Chapter 22

Sasuke leapt from the rooftops briskly, letting his feet carry him to Sakura's house.

It was a calculated risk. What was he to do? The news of her hospital escape had made it to Kakashi during their hushed meeting, which only seemed to darken the mood between them.

Kakashi had taken him to the Hokage tower, leaving his injured partner in the care of Sakura's acquaintances. Although Sasuke was a bit more trusting of Ino, he still felt uneasy with turning his back on her.

His thoughts quickly became preoccupied. The Hokage debriefed him on the malfunction that had occurred from within the dome. Why it happened, who was to blame—his former sensei had taken all of the responsibly. They both fell into a momentary tangent, speaking silently about who was controlling the Exams and where the funds were coming from. Sasuke thought that this whole thing had been one huge shit show from the start—an unnecessary power flaunt, and a gross abuse of the money he'd donated. What could he say? His hands were tied and Kakashi was bound by even stricter sanctions.

The conversation had rolled into something a little less heated, but not by much. "I know Sakura is an important person to you, Sasuke. But your reactions are too intense. In all of these situations, Sakura's been in more danger by your hand than anyone else's. You need to have better control—over your emotions and your reactions. I spoke highly of you to the council. You can not, be a problem."

Sasuke was so tired of hurting her. He was tired of the push and the pull, of…of whatever was going on between them. In the most primal way, emotions aside, Sakura was an outstanding female; strong, sophisticated, true-to-heart. She had slight curves and soft skin and her voice was delicate—a stark contrast to the brutal intensity she could emit. Adding their history into the mix only complicated things further.

"If you promise not to be scared of me, I promise not to be scared of us."

The man stills atop of Sakura's home, clenching his fists together tightly. Sasuke knew how contradictory he was—he knew his faults all too well. At this point, he isn't sure if he can even blame it on his bloodline anymore.

Dropping down silently, the shinobi knocks on the door to Sakura's home, unable to conceal the frustration in his features.

Naruto and Hinata had finished the second part of the Jōnin Exams first—beating Sasuke and Sakura by an entire hour. It wasn't as difficult as he thought it would be, and in fact, he found it sort of…fun. The ground went from hard to wet, the weather from cold to hot, and it was nice to fight an enemy who wasn't battling their own morals. Did robots even have morals?

Together, the couple makes the short trek to Sakura's house. Naruto doesn't even bother to hide his pout, ignoring the polite nods of civilian and ninja alike. Without knocking, as always, Naruto opens the door and whines.

"Sakuraaa, where are you taking my wifeeee…."

Rounding the corner, ready to put on the charm and convince the two women that he'd be great company—especially if they were planning on drinking—imagine his surprise to find Sasuke, leaning against the counter in Sakura's kitchen.

"Wha…?"

Sakura looked tired. It wasn't as if she had bags under her eyes, or that her clothes were wrinkled (because they weren't), but Naruto could feel she had a huge weight on her shoulders and it seemed Sasuke wasn't relieving any of the stress. The air was thick with tension.

Sakura didn't know who Ino had invited. She assumed it would just be the both of them, and perhaps Ten-Ten to join their little outing. Ten-Ten had been more open with her peers since Neji…since his passing. Lee was a lot to handle alone, and she missed the normalcy of her comrades. It was nice to know that modest Hinata would be joining them on their outing. Sakura rubs the spot between her eyebrows, where the beginnings of a headache started to surface.

"Hinata, would you like some tea?"

Though Naruto tried his best to whisper, his voice echoed all around, wafting directly into Sakura's ear. The man stood close to Sasuke, cutting him a skeptical look. "What is going on here? Are you trying to threaten Sakura so you get out of our…arrangement?"

She squeezed the tea-kettle, ready to break it over Naruto's spiky locks. No, Sasuke didn't do any threatening. In fact, his sudden appearance didn't seem to coincide with whatever blackmail Naruto had on him.

Opening her door earlier, greeted with a pointed glare, Sakura did her best to keep her emotions in check. Sasuke had heard that she'd only stayed at the hospital until she regained consciousness. Her body healed quickly, however. There wasn't any reason for her to be taking up a bed in a private room when there were plenty of patients that could fill it.

