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Chapter 7: Care and Concern
Naruto's POV
"Ino, that plan is going to have us both killed."
Ino rolled her eyes and placed her hands on either side of her hip. I was beginning to doubt if it was a good idea to pull Ino into this. She could get a little bit extreme sometimes.
"This plan is perfect! It'll get the work done in the shortest period of time." Ino spoke with intense confidence and it made my eyebrow twitch in annoyance.
"Let me remind you once again, Ino. I'm trying to get those two together, not getting Sakura pregnant!"
"What are you talking about, Naruto? Sakura is my best friend. Of course I don't want her to get pregnant!"
"But you're plotting a way to get them to do that!"
"There's something called protection, Naruto. I'm just saying in case you have forgotten about its existence."
I was about to yell at Ino for her absolutely messed up plan when Shikamaru suddenly interrupted our conversation.
"Why in the world are the two of you shouting at each other's face?"
Ino's earlier frown vanished when she laid eyes on her 'prince charming'. I shook my head and sighed as I watched Ino grabbing onto Shikamaru's arm.
The blonde woman finally stopped flirting when I cleared my throat to gain her attention. I gave Ino a look, which silently told her that we still had an issue at hand.
She narrowed her eyes at me before letting go of Shikamaru's arm. She appeared to be deep in thought before snapping her head towards Shikamaru.
"Shikamaru is a genius! Maybe he can help us think of a plan."
Shikamaru raised his eyebrow in confusion, not understanding what we were talking about. Before he could question us, I gave him a brief explanation.
"We're trying to think of a plan to get Sasuke and Sakura together. It's a secret mission given to me by Fugaku and Kizashi Heika."
"So, you're basically thinking of a way to get killed?"
Ino and I laughed at the 'accuracy' of Shikamaru's words, making him even more confused than he already was. Even the genius saw it as a suicidal act.
"Come on, Shikamaru. It will be fun! Those two are so stubborn and what they needed is a little push."
Ino had a sarcastic tone at the end of her words. All of us knew they needed more than just a simple push.
"If Sasuke or Sakura found out about this, the two of you are as good as dead."
Ino wrapped her arm around Shikamaru's shoulder and laughed upon hearing his words. She then leaned towards him and said something into his ear.
"If they found out, we can just put the blame onto Naruto."
"Hey!" I glared at Ino who didn't even bother to whisper such mean words. Our brief bickering was stopped when Shikamaru suddenly snapped his fingers to get our attention. He was in full cooperative mode all of a sudden. I guessed he must have realized how entertaining it would be to join our secret mission.
"I have a plan."
If it was a plan formulated by the genius, it should work right?
Sasuke's POV
"He's late!"
I groaned at the loudness of Naruto's voice. But I couldn't blame him for feeling irritated.
We were told by Kakashi-sensei to gather in one of the training grounds at 6 AM in the morning. It was a miracle that Naruto didn't oversleep. I saw it as a good sign.
That was until an hour had passed by and our silver haired teacher was nowhere to be seen.
When I could no longer stand Naruto's constant complaining, I smacked his head from behind. Sakura must have felt equally irritated because she sent a punch flying onto Naruto's stomach.
Naruto began yelling at the two of us, calling us heartless and all that. Neither of us even bothered to respond though.
Our heads snapped towards the direction of the much awaited teacher when he casually spoke as if he had not made us wait for more than an hour under the blazing sun.
"You're filled with so much energy early in the morning, Naruto. That's good."
"Kakashi-sensei, we have been waiting for more than an hour! Where were you?!" Naruto's screams were giving me a headache and I had to remind him to stop being so loud.
Of course, he didn't listen.
"I'm sorry. You see, when I was on my way, I had to save a cat that got stuck on top of a tree."
"And it took you more than an hour?" Sakura narrowed her eyes at Kakashi-sensei suspiciously. Sakura was a smart person, after all, she easily saw through Kakashi-sensei's lie.
"A cat is a delicate animal, Sakura. It must be handled with care. That's why it took more time than I thought it would."
It took every ounce of self control I had within me to not point out how ridiculous his excuse was. And I could see Sakura reaching her limit as well. Surprisingly, even the clueless Naruto noticed that our teacher was sprouting lies.
But all of us knew better than to make a big fuss out of it.
Kakashi-sensei had a smile under his mask as he took one step towards us.
