A/N: On the edge of 2020! As promised, here is the revised Chapter 13. I feel this suits the way I see the characters much better. Thank you all for your patience and kind words. As a treat, expect Chapter 14 very soon, too! To the kind reviewer: yes, I am thisthatfictionss on Tumblr, though that account one that I don't access very often. I have made a Twitter, however, after seeing a screenshot of my oneshot Nightly Whispers floating around: thisthatfiction, and you're more than welcome to follow. Alright! Without further ado, please enjoy!
Chapter 13
When morning came, Sakura squeezed her eyes shut tightly and stretched toward the ceiling above her. She let out a soft sigh before rolling onto her right side to glance at the digital clock that sat on her desk, the red numbers sharpening to her early morning vision: 7:03AM. Having the day off meant being able to rise when the sun did. What a treat, she thought. Sure enough, the rays trickled through her window, the gentle light illuminating her carpeted room to create delicate colors.
The previous night, she set Sasuke's futon in the same spot where he'd last slept, provided him with a blanket and pillow, and retired to her room. She remembered how he'd looked at her as she finished healing his scraped limb, how he held their gaze for a moment longer than what she felt was platonic. How she saw his eyes flicker towards her lips. It was then that she decided to move away, trying not to wrap herself up in the utter dissonance in messages that sent her. Out of the gutter, she voiced to herself. You can worry about all that later.
In the living room, she heard the familiar rustling of someone getting up, signaling her cue of rolling out of bed. She fixed her sleeping area, folding her favorite plush blanket and pulling her covers over the mattress with care, before opening the door of her bedroom to step out into the space.
To her left, Sasuke was sitting atop the futon. His legs were crossed and he slouched slightly as he rubbed his sleepy eyes. A small frown, close to a pout, formed on his lips. His dark locks were splayed out on the back of his head as evidence of tossing and turning. He looked to Sakura and nodded in greeting. Since they were children, he was never much of a morning person. He looked even less so than the other times she woke up within the same space as him, likely due to his training the night before. The sight made her smile.
"Morning, Sasuke-kun," she greeted, her voice soft. "You're up early." When he only replied with another nod, she chuckled to herself and turned to the right to head into her bathroom. She fixed herself up with her morning routine. She moved fast while tying her hair up, washing her face, brushing her teeth, and moisturizing quickly so as to not hog the space. As she was patting her lotion onto her cheeks, a knock came at the bathroom door. "One sec, Sasuke-kun, almost done."
"Take your time," he said, his voice lightly hoarse from sleep. "I just had another favor to ask."
She spread the lotion across her cheeks just until a thin film laid out across her skin, rubbing her hands with what was leftover. The medic then opened her door and pulled her hair tie out of her pink locks while looking up at his still-drowsy face. They were far less than arm's length apart, but she held her composure at their distance as she looked up at him quizzically. "Another favor?" she echoed, ruffling her hair free and letting it set around her shoulders.
He seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding. "Hiroto said another appeal needs to be filed regarding what happened in Hana. Ken filed a complaint."
"Even with Tsunade-sama's approval?"
"Yes. I thought it would be enough, too, but I guess it's still needed in writing."
She blinked at him for a moment, trying not to spend too long of a pause in silence. "Okay. Office opens at eight?"
He nodded.
"Alright." She slipped passed him, raising a hand to separate their bodies as she did so to motion him backward. "I'll go get changed. You can use the bathroom and I'll see if I can make us some food before we head out."
He opened his mouth as if to add something else before shutting it, responding only with a nod. Without a second glance backward at him, she hurried into her room and shut the door to change clothes. As she stepped toward her closet door to open its contents and rummage through her civilian clothing, she sighed quietly. After the buildup of flirting and friendliness, after the kiss they shared in Hana, and after a week of avoiding each other, it all felt…odd.
She slipped on a mint green shirt with white sleeves over her bralette-clad chest, tucking the hem into her navy-blue skirt with deep pockets. As much as she wanted to be patient, to be a good friend to him, it felt as though the boundary between friendship and something else had already been crossed. And then last night, as she held his hand in hers to mend his knuckles, he looked at her. He looked at her in the same way he had before. Midnight and lavender eyes with a hint of haze, as though expectant, right after they'd agreed friendship was all this would be, all it could be for him.
