Chapter 6

The raven-haired boy walked towards his home and his jaw dropped to find a hole in his wall and a barely dressed Karin in his bed. He was just about to turn around to look for Sakura or Kakashi to ask them if they know anything about the Karin in his bed and the rather large hole in his wall resembling the shape of an angry Sakura. That's it, why not ask Sakura, she is kind and nice most of the time anyway, the Uchiha decided as he walked away from the slightly disappointed woman on his bed, which immediately jumped out and latched herself onto him.

"Eugh, Karin, what are you doing?" His left eye twitched as he tried to iron out his words.

"Mou, you left me in here waiting for you for ages, where have you been to Sasuke-kun?" She leaned in to kiss him and just a few millimeters away, Sasuke managed to stick his hand between the 'respectable' gap between them. Karin was a bit too late in noticing and crashed her lips onto a rather sweaty palm. Just then a loud knock could be heard throughout the Uchiha compound.

"Sasuke-teme, Sasuke-TEME!!! Open up!!!" There's no need to say who it is - the village's number one loud-mouthed ninja.

Sasuke made a mental note to treat Naruto to ten bowls of ramen later.

"Yes, dobe?" Despite all the strange events, Sasuke still could muster all his dignity to put up a cool face.

"Rookie 9 and Gai's team party tonight, starts at 6…Err…We'll er…come…and er…Was I interrupting something?" Naruto's Hokage training seems to have brushed off some of his usual thickness.

"No."

"We'll come pick you up at ten to six then, bye!" He waved as he ran away, only to crash into a mass of pink.

Sasuke watched as his former teammates and friends chatted in a distance occasionally throwing awkward glances at him. He noticed how the girl's eyes were red rimmed and her small frame was all too frail. Eventually the blond boy bid goodbye to the pink-haired girl as she continued to approach him. Karin was literally boiling behind him and he just suddenly remembered that she's behind him. He put on his best smile at his teammate, only to notice that she was slightly frowning. Before he could reach out to hold her and ask her what's wrong, a tall white figure dropped in front of him, and Sakura's jaw dropped.

"You're LATE!" Heavily emphasizing the last word.

"Well, a black cat crossed my path and…"

"Nevermind." Her eyebrow twitched a bit, as Kakashi backed a way a bit but not after ruffling her hair affectionately like the old days. Such soft hair…

"Yo." Kakashi turned to Sasuke just as he was about to bump into the slightly shocked boy behind him as he backed away from a slightly comically angry Sakura.

"What is this now? Naruto told me about the party tonight." He did not mind the sudden visits, an extra excuse to keep Karin at bay…perfect! "But come in for tea nonetheless!"

Surprised by the sudden hospitality of their usual ice-cube like teammate, the two jonin followed him into his living room. Karin followed, ticking angrily like a wound up toy.

"We er, need to talk alone, just the three of us." Sakura motioned towards Karin.

"What is with such secret business? Can't his wife listen in as well?" Karin challenged Sakura like a harsh rival.

"Well, technically, you're not his wife. You see, we don't really support polygamy here, and since Sakura was the only one to be written down on paper as his wife…" Kakashi sensed the tension in the air and tried to loosen a few strings.

"Shut up, old man!"

"Hey! He's not old! His hair is silver and it's very soft!"

"Want to take this outside?" Someone was obviously in a bad mood after being implied that she was just a fling.

"Karin, just go. Leave us." Sasuke spoke before Sakura could and the two women huffed and turned away from each other for a brief second. Kakashi's eye crinkled after what just happened… "His hair is silver and it's very soft!"…He can listen to that line all day long. He does not recall his hair being as soft as it is lately after using Pakkun's shampoo, which he found in his bathroom.

"Sasuke-kun, firstly how are you feeling? Any aches and pains or anything?" Sakura spoke, her voice was full of concern.

"No. I am just confused. Why is there a hole on my wall and what is with this whole 'wife' issue? Are we…m-m-married?" Strangely enough, he could not bring himself to say the word.

"I guess I'll do the explaining…" the other jonin joined the conversation when he noticed the girl beside him was about to have a breakdown. He tucked away his book and he explained everything down to the smallest detail, producing scrolls for additional background reading if Sasuke fancied, which he declined with a slight twitch in his eye.

"And that's when Sakura saved you from the dark by pumping every ounce of her chakra into you. She slept for three days after that." He finished and took a large sip from his cup of tea. He then looked up and added mischievously, "…Sakura, you still owe me that dinner."

Sakura's eyes twitched and glared at Kakashi for brining up such a joke at this time.

"I know it's very difficult to take in all this, but there's one more thing, Sasuke-kun. We aren't married. I filed a divorce already…and I really am very sorry about your –" Before she could say the world wall, she felt a pair of arms embracing her from behind.

"Thank you, Sakura." Those same words, from all those years ago. She felt her shoulder begin to feel a bit damp and turned to see tears streaming down his face, drowning in tears of guilt. "I should never have left this village, I was so foolish. Will you forgive a foolish teammate?"

"Of course!" She immediately answered offering him a tissue, "Well, we better not keep you, I'm sure you have lots to sort out, and don't forget we'll be here to pick you up at ten to!"

The two got up from their seats and left. As soon as the guests left, Karin charged back into the room and demanded something that Sasuke didn't even bother paying attention to. This Karin girl was even more annoying than the young Sakrua. He could not help but turn around and spat in her face about how annoying she is and that he does not love her. He did not feel guilty at all when she cried and ran out of his house mumbling something about somewhere.