"Let's start the training, shall we?"
"He's really good."
Despite his incapability to lie, Kakashi-sensei was an extremely skillful swordsman. The fact that I was barely keeping up with me had gotten to my nerve.
"I can't feel my legs!" Naruto exclaimed and fell onto the ground.
Sakura was panting hard as she slumped onto the grass underneath her. She ran her fingers through her hair and it was obvious that she felt frustrated as well.
And here we thought that we were among the best. I hated to admit it, but Kakashi-sensei was in a whole different level.
"Are there more people like him in the Konoha Kingdom?"
"It seems that you guys still have a long way to go before you'll be ready."
I was snapped out of my thoughts upon hearing Kakashi-sensei's provocative words. Even though he was speaking the truth, it didn't fail to piss us off.
"I won't stop training until I'm ready to go!"
For once, I didn't mind Naruto's ear-piercing voice.
Sakura's POV
"I can't feel my body."
I muttered to myself as I lay onto the grass, trying to catch my breath once again. Exhaustion had taken over me and my head was throbbing uncomfortably.
What I needed was a nice warm bath and perhaps a quick nap. But then, I was starving.
"Let's go have ramen! I saw a ramen place downtown that looks really good."
It was unbelievable that Naruto could still be so energetic after that dreadful training session.
"I think you're referring to Ichiraku. Anyway, we'll resume training tomorrow morning. Enjoy your dinner." Kakashi-sensei said before excusing himself. Somehow, seeing him unscratched and perfectly fine annoyed me.
"Can we do that after I go back for a shower?" I sat up slowly as I asked, trying to avoid a spinning head.
I looked at the skies and saw that it was getting darker. Did we actually skipped lunch and trained for hours?
It definitely didn't feel that long. I guessed we were all too engrossed in trying to improve ourselves.
"Sure. Meet me at Ichiraku after you're done showering!" Naruto jumped up and pulled me along. I groaned at the ache on my legs but allowed Naruto to drag me along anyway. I was so tired I might not mind if he offered to give me a piggyback ride.
On second thought, that didn't sound like a very good idea.
Naruto's POV
"Will Sasuke die from this, Ino?"
"Don't be stupid, Naruto. I can assure you with my life that this won't kill Sasuke."
I quickly took a shower before sneaking out to find Ino. She was holding onto something important for the plan Shikamaru came up with.
"It's either you do according to what I say or you can use Ino's idea of getting Sakura pregnant."
"Shikamaru, like I had said countless times. I have no intention of causing Sakura to be pregnant. Add on safety precaution and my plan will become flawless!"
"I'll stick with Shikamaru's idea."
"I hope I still have my head on by the end of the night."
Sasuke's POV
"I came here earlier so I ordered for you guys!"
When I reached the ramen place Naruto was so excited about, he and Sakura were already there. I took my seat beside Sakura and started digging in.
Skipping lunch and going through training with Kakashi-sensei could definitely make a person extremely hungry.
Naruto was unusually quiet during dinner. It felt weird that Sakura did most of the talking and not the loud blonde. I glanced over to him suspiciously and I saw him fidgeting on his seat once in a while.
"He's up to something."
But before I could get anything out of him, he hastily got off from his seat and thought of a lame excuse to leave.
"I need to go, guys! I promised Shikamaru I will go for a night jog with him. I'll see you two tomorrow morning at the training ground!"
And he dashed off before any of us could say anything.
"What in the world was that about?" Sakura said as she took a sip of water. "And it is not possible for someone like Shikamaru to want to go on a night jog. And it's with Naruto no less."
"That dope is acting weird." I commented before finishing the glass of water on my hand. "Let's go back."
When Sakura and I were on our way back to the Konoha Castle, I started to feel certain discomfort. My body was hot to the touch and my head was spinning. My vision was getting blurry and standing straight was becoming an impossible task.
And the last thing I registered in my mind was the impact I felt when I fell onto the ground.
Sakura's POV
"Sasuke, what's wrong?!"
I hurriedly reached down to check on the collapsed Sasuke. I flinched when I touched his burning skin. He was having a high fever and his body was covered by a layer of sweat.
I tried to wake him up by shaking his shoulders but it was futile. He was panting and sweating profusely.