And he wasn't ready…when would he be? And if he ever was…would it be with her?
Her trail of thoughts was cut off by the sound of running water from the bathroom sink.
Out. Of. The. Gutter, she urged herself once more. No use in getting worked up over something I can't control.
She padded out of her bedroom and head to her kitchen, effortlessly pulling out a pan and utensils from their respective places. She turned and plucked a small carton of eggs from her fridge and turned the heat to just the right temperature. As the pan was warming, she pivoted and checked her little rice cooker that was left warming its contents since she arrived home the night before. Each movement she made was one she'd rehearsed at least one hundred times over. It was calming, mindless work: cooking breakfast.
She cracked an egg over the pan and let it sizzle, watching as the egg whites changed into their namesake, the shiny, golden yolk a perfect hill in its center. She cracked another egg, then another, then another, figuring the two of them could have two each. Small hums escaped her lips, whispered tunes of what she heard when she was small and her mother would cook for her in their family home. Never the words, just the tunes. Sakura spun and pivoted, eventually adding little steps like gliding her feet across the wooden floors as she chopped up fresh vegetables on her counter, failing to notice the Uchiha saunter out of the bathroom and watch her with the corners of his mouth slightly upturned.
The medic scooped up and patted down perfect mounds of white rice into small bowls and placed them on a serving tray just before placing two chopsticks beside each of them. On another small plate, she loaded the eggs and the fresh vegetables neatly and placed them carefully next to their respective rice bowls. She swiveled to the stove, her humming now turning into, "da-da-da" or "ba-da-dum-da," as she turned he switch all the way off. She pivoted once more, reaching out for the serving tray and froze in the middle of singing a high note. "Ba-dahhh…uhh…"
Sasuke's smile didn't falter on his face, causing a heat to rise up into her cheeks. "You're chipper this morning," he commented, turning away and kneeling on the floor to fold up the futon and blanket.
"I made sunny-side up."
He cocked his head to the side in amusement.
"I got to sleep in," she huffed sheepishly, rounding the corner of her kitchen counter and padding over to her kotatsu top lace down the tray.
"Seven in the morning is sleeping in," he said, a subtle undertone of disbelief lining his words.
"You would know. You were around when I'd have to get up at five sometimes."
He merely shrugged, pushing the futon to the corner of the room before settling in his usual spot at the kotatsu. She handed him his food before settling in herself, the two of them clapping their hands and murmuring, "Itadakimasu," together. As they ate, Sakura felt that she was suddenly at a loss for words. She normally would have filled him in about all that he would have heard had they still spoken for a week. Her unusual events at the hospital, her little slip-ups when she was on her caffeine highs, or even about the status of the children's mental health clinic. But she couldn't, hesitating in the thought that these conversations may be misconstrued as something that's not simply platonic. I don't tell Naruto about my day every day, she thought. I don't even fill Ino in about all the little things. But for some reason, she wished she could spend the moment doing just that with the shinobi in front of her.
"I saw that blond girl yesterday."
Sakura paused mid bite, wondering if he had some sort of telekinesis before brusquely brushing the irrational thought away. "You mean Ino?" she said.
"Yeah. She was clearing out the training grounds."
Sakura blinked for a moment before feeling her stomach clench. Her manicured friend does little to mind her own business when it comes to relationships and had such a way of weaseling into the knowledge of other people. "What did she say?" Sakura asked as nonchalantly as she could.
"Same thing you said last night. That you've been busy."
It was as though he made the perfect segue into conversing about how she spent her time. Huh, she thought. Interesting. "Yeah, although I think I brought that upon myself more than the hospital actually needing me like last time."
Sasuke paused and raised an eyebrow at that, silently asking what she meant.
Sakura tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and averted his gaze, suddenly hyper-focused on the tips of her chopsticks. "When I say, 'last time,' I mean since after the war," she admitted quietly.
"I would think intense combat would make one do the opposite of overwork."
She softened her gaze with sadness, pretending to examine the rice grains stuck to her utensils. "It wasn't the combat that made me turn to work."