It was still…surprising, the fact that Sasuke cared enough to make an appearance. They'd certainly gotten closer, but her dark-haired teammate had a habit of disappearing after they were forced to be in such close proximities.

The sun had finally set, letting a golden glow fill the kitchen. The day had not yet ended, and so much had happened, but Sakura was too restless to toss and turn in her bed. Ino had made her resolute.

Sakura was a woman, and she was going to prove it.

"I just got here," Sasuke said sternly, deepening the furrow of his eyebrows. He looks at Sakura pointedly, although he doesn't address her. "What are you doing here, Naruto? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Tell that to Ino! She's the one that called and invited Hinata to hang out. Sakura's going too. I'm left, all alone, dying of boredom."

Hinata smiles so gently, so warmly at her husband that Sakura cannot look away. She was such a patient person. "We aren't going to be long, dear. It will be nice to unwind after such a tedious battle. I hear that we are going to be on TV later this evening, and I don't think any of us women would want to see ourselves on the screen."

Sasuke never once looked away from Sakura. As Hinata spoke, he set his jaw tightly, showing every ounce of his disagreement. Although he'd directed his earlier statement to his idiot of a best friend, Sasuke's words were meant for Sakura. She'd just been shot, she'd had her leg almost ripped off, and her head had been examined viciously. Sakura needed to recuperate.

Besides that, Sasuke had never pegged Sakura as the partying type. Her teacher had been Tsunade, and Sasuke had heard rumors of drunkenness and gambling habits. Naruto hadn't turned out to be a pervert like Jiraiya, and Sasuke wasn't a snake-loving maniac, so he'd assumed Sakura would skip over such things. She was the most mature of Team 7, after all.

"Why don't we all hang out?" Naruto suggests, laying his head on his wife's shoulder. Hinata smiles and pats his short spikes like they belonged to a sweet, innocent puppy dog. "I'm fun, Sasuke's kind of fun, I can get you drunk in a flash and we can go home, go to sleep and then…"

Hinata covers his mouth with her hand, turning beat red at the bold implications. Sakura's thankful, sporting a rosy flush to her cheeks as well.

"Naruto, don't you think we deserve this?" Like Sasuke, her words were directed to someone else. "We're ninja, we're fine, it's going to be nice to chat with one another after being confined to our old teams. Why don't you and Sasuke hang out here? I don't have any alcohol, but there's a store around the corner."

Naruto ponders the thought, and while he deals with the blow of leaving his beloved behind, Sakura looks at Sasuke. Really looks at him. She tries to convey something—determination, perhaps—and then gathers Hinata into her arms.

"Let's go, ne?" Over her shoulder, she reminds Naruto. "We'll be back late. Don't break anything, don't throw up on anything, and keep the yelling to a minimum."

"Yes ma'am," The kyuubi says with a mock solute.

When the front door is closed and it's only Naruto and Sasuke in the silence of the floral-scented house, the man turns serious and peers skeptically at his brother. "Let's get drunk, so you can tell me what's going on between the two of you."

"I can't get drunk." Sasuke replies stoically. "There's nothing going on.

"Oh, bullshit…bullshit to both,"

Naruto remembered their time in the sage realm, after all. Sasuke had drank so much alcohol, he'd gotten belligerent. It was such a rare sight, to see someone like him in that way. Naruto's sure the Uchiha would benefit in a nice alcoholic daze. "I'll invite Shikamaru over—and maybe Kiba. We can all get sloshed and make fun of each other on TV."

Sasuke opened his mouth to refuse, but caught himself. He was still sleeping at the training grounds. If he chose not to stay, Naruto would surly follow—and then implore that Sasuke stay with he and Hinata. Or tell Kakashi, who would also try to get him to stay with him.

It was easier to just bide time, letting Naruto invite people and dipping away when he became distracted. Making up his mind, Sasuke runs his hand through his still-dirty hair. "Fine. Where is Sakura's shower, I need to clean up."

Grinning cheekily, Naruto shows the way.

