Chapter 7. Okonomiyaki and Gut Feelings

When Tsunade had told Sakura that she would be "plenty busy" during the week leading up to the start of the medical campaign, the pinkette had honestly thought the blonde was just exaggerating in order to get her to go home. However, come Monday, when the first knock on her office door at the hospital sounded not even ten minutes after she had arrived, and the anxious chuunin she'd found on the other side held out to her a large stack of papers, Sakura realized why the Hokage had ordered her to take the weekend off.

The remainder of the week passed by like a whirlwind, sending the medic from one meeting to the next with barely a minute to breathe in between. From mission briefings to personnel updates to last minute inventory checks, she'd hardly had a second to herself the moment she'd stepped out if her apartment in the mornings. The only saving grace she'd had was the thought of Sasori waiting for her at home with dinner and a bad action movie - he had a whole arsenal of snide remarks that made terribly preformed movie stunts look like bloopers. It had truly been the highlight of her day... for about a day.

Then, to both of their despair, Sasori had been officially reassigned as the head of security for the medical campaign. A title which had effectively dragged him into the hurricane of strategy and contingency meetings, as well as regular evening meetings with Ino and Kakashi to discuss the recent issue of bandits. By the time said meetings were over and he returned to their apartment, she had already fallen asleep, either on the couch whilst waiting for him or in their bed.

Now, however, it was Thursday evening and, after having been kept apart for the majority of week due to their busy schedules, they had agreed to spend their last night in the village relaxing together in the apartment.

"I got okonomiyaki," Sasori called as he kicked the front door of Sakura's apartment shut with his foot and trudged inside. Setting the plastic bag of food down on the floor, he tugged off his sandals before sliding into his house slippers and taking their food to the kitchen. "Did you pick out a movie?"

When he was greeted with silence, Sasori put their dinner down on the table and carried on with his task of setting the table, gathering two bowls, two teacups, and two sets of chopsticks. He knew Sakura was home, he'd sensed her chakra from the street, so he could only assume she was busy with something and would come out to eat when she was ready.

However, after removing their food from their styrofoam containers and pouring them each a cup of tea, Sasori found himself disappointed by the absence of his pink-haired companion. Sparing a glance at the digital clock on the microwave, he frowned.

He'd been home for ten minutes now, and he'd made sure he'd spoken loud enough for Sakura to hear him even if she was in their bedroom... So where was she?

"Hey, Sakura," he called again, "the food is going to get cold if you don't come and eat."

Be it hungover or dead tired from a double hospital shift, rare were the times that Sakura couldn't be coaxed out of hiding with the promise of hot food.

That being said, after spending another several seconds sitting alone in the silent kitchen, Sasori acknowledged that there were always exceptions to the rule. So, deciding to give his girlfriend one last chance to present herself, he gave her an ultimatum.

Even if she was absorbed in her work, threatening to eat her food typically brought the fiery medic running.

"I'm eating your shrimp if you aren't out here in the next ten seconds... Ten... Nine... Eight..."

They both knew it was a lie, of course. Sakura loved shrimp too much for Sasori to ever actually feel right stealing more than a piece or two from her, but that didn't stop him from using it as a bargaining chip. Furthermore, there had yet to be an instance when Sakura let him get to zero.

"Seven... Six... Five..."

Picking up his chopsticks, Sasori sat up in his chair and leaned forward.

"Four... Three..."

Sasori listened closely for the soft squeak of the wooden floorboards to signal Sakura's usual dash to save her favorite food.

"Two..."

Utensils poised over Sakura's portion of their dinner, Sasori lifted his gaze towards the threshold of the kitchen, expecting to see her petite form appear at any second.

"One..."

Chopsticks closing on a piece of her seafood okonomiyaki, Sasori paused.

"Zero...?"

Hesitantly, the redhead lifted the food from Sakura's plate and retracted his hand. When the kunoichi still failed to show, Sasori put his chopsticks down and stood.

"This is ridiculous," he said loudly as he stalked down the hallway towards the medic's bedroom. Stopping in front of her closed door Sasori briefly took note of the faint glow of light peeking out from underneath it before knocking - not because he was trying to be polite, but because Sakura had chewed him out in the past about respecting boundaries.

"It's been a long week, Sakura. I know you're tired and worried about the mission, but we promised to eat together."

When he still received no response, Sasori scowled.

Screw boundaries.

