Update from Quarantine and Chill- new chapter. Enjoy!
-BB
The Shower
Sakura sighed as her brain cleared of the memory. She broke away from Kakashi and stood, looking at her watch and sighing. "I have to get back. Gotta shower before I meet pig for her bridal shower." Sakura rolled her eyes as she brushed her hands down her shorts.
Kakashi raised his eyebrow at Sakura. "Bridal shower? How very western of her."
Sakura chuckled as she extended her hand to Kakashi and helped him up. "This is Ino we're talking about. She's having a Christian wedding- well, as much as her mother will allow. Big gown and all. I'm even a bridesmaid- ugly pink dress and all." Sakura cringed as she thought of the unflattering dresses Ino had chosen for them.
Kakashi laughed outright at her face. "That bad, huh? Now I can't wait to go to this wedding." Kakashi laughed even harder when Sakura slapped his arm in retaliation. He kissed her cheek and said "See you later tonight? I have to get back to the office."
Sakura nodded and Kakashi saluted her and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
"Sakura!"
She turned at hearing Tenten's voice calling her name.
"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you! Come on." Tenten grabbed Sakura's hand and started dragging her in the direction of Ino's house.
"Tenten, I have to go home and shower."
Tenten shook her head dismissively. "You can shower at Ino's, everything is already there."
Sakura tilted her head in confusion as she let her friend drag her from the training grounds.
Tenten just grinned at her.
Sakura scowled. "Kakashi let you in, didn't he?"
"Yup! I ran into him leaving Hokage Tower earlier today. He said he was meeting you to work off excess energy before meeting with us for wedding stuff so you don't end up strangling Ino- thank you for that, by the way. Sent a clone to let me in. Wonderful, that boyfriends of yours."
Sakura snorted. "You can say that because you don't have to live with him or deal with him everyday of your life."
Tenten laughed, then smiled sadly. "Well… it's better than the alternative."
Sakura kicked herself mentally. "Tenten, I'm sorry, that was so insensitive of me."
Tenten waved off Sakura's apology. "You didn't mean anything by what you said. Besides, Kakashi is definitely an acquired taste. All the guys from his cohort are. Genma is driving me crazy."
Sakura thought about that for a moment, then stopped walking. "Tenten… why would Genma be driving you crazy?" Tenten looked down, then back at Sakura. "He asked me out a year ago. I burst out in tears. He apologized, then asked if we could be friends. I agreed, mainly because I was too humiliated to do otherwise. I talked to Hinata's Dad over tea about six months ago. Hinata and I had gone shopping, and I saw the date as we walked through the village. It was Neji's birthday… it hadn't even crossed my mind. I lost it. In the middle of the village. Tsunade ended up having to sedate me for the rest of the day, I was so hysterical."
Sakura's eyes bulged out of her head. "Tsunade never mentioned that to me."
Tenten shook her head and said "I begged everybody not to say anything to you. The only people who know about it are Hinata, Tsunade, Naruto, and Hiashi."
Sakura's head snapped back. "Naruto?"
Tenten looked up at Sakura from below her lashes. "He was meeting us to take us to dinner. He carried me to the hospital." Tenten ran her hand through her loose (Ino had banned her trademark buns for all wedding related events), curly hair. "I barely ate or slept after that episode. Tsunade forced me to see a therapist and made Kakashi put me on medical leave with no questions asked. It didn't help. Apparently Hinata went to compound to talk to Hiashi about it- she didn't know what to do." Tenten shrugged and looked back down. "Hiashi sent someone for me. He brought me to his office and told me to snap out of it. He said that Neji would kick my ass for neglecting myself. He wouldn't want me to just exist. He'd want me to live- something he didn't get to do. I snapped out of it immediately. Neji would have literally kicked my ass." Tenten sighed then looked toward Hokage Mountain. "After everything we've sacrificed, I couldn't disservice Neji's memory, so I'm living. But Genma and I are taking it very slow. Like, at a glacial pace. He is my date to the wedding, though."
Sakura dragged her friend into a long hug. "Neji would have kicked your ass." They both laughed and walked the rest of the way to the Yamanaka Compound.
"Oh my God, what took you two so long? Forehead- go shower. Tenten- get dressed. We have to be at the tea house in two and a half hours." Ino demanded in the shortest robe known to man and a face full of perfectly applied makeup.
"Aye aye, Captian!" Tenten saluted Ino, then walked back to the dressing room.
Sakura looked after Tenten, then back to Ino. "You look decent so far, Pig. Where's your dress?" Ino fluffed her freshly cut bangs. "In the dressing room. You can see it after you shower. Use my bathroom," Ino called over her shoulder as she walked into the dressing room to help Tenten with her makeup.
Sakura rolled her eyes and headed up to get it over with. She ran into Ino's mom and hugged her before locking herself in the bathroom and taking the quickest shower she'd ever taken. Even for ninja standards, it was lightning fast. She knew she needed the most time for hair and makeup. Ino's mother was going to put her hair in an intricate braid of some sort while she did her makeup.
The girls all made it to the tea house with ten minutes to spare. Ino glowed as those in the village saw her bridal shower glam. She stopped to show the tea house owner her ring, custom designed by Sai, of course. Sakura laughed as she thought about the way Ino had demanded a custom designed ring from her favorite artist. The bridal shower went off without a hitch and the girls ran into the guys afterwards. They all decided to head to one of the new swanky bars in the heart of Konoha. Sakura was ready to undo the braid in her hair and was about to start when Kakashi appeared at her side while they walked to the bar.
Kakashi did a double take of her, then looked her from head to toe. He smirked then said, "How in the hell did Ino get you to dress like that?"
Sakura glared at him then winced as her feet began to ache from the walk in four-inch heels. She pushed chakra to them as she proceeded to tell Kakashi where he could go as she took her hair out of the braid that was giving her the beginnings of a headache. Tsunade cleared her throat as Sakura finished telling off Kakashi. Sakura froze, then looked behind her. She laughed nervously and greeted her mentor.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow then said, "I'm sorry, have I ever given you the impression that you should speak to the Hokage like that in front of mixed company?"
"He started it, Tsunade!"
"I'm sure he did, but he is the leader of this village, for better or worse. Save the tirade for another time, girl."
"Yes ma'am," Sakura said solemnly.
Kakashi was doing his best to keep the smile of his face when Tsunade suddenly turned in his direction. "Smile or smirk, and I'll rip you a new one instead."
Kakashi's face suddenly had no problem staying in a neutral position.
