5 – Fix You
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, just the story.
6 WEEKS AGO
Oh gods, am I really doing this?
They've moved to Iruka's office and while Naruto excitedly gives him more good news, she tries to read over the contract for the new job she found herself volunteering for. Stupid, stupid. But it was Naruto, how could she ever tell him what she's done?
So there she is, reading about what little benefits package the orphanage could provide her while Iruka, Naruto, and the blonde's friend list off the things around Shinseikatsu that needs fixing. From what she can tell, the Uchiha Foundation has decided to become the orphanage's benefactor and the blonde's friend is here to ask for a list of things they could provide.
She has noticed how worn out the place has become and that there are more children here now than when she and Naruto were kids. Sakura could only be happy for Shinseikatsu. It's a good place, not like those transient homes she's heard about, where they basically take money from the government and still give the children the bare minimum. The staff here really cared about their kids and their future. That's why she couldn't help but ask— "Is that it?"
The three stop their conversation to look at her and she's embarrassed to realize that she voiced her thoughts out loud.
"Excuse me?" The man Naruto introduced as Uchiha Sasuke lifts her chin at her, giving Sakura the impression that he couldn't give two shits about what she thought.
"Don't mind me. My words get away from me sometimes."
"Clearly." Sasuke straightens his posture, looking regal even if he's sitting on a patchwork armchair. "But since it's already out there, elaborate."
Sakura huffs at his commanding tone but answers calmly. "It's great to get some repairs in but… children here need more than just some new furniture and a better playground."
She thinks of Suisen and how dispirited she was in her last days. Not being able to go to school while all her friends continued with their daily lives made her stay in the hospital so much worse to her. It's not the loneliness, it was the absence of a normal life structure. The children who stay here don't grow up the same way as those in a good home environment do, with parents guiding them and with the expectation that they will always be taken care of.
"I thought you were a doctor, not a social worker."
Naruto squawks and tries to land a hit on him. "Teme, will you shut up!"
Now, Sakura actually bristles. Is he actually here to just throw his money at people's faces and call it a day? There were people like him in the annual galas for KMC, people in clothes that cost more than her family's house. Most of them weren't there because they cared about the medical arts and its progress. They just wanted to be seen giving aid to a world-class institution and to bask in the adoration that resulted from it.
And the Uchihas, fearsome lawyers and shrewd businessmen that they are, could only benefit from such a thing.
"No, I'm just a doctor focusing on pediatrics Uchiha-san, but given my experience growing up with Naruto, I've chosen to specialize on developmental and behavioral pediatrics as well." She challenges him with a quirk of an eyebrow to find problem with that.
Iruka clears his throat and Sakura comes back to herself. "Oh- oh no, I'm sorry Iruka-sensei—" She's not even formally working there yet and she's probably already lost them money. Fuck.
She almost apologizes to Sasuke but the smug fucking look he has on just riles her up more.
"It's fine Sakura. And actually, Sasuke-san, I do agree with her. We try to give our kids as much as we can, and we get by but," Iruka shrugs at them, "We can't give them what they want and need the most: a normal family life."
"Well I can't buy them families." Sasuke mutters.
The four of them lapse into silence. Sakura lets the Uchiha's flippant answer pass because it's true. Being adopted into loving families is the best thing for these kids, but it can't be bought with money. And just because it can't give them what they need, it doesn't mean that the orphanage can't use the extra funds.
Shit. She really shouldn't have opened her mouth.
"Perhaps… we could fund something like a rehabilitation program for them."
Sakura looks at Sasuke, confused. "Like with inmates?"
"I suppose? Rehab programs help certain inmates integrate better to the outside world than when they first came in and gives them a better chance at life when they get out— supposedly." Sakura notices the tips of Sasuke's ears redden. "There's probably a better term, I don't know."
Well that's an unexpectedly good idea. Maybe she should give this Sasuke guy the benefit of the doubt. "We can call it an assistance program instead?"
"Awesome!" Naruto crows. "And then you and teme could work together with that, right Sakrua-chan?"
"Absolutely not," Or maybe Sakura had spoken too soon. "I'm already putting together a team for this project and—"
"Hey Iruka-sensei, we're gonna go out for a second okay?" Naruto tells the man as he all but drags her and Sasuke out of the office. She tries to pull away, any day she'd be able to cow the blonde into doing what she wanted, but it seems the blonde is determined. Even Sasuke, who looks like he'd rather set his hair on fire than do something Naruto told him to, can't stop him.