Twisting the knob, Sasori pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Seriously," he growled, "How many times do I have to call you-"

He paused when his eyes fell upon the small form slumped over Sakura's desk, head resting on folded arms over a cushion of papers. Her eyes were shut, the curve of her upper back rising and falling with each steady, deep breath she took. Her lips were curled into a small pout, her brow scrunched ever so slightly, as if she had been in deep thought about some issue when she had fallen asleep and was still thinking about it while unconscious.

Suddenly, Sasori felt his irritation evaporate. Then, he reached out towards her, gently smoothing the faint crease on her forehead with his thumb as he crouched beside her. Sakura stirred at his touch, brilliant green eyes opening just a sliver to examine him.

"Sasori...?" she mumbled softly, eyes peeking open as the redhead's fingers stroked her cheek. "You're home...?"

Sasori chuckled quietly as he watched Sakura groggily try and fail to lift her head. "I brought dinner too, but it's probably cold now."

Sakura closed her eyes and hummed softly, smiling faintly as Sasori tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "It's a good thing we have a microwave, then."

"Yeah..." Sasori said, nodding in agreement before gently tracing the faint shadow under one of her eyes. His expression darkened slightly with concern. "Have you not been sleeping?"

Lifting her head, Sakura leaned into Sasori's touch and shook her head. "I have, but... It hasn't been very restful."

Sasori frowned at her words. "What do you mean?"

Sighing softly, Sakura glanced briefly over at the campaign files laying open on her desk before returning her gaze to Sasori. "I just... I've been getting this eery feeling about the medical campaign."

"What kind of feeling?"

Gazing intently, Sasori watched Sakura bite her lip and chew nervously on it, looking down at her lap in uncertainty, anxiously. Then, she shook her head. "Forget it. It's probably just my nerves."

"Sakura..."

The medic sighed. "I keep getting this feeling that something bad is going to happen."

Sasori stared at her, his expression calm but focused. "Like what?"

Groaning, Sakura lifted her hands and rubbed her face in aggravation. "I don't even know! I just... I just have this gut feeling that something is going to go majorly wrong."

For a minute, Sasori was silent, his mind turning her words over in his head. She was nervous, that was obvious, but any seasoned veteran also knew to trust their gut, and if Sakura's was telling her something was going to happen, it'd be wrong of him to dismiss it.

"Is this about the bandits?" he asked, deciding at last that perhaps they could at least try to identify her specific concerns.

Removing his hand from her cheek and taking it in her own, Sakura shook her head. "No. I trust our teams to do what they need to if they encounter any bandits."

Sasori nodded in agreement. He'd worked hard over the past few days to develop protocols for the teams to follow if they happened to encounter the bandits during their campaign. He had confidence that there weren't going to be many issues on that front. "So, what's bothering you, then?"

Sakura made a face, her expression one Sasori hadn't seen on her before. It was a strange mix between hesitance and confusion, as if she wasn't sure how to word what she was trying to say or if it would even make sense when she did. At last, after several seconds of struggling, she sighed in defeat.

"It's going to sound strange... and pretty pessimistic..." she warned him, "but...it's like that feeling you get when it's too quiet in the forest. I just feel that... we've been living in peace for so long now... I'm worried it's not going to last... like something is going to happen during the campaign that's going to destroy it."

Watching her bite her lip again, Sasori remained silent, returning the anxious squeeze of his hand with his own firm grip before speaking softly. "That... was definitely pessimistic."

Immediately, Sakura swatted him with her free hand, expression shifting from concerned to amused and then exasperated in a second. Then, when he caught the offending hand in his, she grew serious.

"Pessimistic," he began again, "but not unrealistic." Stroking her knuckles with his thumbs, Sasori continued. "We've both lived through war, it's not unusual to question how long the peace will last when we know it can all change in the blink of an eye."

Sakura offered him a small, grateful smile. "So, you don't think I'm going crazy?"

Sasori snorted softly, "No, but... I also don't think I'm the right person to be asking."

At that, Sakura giggled softly. "Right, I almost forgot... Totally sane people like to turn themselve into a puppet for the sake of immortality."

Rolling his eyes at the jab, Sasori squeezed Sakura's hands and gave her a stern look. "Seriously, though, let me know if anything seems off during this mission. I'll handle it."

Smiling at him, Sakura nodded. "Okay."

Although she still looked a little uncertain, Sasori could feel his companion's chakra settle, relaxing like it's owner from it's previously anxious state. It was a good sign that Sakura was starting to feel better.