Sasuke blinked at her, not understanding.
Great, I have to spell it out, she thought, taking a deep breath. "It wasn't the combat," she repeated slowly. "It was seeing you get taken away. Right in front of us." She glanced up, feeling a flood of self-consciousness. "Right in front of me."
The Uchiha stared back at her, still as stone and unblinking, as though he was recalling that day for himself. His gaze wasn't intense; it was unreadable. Sakura was acquainted with his deadpanned looks, both from their childhood and recently, and she was fairly certain when he was intentionally creating them. This time, however, it was almost like his mind truly went blank before her. Oh god, say something, she pleaded, biting her lip but finding it impossible to look away.
After another moment, Sasuke blinked. "Oh."
Oh?
She took this as the opportunity to break their gaze and resume her meal, picking up her egg and plopping it onto her rice. She punctured the yolk and let its contents run over the grains, using her chopsticks to mix it in to burn the anxious energy that began to build. "I worked a lot then, too," she admitted. "Three weeks without a break. Tsunade sent me home and threatened to demote me from my position if I didn't take three days off."
"And then?"
"And then I took three days off," she replied. "And when the three days were up, I worked three weeks straight again."
She glanced up at the Uchiha to see a visible frown had formed on his face, his brow furrowing in what looked like…pain. He set his chopsticks down and placed his hand on the kotatsu's surface before meeting her gaze. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.
Sakura raised an eyebrow before breaking out into a weak smile. "Why are you apologizing, Sasuke-kun?" she asked. "It's my own fault. I wasn't ready to feel what I think I needed to feel at the time, so I turned to work. Anyway, I eventually got burned out and Naruto helped convince me to turn to a normal work schedule again. It worked itself out."
He didn't make a move to acknowledge that he accepted that explanation. She looked at the way his eyes focused on his hand, his fingers curling into a fist before fanning out, curling then fanning out. She'd seen this look previously; in the way he was first targeted by the village women on his first day free and in the way Ken confronted them about performing ninjutsu. He was likely wrought with guilt.
Almost on instinct, Sakura reached out across the kotatsu and placed her hand gently on his, intentionally pressing against his fingers to halt them from their flexing pattern. "It's okay, Sasuke-kun," she assured him. "Really."
They sat like that for a few moments, watching their hands in silence, watching how her thumb grazed against his rough skin in a bid to provide comfort. Friends, she thought. Friends do this, right? She halted her movement and looked up at him once more to find that his eyes were already watching her. Lavender and midnight met emerald green in a way that held her still with curiosity. Stop.
She withdrew her hand reluctantly, missing the warmth of his beneath her fingers. "Anyway," she said, using her retracted and to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, "we should probably go soon and beat the morning walking traffic."
With that, the rest of their meal was eaten in silence, each of them focusing on their respective meals with minimal words exchanged. The whole time, however, Sakura wished she could say more, wished she could tell him how she sees his pain yet again, wished she could ease his concern. And for the latter part of the time, she was stilled by the fact that he had concern at all.
When they stepped out into the village streets, they were still largely empty, as many of the villagers were likely still rehearsing their morning routines or even just waking up. The two of them walked quietly, Sasuke dressed in a quarter-sleeved dark gray shirt and black pants with a navy bag slung over his chest, and Sakura in all of her greens, blues, and pinks. He couldn't help but think that he looked like a poor shadow next to her, one that was doing a terrible job at being close enough.
The pair walked at an arm's length distance away from each other. He found himself missing the familiar closeness they had a mere week-and-a-half ago, but didn't want to overstep his boundaries, especially not since they had agreed friendship would be their method of functioning.
Despite the quiet solemnity they shared in her apartment, Sakura seemed to brighten the moment she walked into the morning sun. The cherry blossom trees that hung low during their walk seemed to greet her, echoing her namesake by blowing their petals against her back. As they neared the station, the cherry blossom trees grew more abundant, some of them already sprouting their green leaves to signal the end of the blooming season. He glanced up at the delicate pink that drifted to the ground like snow.