When they get to the backyard playground, Sakura is surprised at how dark it's gotten. The sky is swathed with faint purples and burning oranges and shadows lurk around every corner. No wonder the kids are gone; they're probably already inside having dinner.
Naruto sits them by the swings, of course. He's always gravitated towards them even as a kid. That's how they met in the first place.
"Alright." Naruto plants himself in front of them, arms crossed. "I don't know what's gotten up your ass teme, but you're going to work with Sakura-chan on this. She's like super smart and she's good with kids. You on the other hand make kids cry."
Sakura tries to stifle a giggle but judging from the scathing glare Sasuke throws at her, she fails.
"I can just change my mind about this Naruto."
"Oh come off it Sasuke, I know you need this more than the orphanage needs you."
The Uchiha hisses indignantly beside her and curious as she is about what Naruto meant, it's still not her business. She tells Naruto as much and tries to get up but the blonde forces her back on the swing seat.
"You too Sakura-chan. Remember when we were kids and you'd tell me about all the awesome things that could be done here to make the orphanage better? Well you have the opportunity to do that now, the Uchiha are loaded!
"Hey!"
"Shut up Sasuke-teme, it's true!"
Sasuke grumbles about not being their personal bottomless wallet and Sakura actually almost laughs. The high and mighty Uchiha who just minutes ago were questioning her credentials is now pouting like a scolded child. And honestly, she feels the same.
An absolutely surreal notion since dumbass Naruto is the cause.
"Anyway, you're like my two best friends in the world and I want you to get along. So I'm gonna go to the mess hall so you can get to know each other, alright?"
Naruto doesn't even wait for their answer and soon, she and Sasuke are left alone in the playground. Sakura sneaks a look at the man. He's actually slouching and his posture isn't as rigid as it was a few minutes ago. And Sakura hates to admit it, he's absolutely gorgeous— in that aristocratic lordling kind of way. When he's not trying to demean her opinions that is.
She sighs. Well, if Naruto gives him his seal of approval…
"I hate it when he gets preachy like that," she starts since Sasuke's obviously not going to. "It's just gonna go to his head later if he thinks he's fixed things."
Still nothing. Sakura steels herself and makes the ultimate gesture, much like Naruto did with her. She shoves her hand almost to his face and that manages to at least startle him. "Hi, I'm Haruno Sakura and I would be so happy if we could work together for Shinseikatsu."
Sasuke looks at her outstretched hand, and then her, with those intensely black eyes of his. It's like he's trying to sift through her mind and gather evidence. For what, Sakura doesn't know. She's about to retract her hand when he finally takes it in his bigger one.
"Uchiha Sasuke. You crashed into me at Jishin the other day. You ruined my shirt."
"Oh god! I knew you looked familiar!" Sakura apologizes once, twice— she even tells him she'll replace the shirt, even if all it probably needs is a good wash. And still Sasuke wouldn't let go of her hand. He adjusts his hold and sends her head spinning with his next words.
"I know you're lying about something." He looks at her dead straight. "I'll work with you, but know that I'm watching you."
It doesn't make sense but all Sakura could think is that… he knows. He knows about Suisen and how she killed that little girl. It could have possibly been in the news or he knows Suisen's mother somehow. She shakes hard and doesn't even notice the Uchiha leave.
She should have known it would follow her.
Sakura breathes deeply through her mouth.
In and out.
She's not a stranger to panic attacks, she's had them enough to be able to differentiate it from hypoglycemia. She grips the swing chains and focuses on one of the lanterns on the engawa.
It's made out of crinkled paper, rotund and it hung from a long red yarn.
A bit yellowed.
One of the kids probably made it.
As it rotated in the air she sees a mitsudomoe pattern, the three tomoes painted in thick red acrylic.
Hey!
Sakura-chan?
Someone is calling her name. It takes a few more seconds for her to realize it's Naruto and he's sitting on the ground in front of her. Of all people, why did it have to be him?
He waits for her to calm down and asks her if she wants to catch up with him and have dinner. Like she isn't currently struggling to keep herself together.
And so, despite the shitty end to her day, Sakura laughs in relief.