That and the way her stomach suddenly growled loudly between them.

"So... dinner?" She asked sheepishly.

Shaking his head slightly at her antics, Sasori nodded and moved to stand. Before he could straighten to his full height, however, Sakura grabbed his wrist and tugged on it gently.

"What is it?" he asked curiously, surprised by the action until she held out her arms and grinned.

"Can you give me a piggy-back ride?"

Sasori sent her a bland look. " What are you? Five?"

Pouting, Sakura pleaded, "Pleeease?", trying to be cute as she looked up at her boyfriend with eyes wide and pleading. Except that the entire image was ruined a moment later by a loud yawn.

Nevertheless, after staring the woman down for another minute, Sasori relented and turned around. Then, crouching down in front of her, he motioned for her to get on. "Come on, before I change my mind."

Giggling delightedly, Sakura threw her arms around Sasori's shoulders and hugged him tight while the redhead adjusted his grip on her thighs and stood. Once they were situated, he headed for the door.

"Thanks, Sasori " Sakura said softly against the back of her neck as they entered into the hallway.

"Don't mention it," the redhead replied as he led them towards the kitchen. Then, as if remembering something important, he stopped. "Ah, I forgot to tell you..."

Chin resting on his shoulder, Sakura yawned, "Tell me what?"

"I ate your shrimp." He didn't, but he'd been curious for a while now to see how she'd react if he had.

Predictably, Sasori felt his girlfriend's body tense. 'Well, she's definitely awake now,' he mused.

But when she said nothing he looked back at her. "Saku-"

Suddenly, warm hands cupped his face and a pair of soft lips descended upon his, molding perfectly against his mouth and swallowing the rest of his sentence. A soft hum rose from the back of Sasori's throat as he, surprised but not unwelcoming of the petite pinkette's unexpected affection, closed his eyes and braced himself for her attack. When she nibbled gently on his bottom lip, he parted his lips for her. Then he felt her tongue sweep sensuously across the ridge of his teeth, once, twice, three times in an attempt at goading him into join her. However, just when he'd felt himself start to give in, his resolve weak after the past several days of running around the village to prepare for the medical campaign, she was gone.

Well, not gone gone, she was still latched on his back like a koala to a eucalyptus tree, but she had pulled away from him. Her hands and lips leaving his face as she returned to her previous position with a satisfied purr.

"Liar."

Sasori blinked, his mind and body still adjusting to the sudden shift in her attention. Then, eloquently, he replied, "Pardon?"

Sakura giggled softly from her place on his back before gently patting his shoulder, a sign that she wanted to be put down, and grinning at him.

"You said that you ate my shrimp, but you lied..." she replied, reaching up to gently ran her thumb over his bottom lip when he turned to face her. "I know you did... because you don't taste like shrimp."

Had he been anyone else, Sasori might have blushed at the rather bold method she had used to call his bluff. He, however, was no one but himself, and as such, found himself briefly questioning his companion's sobriety.

Her response was a soft snort and a "don't be ridiculous," as she patted his arm in the same way she did to Naruto when he said something endearingly idiotic. "Drunk me would have decked you at the mere mention of eating my shrimp."

Amused, Sasori spent a moment watching the woman walk into the kitchen before shaking his head and following after her.

It was times like this that he truly wondered how he ended up in this position.

"Let's just eat and go to bed "

Sitting down across from him at the kitchen table, Sakura gave a mock salute. "Aye, sir."

A/N: So, originally, there wasn't even a SasoSaku scene in the beginning of this chapter (7). Then, after thinking about how some readers missed Sasori in the last chapter (and I kind if did too), I decided to give him some attention. And THEN the scene got away from me and I liked it so much that I just decided to offer you guys a fluff chapter because I've been busy and it seemed like a lot to add the rest of what I had planned for this chapter on top of the SasoSaku moment.

Long story short... expect less (or at least shorter) SasoSaku moments from here on out because we're going to getting into the nitty-gritty of the actual storyline.

A/N #2: That last kiss I suspect is my inner desire to write a spicy SasoSaku leaking out. Truth be told, I really like the dynamic of Sasori and Sakura in this story and I'm just too lazy to write a one-shot so I just release my inner SasoSaku desires here periodically.

ANYWHO! I hope you're all doing well and staying safe!

Thanks as always for the support! I promise we'll return to the plot in the next chapter!

~Smash41KMF

- 04.05.2021