Author Notes: This is a midnight idea that just begged to be written. I don't exactly know where it is going but if you do, drop me a note on plot, story, pairings anything. That would make me a happy girl.
Cherry Blossoms
Kakashi took another sip of his drink, his ears strained to hear the conversation between Naruto and Sakura, catching occasionally snatches of what they were saying. They had been in the room for an hour already and from the looks of it, having another one of their quarrels.
Sasuke, moody and brooding, as usual, sat some way beside him in the bar, fingers lazily twirling a cigarette that he would not smoke.
Since they had come out on missions as a teacher-student group, there had been endless troubles, Kakashi moaned quietly to himself, as he swigged another gulp of burning amber from his glass and swallowed gratefully. What in the world had possessed him to agree when the Fifth Hokage had gleefully suggested a new system of fulfilling tasks?
"It would be good experience," she reasoned, rolling a pair of dice in her hands and preparing to cast it in a bowl. Her face, almost fifty years old, was as unlined and taut as someone years younger, thanks to the spell she had put on her skin.
"We never had such a practice," Kakashi argued back.
"There are first times for everything," she countered, "Damn!" The dice was a low total count of three points and the habitual gambler groaned as she handed a string of coins to a triumphant Iruka who had been gambling with her.
"Besides," she spoke up, a devilish glint in her eyes, "won't you want to see what happens when the three of them are on missions together?"
The top ninja had not understood her sly words then but now he thought he was getting it. Since they began their trip through the village of Sky, Naruto and Sakura had been quarrelling almost every single night, leaving Kakashi to deal with an increasingly temperamental Sasuke.
"I hate you!" there was a loud scream from upstairs that jolted the whole bar. Kakashi winced as he placed the voice as Sakura's. Now there was no way they would leave without making a scene.
"Is it so difficult for you to say three words?" a deeper male voice hollered back.
"You don't understand!"
"Ya, I bloody well don't! How can we be lovers if you can't even say you love me!"
This revelation prompted whistles from the male crowd who were by now hanging off their every word. Even Sasuke was momentarily propelled out of his dark mood.
There was a loud slam and Naruto flew down the stairs, his face heavy with barely concealed anger. He shot a murderous look at the gaping men in the pub, "What the hell are you looking at!"
They quickly turned their gazes back to their beers and Naruto stalked out of the inn, the door crashing close behind him.
Kakashi sighed deeply and emptied his cup. Great. Now he had two highly emotional subordinates to deal with. They would probably throw daggers at each than at the enemies during battles.
"Go up and have a look at Sakura, won't you?" a quiet voice startled the older man out of his thoughts.
"What?" he asked, a look of puzzled astonishment on his face. Did Ice Popsicle Sasuke just show concern for his teammate? Kakashi blinked twice to make sure he was sober.
Sasuke rolled his eyes at his sensei and deadpanned coolly, "I said go and look at Sakura."
Outside the inn, the night air was stuffy and humid, unbearably sticky and stale. Naruto sniffed the air and smelt the underlying tangy scent of torrential rain to come.
He sighed and leapt nimbly onto the metal railing fencing up the lake opposite their inn. Lights from the streetlamps reflected themselves like little scones of fire in the murky waters, and Naruto took a little while to admire the scene.
Behind him the evening crowd surged, mingling noisily, chattering as they strolled on the streets. He felt the strange gaze of eyes on him and ignored them. His head was still fuming with rage, as Sakura's words reverberated in his ears again and again. Her face had been alight with fury and he had not been able to control his own temper.
Slightly guilty now, he saw himself yell at her, and then those words "I hate you!" pounded themselves into his heart and he felt an aching in his chest.
Why couldn't she say those three simple words to him? That had made him confused, angry and bewildered. They had been lovers for a while and they had shared a fair amount of themselves to the other yet Sakura had been unable to speak those words. Naruto raked a hand in frustration through his short, golden hair.
He simply did not understand the psyche of women sometimes. They wanted you to whisper sweet nothings to them every hour of the day yet they seemed so reluctant when it came to their turn. He wondered if anything strange had happened recently and shook his head.
It had all still been fine days ago when they first arrived at the Cherry Blossom Inn, the third in their travelling through the Sky Village. There had been no difference in their lovemaking at night and there had generally been a satisfied, happy Sakura.
Until a few days ago when Sakura suddenly became cold and indifferent, ignoring him and shot sarcastic, short replies to his questions. She pushed him off the bed at night and made him sleep on the floor and snapped at him if he even dared to touch her.
That had culminated and irritated him until they started quarrelling.
A sudden breeze, the type that precedes a storm, blew through the village and rustled Naruto's clothes. The young man relaxed slightly and tilted his head to look at the sky. It was ominous, bruise-coloured clouds bunched together, laced tightly so that no light from the moon peeked through. He couldn't see any stars at all, they were hidden behind the canopy of thick rain clouds.