He felt something soft touch his hair and he glanced to his right to see Sakura's arm outstretched, picking off a petal that landed within his dark locks. "Sorry," she said, withdrawing her hand and flicking the petal away. "It just really stood out against you."
Among another cherry blossom that does, he thought, but nodded as they continued walking ahead. He wished he could say something more, fall into the routine they'd established before their trip to Hana, but couldn't bring himself to do it.
When they arrived at the station, Sasuke walked straight ahead to the door leading to the main corridor. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sakura offer a polite wave to him that the man reflected back. Maybe I should greet him more often, he thought. Although, I probably wouldn't get the response she gets.
The pair strode down the hall to Hiroto's office. Just as he was about to reach for the brass knob, the door swung open as though a gust of wind had impatiently burst through. Sasuke and Sakura startled a bit at the sudden event. Sasuke, though, soon felt perplexed at the sight: a small boy, likely no older than six years old, gripped the knob with his fingers. He was so small, he could barely reach. In his other hand, he held clasped an Allied Shinobi Force hitae-ate. The child dressed in a navy blue jumpsuit with matching navy blue sandals, and Sasuke couldn't help but feel surprised at how little he was. The boy looked up at the pair with large brown eyes framed by messy brown hair. "You here for Papa?"
"Uh," Sasuke stammered, glancing at Sakura as if he was lost. He turned back around to the child and nodded his head. "Yes."
"Sato," Hiroto's voice came from behind the boy, and the two saw the man round his desk and stop behind the child. "Greet our guests properly."
"Sato," Sasuke echoed thoughtfully before looking up at the officer. "Your son."
"The one and only," Hiroto said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. He crouched next to the boy to meet him on his level before ruffling his hair with his hand. "This, Sato, is Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha."
The child's eyes instantly widened and grew brighter with amazement. He then turned to Hiroto, gripping his shoulder and pointing upwards at the Uchiha. "It's my hero, Papa!"
"Say hello to your hero, Sato."
The boy nodded before offering Sasuke a polite bow, hands at tightly pressed to his sides. "Nice to meet you, sir," he said, his voice high and bouncy like windchimes.
Sasuke nodded stiffly at the child, not knowing how to react.
"And this," Hiroto said, gesturing to the medic, "is Sasuke's special friend, Sakura Haruno."
Sato bounced a bit before bounding towards her, wrapping his arms around her as best as he could, the hitae-ate pressing gently into her leg. She patted his head naturally, smiling with clear amusement. "Nice to meet you, Sato-chan."
Hiroto shook his head in exasperation. "Sorry about that, Sakura," he said apologetically, gesturing Sato to come back to him. "He hugs all of my wife's friends and probably hasn't broken that habit." When Sato let go and looked back to his father, Hiroto said, "Go to the front with Uncle. He has a game that you can play while Papa works." The young boy nodded his head and hummed as he ran towards the lobby, his footsteps loudly clapping against the corridor floor.
Sasuke slipped by the officer and sat in the one of the two uncomfortable chairs, slipping his bag off his shoulders to set by his feet. Sakura sat next to him and the two of them watched as the officer rounded his desk once more before sliding into his chair. He swiveled to one of the large drawers and rummaged within its contents. "Thank you for entertaining him," he said. "My wife's busy with work today and my sister-in-law couldn't look after him."
"Of course," Sakura chimed, her smile bright and genuine.
Sasuke's gaze grazed over Hiroto's desk and saw his ashtray was empty. "Not smoking today?" he asked.
"No, not today," Hiroto said, pulling out a small stack of papers and snapping them to a wooden clipboard. "My wife doesn't like it when I smoke around Sato. I don't blame her, either. It was a nasty habit I picked up after the war." He slid the clipboard over to the medic in addition to a pen. "So, Sakura," he said, continuing on to business, "I take it that Sasuke gave you the rundown of what's happened with Ken's complaint, otherwise you wouldn't be here."
"That's right," she said, taking the documents and holding them in her lap. "Ken is…despicable."
"I can see how," Hiroto agreed. "He's a very proud man. He's known to be a hard-ass on missions and sees himself as excellent for being stationed outside the village. It's not as though he's ANBU or anything. I digress, though. Go ahead and write your appeal statement with as much detail as you can give. Include your reason for being in Hana, the time you were at the clinic, the jutsu you used, the works. That should be enough to combat the ramblings he made."
