The night was warm. The main streets of village were bustling with activity, with merchants selling all kinds of foods and knick-knacks. People kept crossing the street and strolling in it with family and close friends. It was the first summer solstice after the end of the war, after all. It was to be expected. And of course, it was the night Ino had chosen to gather everyone in Yakiniku Q to catch up and, despite everything, things were going really well.
She was sitting next to Naruto and across from Ino on the long wooden table, but she was able to talk to everyone if she wanted to; the atmosphere was warm and welcoming. Even Naruto, who had been unnaturally quiet for the past couple of months was acting as normal as she'd seen him since before the war. That alone gave her a strong sense of relief that allowed her to enjoy everyone's company even more. Ino was teasing her, as usual, Naruto was happily arguing with Kiba about who was going to become the next Hokage, Shino and Hinata were having a pleasant conversation about insects, Tenten was listening to Lee talk about the reconstruction of the village… It felt just like old times. Happy and comforting. She hadn't felt so good in months.
"Sakura-chan! You could defend your precious teammate here." Naruto complained with a pout.
She responded teasingly with a smirk. "Oh, I think my precious teammate here is grown enough to fight his own fights."
Naruto sticked his tongue out pretending to be offended and quickly turned to another argument Kiba had started with Lee. "Pss! Forehead!"
She frowned at Ino. "What, Ino-Pig?"
The blonde woman smiled at her with mischief. She already knew where this is was going. "Did you order a good one this time?" Sakura whispered. Ino nodded enthusiastically before pouring them two cups of sake. In her peripheric vision she could Naruto teasing her with a disapproving look. She merely shrugged and winked at him before turning to Ino again, chuckling.
After the first bottle of sake, she got in an even better mood and wanted to participate in every conversation her friends were having. After the second bottle, she couldn't stop grinning at everyone. She and Ino went on a quick trip to the bathroom and burst out laughing when she almost tripped on her own feet. Ino couldn't stop cackling too. When they returned to their table, Ino switched sits with Naruto, and they ordered a second bottle. Everyone else was on the first bottle.
She looked around her inspecting everyone attentively. "Hey, Sakuraaa?" Ino called. She ignored her and kept looking around. Everyone suddenly looked so good. Then, she focused specifically on Sai, who was genuinely cheerful while having his own cup of sake. "Ino, don't you think Sai looks kinda handsome today?" She whispered. Ino burst out laughing once more making Sakura frown at her. "I'm serious, look at him!"
The blonde girl wouldn't stop laughing and so Sakura sighed in exasperation. She was about to ask Naruto to back her up on this when she realized he wasn't on his seat. The girl looked for him to no avail. She got up with some difficulty and half tumbling went to the restaurant's entrance. Going outside, she looked at both sides of the street, but the boy was nowhere to be found. She took one more look before returning to the inside and that's when she saw him. Not the blonde head she was searching for, but a pale tall man with black eyes. She felt her cheeks burning but she couldn't tell if it was from the cold, the alcohol or the way Sasuke was staring at her. He seemed almost happy. It seemed out of place on his face compared to the frowns he wore all the time. She waited for him to approach her, completely forgetting why she was out there in the first place. She couldn't help the "Sasuke-kun" that escaped her mouth when he hugged her.
And then he apologized. "I'm sorry, Sakura. For everything."
She didn't know what he meant by everything. If he was talking about when they were kids, when he had left her at the gates to go to Orochimaru. If he meant the several times he tried to attack her while they were teenagers. If he was referring to the last time they had spoken when he once again told her off. If he meant the short answers and news she rarely got in response to her letters. And she didn't know if it was the alcohol, but that small apology led her to tears.
She tried not to cry in front of most people these days. Naruto was an exception, of course, but not even Ino had seen her cry since the war. And now she was incapable of not breaking down in front of Sasuke, someone who wasn't even that close to her anymore.
After a few minutes, her response finally came out in a mumble. "Idiot."
The man chuckled. She took the opportunity to let go of him and clean the fresh tears on her cheeks.
Trying to appear more cheerful, she looked him in the eyes. "Oh, Sasuke, we're all hanging out right now. You should join us!" She suggested.
He smiled before declining. "Thanks, but I must report to the Sixth and I need some rest afterwards. Maybe next time."
She smiled cynically at his last sentence. 'Maybe next time'. Then, a fake smile filled her face. "Of course. I'll see you around."
Sasuke nodded. "We should hang out sometime. The three of us."
She nodded. "We'll go for ramen when you're up for it."
The man laughed. "You're spending too much time with Naruto."
She gave him a fake smile again. Obviously, she was happy that he was finally making an honest effort to spend time with them as a team, but she couldn't help but feel that he was late. She knew he needed time before and even now things would not instantly be as she wanted them to be, but even so, she still felt wronged. Resentful, even. And she hated that. She should be happy now. Everything was starting to go back to normal.
"Well, I'll be on my way." He stated before looking inside the restaurant and adding a weak "have fun."