Waves of worries flowed through me as I saw how much Sasuke was suffering. He seemed to be in so much pain and his face was deeply flushed.
But instead of staying there without doing anything, I helped Sasuke up and brought him to a nearby bench.
Sasuke was mumbling something incoherent as I laid him down on the bench. Judging from his condition, he was most probably semi-conscious.
I looked around and saw that we were in a deserted part of the kingdom. There weren't anyone around besides the two of us. I looked back at Sasuke and my heart skipped a beat when I saw him writhed about in pain.
"Hang in there, Sasuke! I'll go buy some medicines."
I ran towards the busier parts of the kingdom, hoping I could find the medicine I was looking for. It didn't feel right to leave Sasuke alone but I didn't have much of a choice. That was why I hastily looked through various shops, wanting to get what I needed as fast as I could.
My heart was thumping with great force as I ran back to where I had left Sasuke. I sighed in relief when I saw that he was still there. I quickly took out the medicine I bought and slowly sat Sasuke up. He was grunting as I moved him and I knew I was putting pressure on his weak body.
I gently leaned him against the back of the bench and placed the medicine inside his mouth. I took a bottle of water out and placed it against his lips. I tried to pour water into his mouth but ended up spilling it onto his shirt.
I quickly removed the bottle of water away from him and groaned in frustration. Sasuke must take that medicine in order for his fever to subside. If he didn't swallow the pill I had just gave him, his condition might get worse.
"I don't have much of a choice, do I? Come on, Sakura. This is not the time to hesitate!"
I took a gulp of water and looked intently at Sasuke. When I saw the way he was furrowing his eyebrows in pain, I knew I shouldn't waste anymore time.
I kneeled beside Sasuke and leaned in to pass the water through a kiss.
Sasuke's POV
When I began to slowly regain consciousness, the first thing I felt was something soft touching my lips. The warmth it gave me melted away part of the tension that was built inside me. Without knowing what it actually was, I enjoyed the feeling I got from it.
My eyelids felt heavy but I regained enough energy to open my eyes slowly. When my vision was becoming clearer, I was confused as to why the only thing I could see was pink hair.
That was when I realized what was going on.
I was frozen in shock and my eyes were wide open. I simply stayed still as water entered my mouth and a pill ran through my throat.
When Sakura pulled away from me, she opened her eyes and was immediately aware that I was already awake. She yelped and stepped backwards in a hurry. Her face turned bright read in an instant and she had a hand over her mouth.
It was as if my body was pinned down onto the bench and all I could manage was staring blankly at a flustered Sakura. That was also when I realized that she was drenched in sweat, as if she had just ran a marathon or something.
Then a thought came across my mind.
"Did she run to downtown to buy medicine for me?"
My mind was telling me that I should thank her but my heart was thumping like a wild animal. I could literally hear my heartbeat and I felt extremely embarrassed.
I wouldn't have expected that a single kiss could affect me that way.
Hang on; she was just making sure I took the medicine. Did that even count as a kiss?
The silence between us was killing me and I just couldn't believe there would come a day I would be bothered by quietness. Sakura seemed too preoccupied with her own thoughts and was openly avoiding eye contact with me.
I knew I had to say something to break the awkward tension. But I collapse back onto the bench when I tried to sit up straighter.
Sakura immediately kneeled beside me and pushed me back to rest. A deep shade of red was still coloring her face but she seemed to have momentarily forgotten about it. She was in complete 'doctor-mode' and was rummaging through a plastic bag beside her.
"Don't move. You're still very weak." Sakura placed a relief pad on my forehead and I flinched due to the sudden coldness on my heated skin.
"I feel like a kid with this thing on me." I complained and tried to remove it. But my hand was roughly slapped away by Sakura and she was glaring at me. She would've looked rather intimidating if it weren't for the state of her blushed cheeks.
"You're acting like a kid now. I told you to not move." Sakura then pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket and began wiping away sweats that were on the verge of entering my eyes. Even though she had a small frown on her face, her actions were gentle and caring.
I stopped my protests and shifted a little to make myself more comfortable on the rather hard bench. I suddenly felt drowsy and my eyelids were heavy once again. My consciousness was drifting away from me.
But somehow, it was comforting to be able to feel Sakura's warmth.
Sakura's POV
A small smile crossed my face when I saw that Sasuke was fast asleep. I was aware that the medicine I gave him would make him sleepy.