Shikamaru shows up with a 30-pack of carbonated beer. He slammed the box onto the table and nodded at Sasuke, surprisingly showing no emotion. "They're cold already. Just put them in the fridge."

Naruto obliges after a hearty greeting and grabs a handful, passing them out as he makes his way to the living room. The television blasts and the throws his feet on Sakura's coffee table, swigging his alcohol as he thumbs through the channels.

Shikamaru, it seems, is just as comfortable with the layout of Sakura's house. He taps cigarette out of its carton and lights it expertly, sitting adjacent to Naruto. "Do you want one?"

Naruto refuses, scrunching his nose. Sasuke, however, accepts.

They're menthols—cooling Sasuke's lungs as the smoke rolls over his tongue and seeps out from between his lips. He didn't smoke often, but it certainly wasn't his first time. He couldn't get addicted, and the nicotine did not give him any buzz, but his lungs were still very much susceptible to cancer so he normally steered clear of the stuff.

Sasuke would drink because it burned his throat, and Sasuke would smoke because it burned his chest. In a way, it was self-fulfillment, a bit of normalcy in his life.

"Where's Kiba?" Naruto asks, pausing at a commercial that flashed his own face. He'd become a popular man. People from all over traveled to meet him. It wasn't odd to see he was being used as the poster-child for the Jōnin Exams.

"He'll be over later," Shikamaru replies, telling him to turn up the volume.

The announcer is pretty. Her hair is short and her eyes are big and her lips are painted a shade of purple that didn't really belong on someone's mouth. Sasuke blinks lazily. "It seems that Naruto and Hinata Uzumaki were the first to finish the second round of the Exams! I've always had faith in him, you know? Such a strong man—and sweet to boot! Tell me, Joruri, who do you think will come out on top?"

Joruri was a balding, elderly man with a masculine build and fiery tufts of red hair. "Sasuke Uchiha, of course, no doubt about it—He and Sakura Haruno finished second, and let me tell you, the leaked camera footage is absolutely insane!"

Sasuke leans forward, curious and cautious.

Kakashi had said that only battles would be recorded—but that was when they knew nothing of CYLAN and her mental prowess. Would their thoughts be broadcasted when the exams aired? He took another drag, tapping the ashes out in a makeshift tray.

"Do tell,"

"Firstly, the dynamic between the spitfire medical ninja and the brooding defector is…to put it lightly…stunning. There was only a two minute scene revealed, we'll play it for you now."

Naruto watches as he takes another crisp sip. The display had been filmed with a professional camera and a steady hand—it was strange to see his friends in such a way.

"Stay close to me." Sasuke had said. There were subtitles covering the screen in white.

Sakura nods and stands, pressing her body against his. "I'll protect your vitals. Go in for the kill."

It was like watching some wicked-awesome ballet. Sakura kept herself flat against Sasuke as he moved, leaping towards that damn robot that had given Naruto so much grief. The Uchiha lifted and twirled her like a weapon. Seriously, it was as if she were kusanagi or something.

"Holy shit," Naruto blurts out, laying his beer on the coffee table as he leans closer to the TV, too.

Sakura's uninjured leg ripped through the machine and her body fell away. The emotionless man caught Sakura bridal style. Then, the scene repeats in slow motion, showing even the minuscule movements of their clothing as they press together.

The announcer let out a low whistle. "Would you believe me if I told you my sources say, he's never actually trained with her? They were teammates, sure, but it's been eight years."

The female anchor looked shocked. "You can't be serious. You're telling me that was completely unscripted? They worked together perfectly! Who knew fighting could be so…sensual?"

Sasuke scoffs and pops the top to his own beverage, chugging it fully in one go. It's cold, freezing his minty throat. Both Shikamaru and Naruto have trained their eyes on him. "What?"

"Was that a fight, or foreplay?" His brother teases, showing off a foxlike grin. "Hehehe, I knew something was going on…"

Sasuke leans into the chair.

It was strange to watch himself in that way. There was no hesitation in their movements, which portrayed absolute trust. It went beyond an out-of-body experience. Sasuke had a hard time believing that was really them. "Maybe both," He finds himself admitting. He takes another drag.