She simply nodded maintaining her forced smile. When he started walking away, she stared at his back. His vest drifted from left to right as he took one step after the other. When his silhouette dissolved into the dark street ahead was when she let out a breath. Her cheeks were still warm. This time, she didn't know whether it was from the crying or from the cold.
She braced herself before returning to the inside of the restaurant. She still felt the effect of the alcohol while she walked through the hall, but the good mood was completely washed away. Above all, she was still frustrated that Sasuke continued to have this effect on her. He could ruin her mood without even trying. It was dumb. She had bigger problems. She had to worry about the hospital and her training and her friends and her family. The least of her concerns should be whether Sasuke really wanted to get reacquainted with her. She wasn't even sure if she wanted that herself at this point. She didn't know how she could even want that after everything he did to the village. It was plain ridiculous at this point.
When she reached the table her friends were at, she forced a smile and sat next to Ino, whose mood now deeply contrasted with hers. The girl wouldn't stop laughing at everything Kiba blurted out of his mouth. He, of course, was now much drunker than when she had left. Naruto was still nowhere to be seen. She started to look around trying to find him, but there was still no trace of him. When she turned to Ino to ask her about his whereabouts, she found the woman was already silently giving her a suggestive look.
"What?" Sakura questioned, quirking an eyebrow.
"You know, he left a while ago. Asked me to tell you that he had some business with the Hokage but you should stay an' enjoy yourself." Ino remarked.
She didn't recall anything he had mentioned lately related to Kakashi-sensei. Ino quickly interrupted her train of thought.
Her next inquiry was in a much lower serious tone. "That aside, maybe we should get going."
"Huh? But you just said-"
"I know, I know, we'll continue the soirée in your place."
"Oh, really? I'm glad you accepted my invitation."
"I know." Ino winked.
Sakura ended up agreeing to the idea.
Silence reigned after they passed through the main streets and reached the smaller alleyways further away from the Hokage tower. They did not speak for a while. Sakura was already sober and Ino, as soon as they left the restaurant, suddenly seemed to have recovered from her drunken state as well. The sound of Sakura's high heels echoed through the streets as they walked.
The blonde took a pack of cigarettes out of her jacket's pocket. She took a cigarette and lit it up with a lighter that looked brand new. The other girl looked at her in surprise. She caught the look and shrugged. "It helps to ease the stress."
Sakura said nothing. The smoke did not bother her, but it was odd to see her friend smoking tobacco. Not that she was explicitly against when they were younger, but to see her childhood friend smoking was like realizing they were grown now. Sakura refused to smoke, but only for health reasons. As a doctor it was hard to ignore all the problems tobacco usually brought about.
Ino took a drag on the cigarette and exhaled after a long moment. "How did it go with Sasuke?"
Sakura took a deep breath before answering. It only made sense Ino had felt his presence. She was a sensory type, after all. She just kept forgetting about it. "He apologized." She muttered, pretending to be indifferent. The blonde woman glanced at her before taking another drag. "But I… I think I needed more than that to forgive him. I don't really wanna see him, Ino. I don't think I even want to get reacquainted, I just… I feel so lost. I don't know what I want to do."
They had stopped walking. Ino exhaled a breath of smoke while looking down at her feet. "I feel you." She started. Sakura looked at her attentively. "I've been feeling so lost lately. I'm not sure of what I want to do from now on. I'm still trying to figure everything out and now I finally have time to sort out my feelings. I'm kinda scared, to be honest… So I know it can't be easy for you to deal with all that plus an asshole who doesn't know where he wants to stand with you, even as friends. But things will sort themselves out, Sakura. I mean, we'll get through this. We got through everything else too, so why shouldn't we now?"
Sakura felt her eyes stinging with tears again but before they started falling, she quickly enveloped Ino in tight hug. The woman hugged her back. "You're such a baby." She said with a faltering voice.
The pink haired girl let out a laugh. "Thanks, Ino. I missed you."
Ino tightened the hug even more. "Me too."
He sat on the wall of the tower with his legs hanging above the village. The lights on the main street were still on, but most of the houses had the lights turned off and the habitational area seemed to be quiet. The new buildings were mostly made of wood and looked like the old-fashioned houses he used to see in the countryside. The tallest buildings had an odd style, somewhere between modern and traditional, with cement walls and old embellishments. It calmed him down to watch the village and the people. That way, he knew everyone was safe. The wind was softly caressing his hair and he closed his eyes.
He heard someone approach him but ignored the presence, remaining with his eyes closed. The other man moved to sit beside him. Only then did he open his eyes to observe the village once more.
The other man was looking at the village too. They sat in silence for a few minutes.
"I wanted to apologize for being absent again lately."
The man had a hint of melancholy on his voice, but his tone remained neutral. Normally, Naruto would pay no mind to this; he knew his friend was like that. But that day for some reason he couldn't stand it. He pretended to be calm. The dark-haired man didn't seem to notice the slight fluctuation in his chackra that came with the irritation. Naruto took a deep breath. He didn't look at the other man, not once.
"You should decide where you stand. We're trying to reach you but if you don't let us in, there's nothing we can do." He stated before turning around and slowly walking away towards the stairs.