Naruto always knows what to say.
xxx
"Leave it be Naruto, your friend didn't do anything to me."
Instead of going to their usual ramen haunt, they headed to Jishin café. She fishes an insulin pen from her bag and, because it's just Naruto with her, she raises her blouse a little so she could administer it on her taut stomach. Although the cafe makes her think Sasuke, the savory offerings of Ichiraku just won't do it for her at the moment. She needs Hinata's sweet dango, plates and plates of it.
Besides, she's not going to let that jerk ruin Jishin for her.
Half an hour removed from the conversation, Sakura can think more clearly now. Sasuke didn't say he knew about her time in KMC, just that she was hiding something. That doesn't make it good, just infinitesimally better.
Sakura pops a dango dripping with caramelized syrup into her mouth.
The whole thing sucks.
"Then why did he come running to me so I can check on you?"
"Uchiha-san called you?" Sakura was under the impression he just left her there when he saw her freaking out.
"He did. That's why I know he did or said something to you. Sasuke-teme's not a complete tool but if he saw a stranger having a—" he looks at her to gauge her reaction. "A panic attack, he wouldn't have given a fuck. But he actually looked worried."
Sakura snorts, not anxious enough to see if she was okay though. By the time he and Naruto went back inside, he was already gone, leaving his best friend without a ride down to the city. Thank goodness she has Uber.
Still. At least he called Naruto…
When it's clear that she's not going to answer him, he gives up— a rare occurrence with the obstinate public prosecutor. She bites another dango off a skewer while Naruto tells her she should eat more, eat better. Imagine finishing med school and still having to be told to take care of yourself.
"Hello Sakura-san. Is e-everything good h-here?" Hinata wanders over to them, a platter of freshly baked cookies in her hands. "Y-you're not usually here this l-late."
"The food is awesome as always Hinata-chan." Sakura introduces Naruto to her and she watches in fascination as the gentle girl flushes from head to toe. Hinata, she's observed, is naturally shy so she finds it really cute that she's trying her best to engage someone as audacious as her best friend. And he probably doesn't even realize the effect he has on her.
"A-anyway, I just came here to ask if you wanted a free taste of our new cookie recipe!" Hinata squeaks and slams the tin tray in front of them and high tails it back to the kitchen.
"Sweet, free food." Naruto doesn't hesitate to grab a couple of the cookies. "She seems nice!"
"You're a moron." She takes a cookie, her mouth already watering at the sight of the sugar and cinnamon sprinkled on top. Perhaps she should bring Naruto more often.
"I'm not going to press you on Sasuke," Naruto begins again, "But you have to tell me about you."
Sakura's eyes scan the café for scrubs. There aren't any. "What about me?"
"Come on, Sakura-chan. You really think I'd believe you just decided to take a break on your internship? Becoming a doctor is all you've ever wanted. What gives?"
Sakura grimaces at the blonde. He's really hitting all his targets today. When did Naruto become so wise? Ever since they both got into their separate universities, they haven't been able to hang out or talk as much. To be honest, she had been consciously pulling away. Naruto was doing so well and she… she felt like she was barely holding her head above the water.
But they're here now, and he's offering his hand and his friendship all over again. She could tell him about KMC and her mentor. About her first day and how it was so chaotic, she crashed into the on-call room and got up only to find her next shift about to start.
She could tell him about Suisen who loved putting on skits for her mother, sang like an alley cat, and wanted to eat as much taiyaki when she got home. She was gregarious and all that was lovely, but had the misfortune of being born with acute myelogenous leukemia.
It would be no work at all to reach out and take his hand but… "I can't tell you. Not just yet Naruto."
"But Sakura-chan, maybe I can help—"
"You can't Naruto!" She shakes her head. "Not everything can be fixed with a feel-good speech!"
She knows she's being unfair here, Naruto means well and he didn't cause her current turmoil. Neither did Uchiha Sasuke. But she doesn't think she could stand seeing the look in her best friend's eyes when he finds out how badly she's messed up.
"Alright, alright. I'll wait." Naruto sighs and takes her hand in his anyway. "And I'm not gonna tell you what to do. I just want you to know that I'm here for anything, okay?"
Sakura actually manages to chuckle, if Naruto had told him something so trite as 'it's not your fault' she might have brained him, Hippocratic oath be damned. He's three-for-three so far and he just keeps on surprising her.