Sakura nodded and gave Hiroto a soft smile. "Thank you for taking such good care of Sasuke-kun, Hiroto-san."
Sasuke turned in her direction, surprised at her vocalized gratitude. He then turned to Hiroto who appeared to melt a little bit into his chair, sheepish at her compliment, as he waved dismissively at her words. The officer then turned to Sasuke and the Uchiha felt himself frown. Please don't start anything in front of her, he silently pleaded, willing Hiroto not to provide any room to discuss anything to do with the two shinobis' relationship.
The officer, to Sasuke's relief, began saying words of praise about his son. He seemed to light up with each tale of how Sato learned new kanji, can read at a higher level than his teachers expected, or learned how to strum a few notes on their family's shamisen. Sasuke offered a few comments and watched as the man, normally so burly and gruff, seemed to melt at the topic of his young son. Sakura took some moments of her appeal to ask a few questions, throw in a few words to showcase how she was impressed, or even add a few, "ooh"s and "aw"s.
As he listened to Hiroto's excited words, he thought about Fugaku Uchiha who sat in the same chair, in the same office, in the same building. He remembered how his mother admitted that he often spoke of Sasuke with such great pride behind closed doors. He wondered if this is what it looked like. He wondered if Hiroto ever told Sato he's proud of him when the doors opened.
At some point, Sakura finished writing her appeal and slid the clipboard back in the officer's direction. "All done," she said, a smile on her face. "I hope I was thorough enough."
Hiroto flipped through her writing, eyebrows raised. "This is more than enough, Sakura."
She nodded, pleased. "And Sasuke-kun's record?"
"Clean."
"As a used whistle," she grinned, echoing the words he said the first time she'd written an appeal. "Is there anything else you need for me to do?"
"That would be all," Hiroto said, setting the clipboard aside.
The pair stood in preparation for their leave, Sasuke relieved that it was a relatively painless meeting, when the officer raised his hand to gather their attention once more.
"Hold on, Sasuke," he said. "I also received some important information about your final trial."
Sasuke and Sakura exchanged brief glances, the former feeling a flurry in his chest that signaled anxiety. "Go ahead," he said, turning back to the officer, though he didn't sit back down and instead slung his bag across his chest.
"The trial should occur before the year's end," he replied. "A final hearing will be conducted in the spring, about a year from now. Godaime and her successor will be gathering witnesses on your behalf for the coming months. I've been instructed to let you know that they will likely reach out to both of you very soon, in addition to Naruto Uzumaki."
The Uchiha nodded thoughtfully, anxiety clenching his chest. "One year," he echoed, his voice distant.
He felt Sakura's gaze on him before she turned and gave Hiroto a polite bow and kind words of gratitude before tapping on Sasuke's elbow to make their leave. He followed suit with Sakura, offering a bow, before pivoting and making their way down the hall, leaving the door ajar. As they passed the front desk, young Sato bounced around on the front desk officer's lap with his father's hitae-ate clutched tightly in his hand. His gaze snapped to the pair as they walked out.
"Papa's done?" he asked, his voice high.
"Papa's done," Sakura smiled.
With that, young Sato hopped off the officer's lap and hurried down the hall. Just before he reached Hiroto's office, the man crouching down to meet him with his arms outstretched, the boy turned around. "Bye, Sasuke! Bye, Sa'ra!" with that, he spun around and let himself get caught by his father in an embrace, his high voice chattering quickly. Among the words, Sasuke caught, "my hero, my hero!"
Sakura tugged on Sasuke's elbow once more, and the two of them made their way out of the building. The Uchiha was quiet, the sight of Sato flooding him with memories of running around the same halls, seeing each of his Uncles gently guiding him in and out of offices, and his father who worked diligently at his desk. As a child, he was full of admiration and longing for Fugaku's affection and pride. I wonder if my happiness looked like Sato's, he thought. And if it wasn't, how different would my life have been if it was? The answer glared at him from the back of his mind. I probably wouldn't be standing trial for war crimes.