I gently carried Sasuke onto my back and placed his arms around my neck. I used both of my arms to support his legs as I started walking towards the castle.
Sasuke, not surprisingly, was very heavy. I was glad I had above average strength and could manage slow steps one at a time. The castle wasn't so far from where we were but it felt like an endless road.
"Why in the world did you get so sick all of a sudden?" I muttered to myself as I took a few more heavy steps.
I was starting to think that it might be due to exhaustion from our training with Kakashi-sensei. But then again, Sasuke wasn't that weak to end up so sick because of that.
Or maybe he caught a cold and it got out of hand because his body was still tired from the training. But it wasn't that chilly outdoors though.
I stopped wrecking my brain to figure out why Sasuke would fall so sick so suddenly and concentrated on making sure that Sasuke was securely held on my back.
I was never so glad to have caught sight of the castle's main gate. I asked two guards to help me carry Sasuke back to his room and I followed them closely behind. I quickly stretched my arms and legs as I watched the guards carefully carrying Sasuke.
I thanked the guards after they had rested Sasuke on his bed. I closed the door once they had left. I cracked my neck as I walked back to the sleeping Sasuke, who appeared to be in a much better condition already.
I grabbed onto the chair by the desk and placed it beside the bed. I sat on it and began massaging my sore arms.
"Sasuke owes me big time."
That was when I was reminded of our little contact back at the bench. My face heated up right away and my heart was beating at a crazy speed again. I groaned and mentally scolded myself to be so easily affected by a simple act of kindness.
"That does not count as your first kiss, Sakura. You did that to save his life."
I desperately tried to convince myself that it was nothing more than an act to help a sick person. I knew I shouldn't be too bothered by it. But why was my heart so uncooperative and was thumbing like mad?
I pinched my cheek as an attempt to push those thoughts aside. I distracted myself by removing the relief pad from Sasuke's forehead and placed it on the night stand. I touched his skin to check his temperature and was glad that his fever was almost gone.
The color of his skin was returning as well and he seemed very content as he slept. His breathing was smooth and it almost looked like he had a tiny smile on his face. I found myself giggling as I stared at his peaceful expression, which was something I didn't get to see often when he was awake.
Even though Sasuke was feeling much better, there was something inside me that told me not to leave. So I listened to my instincts and accompanied Sasuke for the rest of the night.
Exhaustion must have consumed my entire being and it wasn't long before I drifted off to sleep.
Naruto's POV
"Your plan worked perfectly, Shikamaru. You flawlessly predicted their every move. You're indeed a genius!"
Ino was pulling Shikamaru into a bear hug as she complimented him for his well-known brain cells.
I must say that Shikamaru's plan was indeed excellent. Being around Sakura for a very long time, Ino had a considerate amount of knowledge on the medical field. It was because of that, Shikamaru asked her to find something that could make Sasuke sick for a short period of time but it shouldn't be too much to be able to endanger his life.
I was in charge of spiking Sasuke's bowl of ramen and make sure he ate it. All that was left for me to do was to run off before Sasuke was affected by the drug.
After I had left Ichiraku, I met up with Shikamaru and Ino. The three of us watched Sasuke and Sakura from a safe distance.
"You should have thought of a better excuse to leave, Naruto. Shikamaru agreeing on going for a night jog with you was nearly impossible!"
I groaned at Ino's words and told her I didn't have any better ideas in mind. It was better than nothing. The topic was dropped and we went back to direct our focus on the hard-headed 'couple'.
Shikamaru had to place a hand over Ino's mouth when Sakura kissed Sasuke. She was about to scream for goodness sake.
Even though it wasn't a typical kiss, the three of us still saw it as a legit kiss anyway.
"The three of us should work together and come up with more plans!"
Shikamaru groaned in frustration upon hearing my words and muttered the word 'troublesome'. Ino and I ignored him though and took it as his way of saying he agreed to assist us.
"This is getting more entertaining by the second!" Ino exclaimed, making me laugh heartily in agreement.
Things were definitely becoming even more interesting.
Author's Note: As usual, please leave a review on your way out! Feel free to share with me your thoughts on this fanfic and suggestions are welcomed as well. Of course, follows and favorites are very much appreciated so keep those up as well! Thank you for reading and have a nice day!