"So no sagely advice?" Sakura tries so hard not to bawl in public. She's not hopeful enough to think she's all cried out, she knows it'll just catch her unawares some other time.
"Well, I do," the blonde scratches his head. "But I don't know if I should say."
"As long as it's not 'believe in yourself.'"
"Actually, I was just gonna say find a new reason to wake up for every morning."
Sakura sits up straighter. "What?"
"Like I said, all you wanted was to be a doctor when we were younger. You were going to help kids who grew up like you and me." Naruto crosses his arms and nods to himself. "I don't know what happened, but if being a doctor isn't what you want to do anymore, then find something new. Maybe you can help out in the orphanage and the bastard's project!"
"I thought you weren't going to tell me what to do?" Sakura chides him good-naturedly. What if the reason she's having a hard time figuring out what to do next is because she doesn't have a reason guiding her anymore? She still wants to help kids like her, like Naruto. She doesn't have to be a doctor to do that though.
The blonde scratches his head with both hands in frustration. "Ugh. You know I'm no good with this. But like, I really think it would be good for you, believe it! And Sasuke-teme's not such a pain to work with you know."
"You called him a complete tool not a few minutes ago!"
"No— no! I said he's not a complete tool!" Naruto scarfs down the last of the cookies on the tray. "And besides, he's like, dealing with some shit too. Did you know—"
"Stop." Sakura slaps a hand on Naruto's mouth. She doesn't want to be told something Sasuke clearly didn't want anyone knowing. No matter how much of a jackass he is. "Don't violate other people's privacies idiot."
"Fine, fine. And don't worry, I'm not gonna tell him about what you told me either."
"I appreciate that, Naruto."
"Sakura-chan," the blonde looks at her with blue fire burning behind his eyes, "If anyone can figure it out, it's you."
She feels her heart warm, constrict, explode.
And then Naruto's stomach grumbles and somehow it both breaks the moment and makes it all the better. They laugh and laugh and Sakura is relieved to know that her dumbass friend is still the same.
Naruto asks her Hinata after if she could make a decent ramen for him. Sakura gazes at her best friend, the human embodiment of optimism to the extreme. If someone like him still had faith in her, then maybe she really could find her way through this.
But when it comes to working with Uchiha Sasuke? She'll just have to see.
xxx
Her parents are just about to start dinner when Sakura returns. It's a bit late, definitely way past the time they'd usually eat in the evening, but it looks like they waited up for her. Or tried to anyway.
"There you are blossom!" Her father notices her first. Haruno Kizashi is a giant of a man. He'd be intimidating but everything about him is open, from his relaxed stance to the wide grin he'd give anyone— even someone who told him his food tasted horrible. In that way he's so much like Naruto it's not really a surprise to Sakura that she became best friends with the blonde. The worst offense is his penchant for utterly horrible dad jokes and cheesy nicknames. "You're not usually home this late…"
These days. He didn't say it but Sakura could hear the end of the sentence anyway. Back when she was still interning, she'd be home at odd hours of the day or night, depending on when her shift started. These days, she got up for a jog, stayed most of the day in Jishen, and went home before it was even dark.
Not anymore.
"Well come on," her mother calls, "I just reheated the soba from the other night so—"
"I'm gonna work for Shinseikatsu starting tomorrow."
Both her parents look up to her after her outburst, the dinner forgotten. Sakura couldn't help but blurt it out. It feels like the first piece of good news she's had in a while now, and she's so tired of being worried over like she was a problem that needed solving.
She knows it's not what they want from her. From the short conversation she had with her mother, Sakura knows they want her to go back to her internship but that's not an option that's available to her now. She just can't. So even she felt good about this, she waits— for the argument and the second-guessing, but there's none of that.
Instead, her parents' smiles grow warmer, more relaxed. There's even that smidgen of relief, a lightening of their shoulders that reinforces Sakura's belief that yes, she did make the right choice. Finally.
She's found a new reason to wake up in the morning.
Her father pats the chair beside his, his grin even bigger. "Why don't you tell us all about it Blossom?"
A/N: So the problem with alternating view points per chapter is that things tend to get bogged down. Is the pacing too slow? Me thinks I should re-plot and consider dual view points in one chapter.
The biggest storm of 2020 is about to hit my country, cause of course it is! Stay safe everyone.