"Sasuke-kun?"
Coming out of his train of thoughts, he looked to his right and saw green eyes looking up at him with concern. Her fingers gently tugged on the sleeve of his elbow, coaxing him to come to. "Hm?"
"Are you okay?"
He could have answered generically with his one-worded responses. It's something he was very good at doing. However, something in him was nagging at him to reminisce about his family. Sakura'd listened before… "I'm not sure," he answered honestly, his voice quiet.
She didn't release his sleeve. She merely stood there with him, silent, waiting for him to continue. She had a knack for knowing when he wanted to say more but didn't know how. He needed time to formulate these words seeping with emotional burden.
Eventually, he sighed. "Do you want to go to the training grounds?"
She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I don't have any of my training gear."
"Not to train," he clarified. "To talk."
Sakura let go of his sleeve and she nodded, her grass green eyes bright. She walked alongside him, seemingly careful about making sure their distance remained at least an arm's length away. He wished she would close it, as he didn't feel capable of doing so. It was an odd thing to want someone's warmth. He thought that he'd quelled that part of him years ago, stifling it as best as he could to enact the means to his end. But here he was, in the presence of the medic once more, wanting to talk, spill his thoughts, have someone listen without exchanging punches the way he would with Naruto. And the odder thing is that having her there was different from the others. He could never do it with anyone else, he reasoned.
Is this what friendship feels like with Sakura?
When they arrived at the training grounds, small squads of new genin were scattered about the new fields. The grounds were split between new and traditional, the former containing obstacles and landscapes that replicated other lands while the latter was included where shinobi the pair's age and higher trained as new genin. They were able to walk by the outskirts of each field, passing a rocky terrain grounds in addition to one that held a massive sand pit.
The further into the fields they managed to walk, the grassier the landscapes grew to be. The traditional training grounds, their training grounds. Sakura quickened her pace and looked around at the open field, the deep greenery making her heart feel warm. She walked towards the three wood pillars and chuckled at the one in the middle, remembering how Naruto had been tied tightly against it for trying to sneak an early lunch. She settled herself to the pillar's left, sitting where she had years ago, reminiscing about how she and Sasuke decided to feed their blonde friend and disobey their sensei. She laid her legs out in front of her before bending them to hug just underneath her thighs. Sasuke followed suit, sitting on the other side of the pillar and settling his legs, criss-crossed on the plush grass.
He didn't look at her for a few moments, and she knew to wait. It was something she'd learned from being with him, this new yet old Sasuke. Sure enough, he spoke.
"I told you before that all Uchiha are prideful," he began, his voice soft. "For the most part, that was true. My father was probably the most prideful of us all."
"He was the clan head, wasn't he?" she asked for clarification.
"Yes. It's probably why he was the way that he was. It amplified his pride because he carried the pride of others on his shoulders. Sometimes, though, I wondered why he couldn't give some of his pride to me."
Sakura watched as he picked at the grass in front of him, struggling to peel the blades in half with his single hand before flicking it away and moving to the next. She then glanced up at his eyes and found that he looked lost in his thoughts. "What do you mean?" she asked.
He paused for a moment, pondering her question and how to explain himself. "In the scheme of my life, I didn't know my family very long. But during my eight years with them, my father told me he was proud of me only once, after I perfected the family jutsu." He scoffed. "It's probably one of the best moments of my life," he admitted dryly, "finally receiving something he gave to Nii-san so freely. He only said he was proud behind closed doors."
Sakura couldn't help but raise her eyebrows in surprise. In the whole time she'd known him, he only ever referred to his older brother as, "that man," or by his name, Itachi. To hear the words of endearment come from Sasuke warmed her, but also stung. She frowned a bit. "You don't sound very happy talking about one of the best moments of your life."
"I was then. I don't know if I should be now." He flicked another crumpled blade of grass. "If he'd given it to me sooner, maybe I wouldn't be in this mess."
Sakura eyed him, thinking how young he looked in the moment, how vulnerable. She opted for silence and waited for him to resume his thoughts.
Sure enough, he continued. "Looking at Sato makes me hope Hiroto tells him he's proud of him. That way…," he let his arm rest upon his knee, leaving his hand to dangle and his fingers to release the blades of grass he'd picked. "That way, he won't have to end up like me."