"Hey boy," a squeaky voice sounded from behind.
Naruto turned around cautiously. An old man, an anxious look on his weathered face stared back.
"What do you want?"
The old man wrung his hands nervously, "I had such moments before in my life, boy, trust me I know how you feel. But this is no reason to commit such a thing!"
"What are you blabbering about?" the ninja was confused and just slightly irritated.
"Ah… tell me what happened, I may be able to help. Nothing is so bad that you have to kill yourself."
At that, Naruto burst into laughter, the first of the day. It felt good to release the tension in his chest. "I'm not killing myself," he assured the man, "I'm just admiring the water and the sky."
"What is there to admire? There is rain to come. But since you say so, I am relieved." He smiled at Naruto.
"I won't kill myself," Naruto said, "I love women too much."
They laughed at that, a joke between two men then the old man hobbled away. In the distance, the village clock tolled eleven times. It was time to go back. They would be worried. But Naruto was still angry and he resolved not to talk to Sakura until he had cooled down. He did want to say something he would regret later in the heat of the moment.
As he headed back to the inn, the sky darkened considerably and a portentous wind started blowing, rustling the dead leaves on the streets.
In the middle of the night, the boisterous crashing of thunder and flashes of silvery white lightning dancing in his room suddenly jolted Naruto awake. He focused his eyes for a few seconds as the dark shapes of the room became sharper and he was aware of the faint sound of breathing.
Kakashi slept in the bed beside his, his chest rising and falling peacefully, undisturbed by the noise. Naruto resisted the urge to snort at his sensei.
Naruto yawned and prepared to go back to sleep, feeling his eyelids grow heavy again. Then he heard the faint scrape of a door opening. Footsteps sounded mutely on the wooden floor then the door closed.
This aroused his interest.
Was it an assassin? Spies from the Sky Village? After they had been attacked on the stealth a few times, Naruto knew it was better to err on the careful side than not.
He tensed slightly on the bed, willing the blood to flow to his limbs until he felt the energy fill his body. There was a low groan coming from the room opposite his. Then another. Sasuke was sleeping alone tonight. Naruto wondered if he should wake him.
But then his animal instincts took over. There was no time for that. He gently pushed the covers off his body, careful not to make a sound. He quickly sought out the source of the noise. It was coming from Sakura's room.
Anxiety ran through him. Was she being attacked? If they dared to touch her, he would rip them apart. The metal doorknob was cold and mocking in his clammy hands. He lightly eased the door open. The room was dark but he saw a figure underneath the covers. And he sighed in relief. Sakura was fine.
As he turned to leave, he heard another groan. He spun around and focused. It was then that the horrible truth sank in. There was someone else in the room. Naruto drew up all the chakra he had and converged it on his eyes. Suddenly it was as if klieg lights flooded the room.
Then he wished he hadn't.
Sakura was in the bed and she wasn't alone. Sasuke was with her. And he watched in horror as they kissed fully, faces aglow with passion as he ran his strong fingers along the length of her neck. It was then that he noticed that their clothes were strewn haphazardly on the floor, like they had not been able to wait.
They were tangled in each other's arms, Sakura arching against her other lover, he imagined he heard them whispering names.
Get out of here.
His blood roared around his head and his eyes hurt from the sheer amount of chakra he was concentrating in his orbs. He was sure he would go blind from the effort.
Run. Run before they can hurt you any more. They lied to you. They lied! They lied!
It was as if he had lost all the strength in his limbs and was rooted to the spot, unable to breathe, to move, to cry. Outside thunder clapped deafeningly and lightning cast its hoary light on the two twisted amongst the sheets that Naruto, had just days ago, slept in.
Now Sasuke took his place, on the bed, in her arms, touching the places that were intimate, shared between lovers.
His lips on hers, tasting the sweetness that she offers so freely. They betray me! Right across my room. How many times have they stepped past and laughed at me? At my naivety? At my stupid notions of love?
His heart beat and beat against his ribcage yet he felt he was near death. He lost the ability to scream, to speak. Then a flash of light burst through the room and Naruto was jerked back to his senses. The taste of betrayal was strong and coppery in his mouth, sour and bitter at the same time. He tasted cold, stark rage.
Get away. Get away from them. Move! Run!
He choked back a scream and rushed from the room, slamming the door into its frame. The jarring motion echoed loudly through the room and Sasuke jerked back abruptly.
"It was Naruto!" Sakura gasped, her eyes shocked and horror-struck.
"Stay here, I'll go find him." Sasuke retrieved his clothes and hurriedly slipped into them.
Outside the rain started to fall, in flat, cold shapes, icy drops pelting into the window, sounding like glass beads shattering on a cement surface. Sakura covered her face in her hands and cried softly, tears rolling broadly off her cheeks.
TBC.