A/N: SURPRISE! This isn't dead!
I'm really sorry for neglecting this one. Other projects required more time and I admittedly got stuck for a while.
I'll do my best to update this one more this year! For now, I hope you enjoy.
Sitting at the bus stop that morning felt just a little emptier without Sakura there. Naruto plopped down in the same spot where she usually sat and the two waited in silence for the bus.
Upon arriving at school, Naruto pulled out his phone and sent out a quick text. After a moment, his phone chimed, and he chuckled at what he got in return.
"Sakura-chan says hi and that she'll be at school in time for the test on Monday," he told his friend before pocketing the Blackberry. "Apparently it's not anything super bad or contagious. They're still doing tests right now, but she's confident it's just the flu."
Sasuke grunted in acknowledgement. He'd never say it out loud, but Naruto's confirmation made his worries fade just a little.
Said blond glanced over, nudging his shoulder with a wane smile.
"Hey, c'mon," he said. "We have the whole weekend to hang out, isn't that cool?"
"It'll make it harder for me to sneak out," he thought. Instead, he nodded. "Yeah, it's cool."
Naruto stared at him, pursing his lips. "You're a real party-pooper today, Sasuke."
He only raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry about that."
The rest of the day, Sasuke felt something troubling in his mind. He brushed it off as his nerves from Izumi still being absent and Sakura staying home, as the girl hardly ever missed school for anything.
The last time he recalled her missing school was when her mother died; even then, she was adamant she could get through the day until the teachers agreed to give her a mandatory week off to grieve. Even that almost proved too much for her to handle.
She was lucky her cousin had stepped up. He still had no idea how she could stand him for very long, but something had to be different about his demeanor around her for her not to seek residence elsewhere.
"What about her dad?" He briefly remembered during study hall. "She mentioned having little communication with him, but…"
His thoughts were interrupted when Naruto poked his side with his eraser.
He looked over, annoyed, but the sight of the blond's worried frown chased away whatever he was about to say.
"Sakura-chan texted me during lunch," Naruto whispered in his ear. "Apparently it's worse than they thought, but she couldn't tell me what it was. I texted her back, but she hasn't even read my texts yet."
"Maybe she's resting," Sasuke replied in the same hushed tones. "Or her phone died."
"Sasuke…" his voice held a serious tone to it, one that unsettled the black-haired boy. "Something about this doesn't feel right. Sakura never lets her phone die, let alone ignore it. You know her cousin would've done something if she couldn't."
Sasuke glanced up at the teacher. The man was still tapping away at his laptop, blissfully unconcerned with whatever the students were doing.
He turned back to Naruto, questioning in a hiss, "What about them? I thought you still had Sasori's number?"
Doubt crept into the older boy's heart, and cold, uncertain fear settled in the pit of his gut when Naruto shook his head slowly.
"She would've told him to text about her condition," he answered. "Sasuke…"
Sasuke bit his lip hard. His eyes narrowed as he glanced away.
Sakura's face, weak with a sickly pallor, flashed through his mind's eye. He slipped his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open, going to their last text conversation. Nothing new there either. Just the smiley face from the other night.
What could he do? Sakura was a tough girl. There were very few things she wouldn't do, and purposefully keeping them in the dark was one of them. It was a habit she picked up when she first befriended Naruto in elementary school. Admittedly, the blond was closer to her, and because of this she always made sure to keep him up-to-date whenever she was ill. If Naruto didn't have any news...
After several moments of thought, he sighed, turning back to his friend with what he hoped was a reassuring expression. "We'll stop by the apartment after school."
As soon as school let out and the boys were back at the apartment complex, they all but rushed up the stairs to Sasori's door, not even bothering to drop off their bags.
Sasuke knocked before stepping back, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Naruto anxiously fiddled with the hanging ends of his backpack as they waited.
Several seconds passed. Sasuke strained with all his might, but he couldn't hear anything coming from the apartment. It still smelled harshly of Febreeze and Axe body spray to mask the stink of weed, even with the door shut; an irritating combination that made him grab the bandana from his front pocket and tie it around his face.
Naruto gave him a sympathetic smile. "Still having issues with your nose?"
He hummed an agreement. "I don't get how you can stand it."
"I don't get how you can't," the blond pointed out with a strange sideways look. "It kinda smells a bit, but it's not that strong. I barely noticed it until you covered up."
Sasuke sighed. "Well, obviously they aren't in there. I can't hear anything. Let's check back later."
"Alright." His friend's shoulders sagged, and he gave the door a longing glance before following Sasuke back to his own apartment.
Sasuke glanced down the hall to the door as he unlocked his own. Something wasn't right, but he just couldn't figure out what - and it was more unsettling than any explanation he could come up with himself.