They sat in the quiet for a moment, feeling the gentle breeze blow against their backs. Her hair spilled against the front of her shoulders, but she made no move to adjust, as her own mind was turning his words in an examination. She could see that he was doing the same, though the turns appeared to be warping his thoughts into a whirlpool. She wanted to reach in and pull him out.
She spoke up. "I don't know very much about the history of your clan," she began, her voice somewhat unsure, "but I remember how others regarded them. There was the usual level of respect, of course, but also fear. What I know about fear is that it breeds resentment." She reached down next to her skirt and picked at the grass there, mindlessly mimicking his movements. "I saw discrimination against a family that was wronged for generations and a father who tried to combat it." She flicked her own piece of grass away. "I'm not saying this to play devil's advocate or justify what he was doing as right. I'm saying this to agree with you."
She felt his gaze fall upon her, deadpanned.
"You deserved to have someone tell you they were proud of you, especially your father, despite it all," she continued, refusing to meet his gaze. "Where you would be if he'd said he was proud of you, where you would be if your clan, your family, didn't experience that discrimination…I don't think anyone knows." She picked up a long blade of grass and held it in the fingers of her right hand, bringing it into her lap to examine it as she spoke. She ran her thumb against its smooth surface, not wanting to slice it in half. "But one thing I know is that I'm proud of you, Sasuke-kun. You did things in your past, but you're here in peace to fix it. So, despite it all, I'm proud of you."
Her words hung in the air. She continued examining her long blade of grass, too anxious to look up at him to see how he received her thoughts. When the silence grew unbearable, which didn't take very long, she turned her head to look at him and meet his eyes. She wanted to shrink a bit, worried that what she said had gone too far in some way but found herself to be caught in the way he gazed at her. He wasn't smiling, nor was he frowning. He wasn't flat, either. He simply…regarded her.
Then, he turned away, facing forward once more but placing his hand in his lap. "Thank you, Sakura," he said, his voice soft.
She felt herself relax at the sound of the resolve in his voice. "Of course," she responded, matching his volume, a slight blush staining her cheeks.
Is this what friendship feels like with Sasuke-kun?
They sat together in the quiet, their silence comfortable for the first time since their week of avoiding each other. At one point, she picked up a few blades of grass and flicked it in his direction, a spray of green showering his black pants. He pulled at the grass on his side and did the same, aiming for her head. She pouted before breaking out in a giggle as she shook the grass out of her hair and scooting closer to him to fire another spray of grass in his direction.
She wasn't sure how long they were there. It could have been a few minutes, could have been many hours. Throwing grass at each other, inching closer to each other, being comfortable with each other again. It felt normal, yet strange. Regardless, she didn't want it to end.
Before she knew it, their knees were brushing against each other as they sat. She'd began plucking wildflowers from the ground and tying them at their stems to stick them in his hair. She was surprised he didn't mind. If he did, he tolerated her with a mere playfully bored expression. Just as she was about to stick a fifth flower into his dark locks, "Just to give your hair a pop of color," she joked, he turned to look at her, his eyes soft. She let her gaze flicker to them, just before continuing on draping his hair over another stem. "There," she murmured, turning back to stare at her lap, letting her fingers fall back to the grassy ground. Their shoulders bumped. She turned to look at him and midnight and lavender held emerald once more. This still doesn't feel like friendship, she thought despairingly, though hopefully. This feels like—
"Oi! Have you two made up already?"
Sakura turned her head to see their blond teammate sauntering towards them, angling herself away from the Uchiha and feeling saddened by the loss of warmth. A cheeky grin formed on Naruto's face. Of course, his orange collar was upturned and hanging at a strange angle and the rest of his shirt was well and wrinkled. He donned black pants that seemed to be another identical pair to the ones Sasuke wore today, clearly the latter having made use of the clothes the blond left behind at Sakura's apartment.
Behind Naruto, though, came their silver-haired teacher, hands in his pockets and eyes already filled with knowing amusement.
"Naruto, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura greeted, rising to her feet and brushing off the flecks of grass and dirt from her skirt.