Shikamaru cackles and smothers out his own cigarette before getting out a new one. With it balanced carefully, he flicks his lighter again. "So, what, you guys are a thing now? Just like that?

"Doubtful," Naruto responds for him. He's already guzzling his fourth drink, not bothering to savor the taste. "It's probably more like—"I'm under-sexed, you're cute, let's do it."—don't you think?"

"Maybe both," Sasuke says again, standing up before Kiba has a chance to knock on the door. It was strange to admit, and even weirder to say aloud. "I really don't know."

The dog-like man doesn't seem surprised in the least to see Sasuke. He immediately makes his way in, pulling out two bottles of hard liquor and sake. "Sup. I just stole this from Ino and the girls. They were heading towards the bar."

Naruto jerks his head up. "Did you see Hinata? Is she alright?"

Kiba rolls his brown eyes and opens his brew, tipping the bottle back. After a lengthy sip, he offers the whiskey to Sasuke, who takes an even longer swig. "Yeah, yeah, Hinata and Sakura were curled up together while Ino toted them around. They were at that place by Ichiraku—I was leaving when they stumbled out. Ten-Ten's already got a bite."

"What is my baby wearing?" Naruto mumbled. "It's not the red dress is it; the one with the slit up the side?" He really, really wished he could have gone…

Kiba sits down next to him and throws his arms back. "I don't know man. I was too busy looking at Sakura. She's in black and hella fine."

Sasuke moves to make room for Kiba, placing the alcohol on the table and leaning back into her seat. It smells like her—everything in this house did. It seemed like it was getting stronger, and stronger…

"Be careful talking like that," Shikamaru says, taking the remote from Naruto. He rewinds it to the newscast, and Sasuke watches as he touches Sakura all over again. "Sasuke seems like he'd be the jealous type."

Naruto cackles when Sasuke turns to look at him plainly. The Uchiha hadn't really ever been teased before, and for some reason, he didn't have the drive to defend himself.

Before long, they've all turned into stumbling fools. Sasuke's eyes are closed as he listens to some movie in the background, two men babbling on about who would kill the other to save their village. There's a smashing noise from down the hall—the bathroom—and he wonders what kind of eulogy he should prepare for Naruto at his funeral once Sakura finds out what had been broken.

"What are you thinking about?" The kyuubi says, sitting next to Sasuke and throwing his legs into his lap. "Sakura could be making out with some guy right now, you know. You seem pretty relaxed."

Sasuke hadn't thought of it. It was true—he was relaxed. Relaxed enough to let Naruto invade his personal space, to let Shikamaru tease him, to let Kiba talk about how great Sakura looked…"I've no reason to be jealous."

Shikamaru's slurred voice is muffled from his face-down position on the couch. Sasuke was sure he'd passed out hours ago. "You like her, and she's out doing whatever she wants, and you don't even give a shit? That's trust, man."

Trust didn't have anything to do with it. If Sakura was doing those things, it was within her rights. Sakura wasn't his. She didn't belong to anyone, for that matter. Something about her enjoying herself made Sasuke feel…light. He closes his eyes, feeling sleepy. Replaying behind his closed lids, Sasuke watched the wet-dream that she'd unknowingly sent to him when their minds were joined.

It was just touching and kissing— as innocent as such dreams could get. Was that why he felt so calm? Sakura was obviously not experienced with such things…she wouldn't be finding some random man to teach her.

He stands to leave, shaking his hair out of his eyes. He makes his way up the stairs to the spare bedroom that Sakura had offered him before, deciding that sleeping under a tree smelling like smoke and booze probably wasn't in his best interest.

Surprisingly, Kiba is already up there. The curtains that had once blocked out the winder were tangled around him and the duvet was on the floor. What an animal.

Sasuke shook his head, making his way back down to find that Shikamaru had taken over the sofa and Naruto, the recliner. Sasuke's eyes were starting to water from sleeplessness, and at this point, the kitchen table was calling his name.

Just as he removed the abandoned teacups from earlier and laid his hot cheek down to the wood, the jangle of a key met his ears. Sakura walked through her front door, leaning against the frame.

"What…the hell?"