Hey everyone! I'm really glad you all liked the SaiSaku last chapter :) Anbu-chan and I were chatting after her awesome review, and my next story will probably be a SaiSaku! Let me know what you think of that. I was already given a few awesome ideas, but I'd love to hear more!

A lot of people have mentioned Sakura and her mother's rocky relationship. There definitely is a struggle between wanting to love her mother and hating her just the same. You'll all learn more about why a part of her hates her mother eventually! For now, we're watching Sakura trying to mend things with her mom. This chapter is a tribute to that, where progress is made between them.

Enjoy~

Chapter 15

Just got off work, bad day. Going out. Temari is coming. Be ready by 8.

Sakura sighed at the text from Ino. She had just gotten off work herself, and wanted to relax the rest of the evening. She knew Ino was super stressed at her job, though. Ino was almost finished with her nursing internship at the hospital, so she was getting more and more responsibility. The hospital was testing her, Ino had said, to see if they should hire her full-time after the internship.

Sakura changed into a pair of skinny jeans, a tight blouse, and a pair of heels, hoping it was good enough for Ino. She was too tired to worry about putting on a dress and makeup. Talking with Sai the day before brought too many memories, and she could hardly sleep after that.

"Are you going out?" Sakura's mother asked when she saw Sakura's outfit.

"Ino has a girl's night planned, nothing major," Sakura said. She went to the kitchen to get a bottle of water, hoping to get hydrated before she drank.

Her mother followed. "Can I come? I've been cooped up too long. Please, I'll be kind to your friends."

Sakura didn't want her mother meeting her friends. Kakashi and Sai had met her, but Kakashi had been an accident and Sai was her best friend. Her level-headed best friend. If Ino met her, she'd probably punch her — which Ino had told her many times. And Temari, Temari was a new friend. They barely knew each other. Could they really meet her?

"I don't have to sit with you," her mother went on. "I can just go to meet new people. If I make friends, I'll leave the apartment more. Maybe someone will even mention a job."

Sakura doubted her mother would get a job. She had never worked, since her father had supported them. But the friends part, that could happen. If she made a friend, that would mean she left the house once, maybe twice a week. One night out with her mother was worth that, right?

"Go get dressed," Sakura said.

Her mother finished getting ready just as Ino and Temari arrived. Sakura's friends stared at her mother, surprised to be meeting her. "This is Mebuki, my mom," Sakura said, her voice strained as if this was under duress. "She's coming with us tonight."

Ino was skeptical, but agreed. Temari didn't know better, and started a conversation with Mebuki. Sakura didn't mind. She took the front seat while Temari and Mebuki chatted in the back.

"We're sitting at the bar," Ino said when they arrived. "I need rapid-concession shots."

There was no line to get inside — it being a weekday — so they got right in and found four seats at the bar. Sakura avoided eye contact with the bartender, not wanting him to rush over to wait on her. Her mother didn't know Kakashi was a business owner, and if the bartender said anything revealing then she might just figure it out.

"Sakura, what a lovely place!" her mother said.

It was just quiet enough at the bar that the bartender heard and looked over. Sakura smiled sheepishly at him and he briskly walked over. "What can I get for you?" he asked.

"Shots," Ino said. "Keep 'em coming."

The bartender came back with four shots. The young girls drank their fast, but Mebuki took her time. As soon as she set the empty glass down, the bartender brought four more.

"Such great service," Mebuki said.

Ino and Sakura exchanged looks, trying not to laugh. They knew the bartender was trying to please Sakura because of Kakashi, but Mebuki didn't know what. They were going to keep it that way.

Sakura, Temari, and Mebuki were content with their two shots, while Ino drank two more before they all headed to a table, mixed drinks in hand. Ino started going on about her awful day, where the only highlight was the new doctor. "He's totally lost, of course," Ino said. "He doesn't know the building. So while they try to help him, I get a second to breathe. I'm so grateful."

"Hey," Temari interrupted. "DILF, four o'clock."

Ino and Sakura turned around to look, while Mebuki was confused. "What's a DILF?" she asked.

"Dad-I'd-Like-To-Fuck," Ino said, giggling at Mebuki's shocked face.

"Turn around. See that guy over here? Long blonde hair? He's totally looking this way," Temari explained.

Mebuki looked over at him then sighed. "Girls, he is too old for you."

Temari and Ino giggled. Even Sakura smiled. "Mom," she said. "He's looking at you."

Mebuki's cheeks flushed, making the girls laugh more. "I can't," she said. "Your father—"

"Isn't here," Sakura snapped. She finished her glass and handed Mebuki's to her. "So you're going to down this, waltz over there, and find out what a real man is like."

Mebuki frowned. She did what she was told, anyway. She chugged her drink, gagging a little at the taste of the alcohol, and went over to the man.

"Oh my god, she's going," Ino said. "I can't believe she's going."

The girls got more shots brought to them and started their girl-talk. Ino and Temari had a fight about Shikamaru, where Ino accused Temari of cheating with him and Temari was angry at Ino for accusing her. Then they talked about Sai. He was a total Cutie Pie and Sakura should snatch him up if Kakashi didn't work out, they said. Kakashi...Sakura wouldn't let them talk about him. The alcohol made her lips loose, and she knew she'd squeal about laser tag. They'd never let her live it down; they'd tease her worse than Sai did.

They were just talking about Kiba, the new guy Temari met, when Mebuki came back. She had a frown on her face, which made the girls worry. She sat down and sighed, took a shot. Then she grinned and handed Sakura a slip of paper.

"This is a phone number," Sakura said, looking at the seven digits written down.

"Mebuki!" Ino cat-called. "You go, girl!"

"He's going to take me to lunch tomorrow," she said. Her eyes were lit up like a teenage girl who found her first love. "His name is Minato."

The girls giggled for a while about Minato. Eventually they became so drunk all they could do was giggle about giggling. The bartender called cabs for the girls, knowing Kakashi would expect nothing less, and eventually the four had to call it a night.

It wasn't the worst night with her mother, was Sakura's last thought before she fell asleep that night.

Well there you have it! Minato is in the story, which means someone else might be coming soon ;)

Let me know what you think please! What do you want to see more of in the story? I have the basic plot mapped out for the rest of the story, but I can easily squeeze things in :)