Kakashi reached out and patted her shoulder. "Good to see you're taking a day off," he said, a smile forming behind his navy mask.
Sasuke stood as well, pulling the flower stems from his hair and letting them drop the ground while Naruto snorted something about him being the mascot of the Yamanaka flower shop. Sakura grinned at the two of them before turning her attention to Kakashi. "I'm glad to actually use it," she said. "What brings you here? Shouldn't you be with Shishou?"
"I need to speak with you three, and Naruto figured that you both would be here. Serves as a nice second reunion, doesn't it? Good times."
At the sound of Kakashi's purpose, the two boys turned to face him, ears perked.
"Is it about the trial?" Sakura asked, her voice tense. "Hiroto-san said you and Shishou would be reaching out to us about being witnesses."
"That's exactly it. You and Naruto both will be questioned before the village council members and myself," Kakashi explained. "By the time the trial rolls around, Tsunade-sama will have retired from Hokage and I will take her place as her successor."
"So, you have some pull," Naruto pointed out.
"As do you, Naruto," their sensei nodded. "Your reputation as the Konoha and Five Nations Hero will buy us plenty of wiggle room."
Sakura felt a swell of relief, yet some feeling of being left behind yet again. Her testimony was likely insignificant compared to theirs. She held her hands behind her back and nodded, however, accepting her role.
"Until then, Sasuke," Kakashi said, turning toward the Uchiha, "it is of utmost importance that you continue your scheduled meetings with Hiroto and stay out of trouble as best as you can. The trial timeframe period has been set, making this a highly sensitive time for you. You will be under intense scrutiny if any of your documents is not handled appropriately."
"I understand," Sasuke nodded.
"Alright, then," Kakashi sighed, closing his eyes. "I need to make it back over to your Shishou, Sakura. She's running me ragged, but this was a good break." He turned on his heel and waved in salutations. "I'll reach out to you again as soon as other decisions are made."
The three of them looked after their sensei as he made it back to the tree line and disappeared into the forest shadows. He's probably going to take the long way back, she thought, giggling to herself. She turned back around to her teammates and strode over to Naruto, reaching out to fix his shirt collar. "Really, Naruto, I thought you'd take better care of this," she sighed, circling him to be sure it was folded properly in the back.
"It's hard with one hand, Sakura-chan," he pouted.
Sasuke sighed tiredly and looked to the blond. "Shouldn't you be studying with Iruka today?" he asked, his voice laced with subtle irritation.
"Why, so the two of you can keep having your alone time?"
"Naruto," Sakura admonished, her tone full of warning. Sasuke did the same with a mere look, his eyes darkening and narrowing.
"Sorry, sorry," the blond chuckled. "I should be studying with Iruka-sensei, but I wanted to take a detour with Kakashi-sensei and check on you both." His eyes shifted between his teammates. "So…are you both okay?"
"We're okay," Sasuke responded, and Sakura glanced over at him curiously.
We feel okay, she thought quietly.
"Great!" Naruto grinned. "So, I was talking with Ino last night when I was walking her home, right? She said that we're going to have a team dinner next weekend and Yakiniku-Q."
She could hear Sasuke's frown. "Not interested," he said, almost immediately.
Naruto frowned back. "Come on, Teme, they want to see you. We're edging on two months that you've been holed up in your business without seeing anyone outside of our team."
"I saw Ino yesterday."
"That doesn't count!"
Sakura blinked at the two of them bickering as usual, the corners of her mouth upturning with humor. She then turned and shrugged at the blond. "I'll go," she said. "It sounds like fun. I haven't seen anyone since I started that shift craze and Ino blew up my office phone with a few messages the other day."
Naruto wrapped an arm around Sakura's shoulders, hugging her close. "Two out of three!" he said, turning expectantly to the Uchiha.
Sakura tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before glancing up at Sasuke to find that he was already looking at her. She offered him another small smile. Please go, she willed. Please.
Sasuke sighed slowly. "Just dinner."
"Just dinner," Naruto echoed.
"Fine."
"Great!" Naruto said, his grin spreading impossibly further across his face. "And hey, are those my pants?"