Hinata sat beside the couch. Feeling the couch start to move behind her, she moved to see Sakura starting to try to sit up. Moving to help her sit up, Sakura rubbed her head. Looking up, she tried to gather where she was.
"Sakura-chan, are you okay?" Hinata asked, sitting beside her friend
"I think so, my head hurts pretty bad. What happened, what is this place?"
"You passed out at training," Sasuke spoke entering the room with Kakashi
"Oh."
"This place is your own place; I went to take you to your mother's house. However, she denied you from entering and said that you were not meant to ever return." Kakashi spoke, taking the other seat that was available to sit on "Why didn't you tell me that your own mother was charging you to sleep and eat there?"
Feeling the sigh leave her body, she didn't want them to know. "I didn't want to be any more of a burden. I already drag the team down as is. I dealt with it as they are my family, I figured my mother was trying to also tell me to lose the weight. So, I figured it couldn't hurt."
"Clearly that method didn't work. This negligence could affect the whole team, not just you." Sasuke spoke, it was harsh, yet it was reality
No one wanted to say anything else right now, it was hard to hear but it was true. Ushering Sakura to dig in, she did so. She'd never felt this hungry, to see this much food here. She definitely wasn't letting it go to waste. After she finished up, Hinata got up and started to put the rest of it away. Making sure she told Sakura where everything was placed.
Kakashi had recommended that Hinata call her cousin, as he asked. There was still something he couldn't understand about why Neji would want to be informed. In the process of calling people, Hinata asked if she should call Naruto. Kakashi waved her off saying that if he was asleep, which he probably already was, he'd never hear the phone go off. Hinata laughed at him, liking to know more about the boy she liked.
No later than ten minutes went by before Neji and Tenten had come back. It was a surprise to all parties, including the pink-haired girl. Being as they'd only shared some brief moments alone; she didn't think they had amounted to anything.
"How are you?" Tenten asked, settling down in front of her
"I'm doing okay. My headache is slowly going away, I do feel a little tired." Sakura spoke, staring at the two that came to see how she was
"Good, your team was worried about you. I can't imagine what it's like to have a parent kick you out, I'm sorry about that." Tenten spoke, she had followed Neji after he'd heard a word about the pink-haired girl. She wasn't sure about why he cared.
Not sure how to respond to the statement, Sakura smiled gently. They were a year above her; she'd spoken to Tenten off and on due to seeing them with Hinata. Neji, well she wasn't sure about him. He'd stumbled upon her while she was relaxing away from the town. They'd barely talk, but he'd sit on the same hill looking down over their home. Sakura spent her Saturdays there when they weren't on missions, it kept her out of the house. Neji seemed to join her twice a month, neither talking just enjoying the view.
"How about we do lunch together? Your team can join the rookie nine." Sakura spoke, it was a spur of the moment thought
"That's a good idea Sakura." Kakashi spoke, "I must take my leave, see you." Vanishing into the night
"He's an odd one," Hinata spoke
"You've no idea." Sakura laughed
The girls started to talk, feeling a little more comfortable without one of their sensei's listening to them. The boys sat idly by watching the girls converse, it wasn't as bad as when Yamanaka got involved and started her gossip. They talked about new weapons and the new designs for their headbands. Before long Sakura started to yawn more, clearly it was time for her to get more sleep. The group left, having decided to meet at her place at 11. Sakura started to head to bed when she heard some footfalls coming back in. Confused she looked and saw Sasuke coming back in.
"What are you doing?" Sakura asked, trying to figure out what he was doing
"Kakashi asked me to do this for you, he couldn't stay and clearly the dobe wasn't going to do it. We need to make sure your back up to par." Sasuke spoke
"Oh, thank you." Sakura smiled, maybe he was starting to grow a soft spot for her
Watching her head into her room, he went about clearing the rest of the mess. Laying on the couch with the blanket Sakura used, smelled of perfume. It wasn't the normal flowery nonsense. It was rather nice. Sleep would finally take over the boy, yet like normal it would end with him waking in the middle of the night.
(This is the first chapter in the revival of this. My hope is you enjoy it, there will be a new chapter every month or twice a month depending on the number of chapters are done. Or if I finish as there are many chapters written! Please look forward to more and leave lots of love! Doing my best to edit this, let me know if you find too many errors that need fixing. ~DQ)
