Chapter 8:
Sasuke...
Sakura's breath hitched in her throat, as Sasuke's onyx eyes consumed her. It was as if time ceased to exist, and for what felt like an infinite amount of seconds, Sakura drowned under his scrutiny.
She couldn't believe he was still in the village.
Countless emotions arose within her, lashing between a bitter sweetness that left her mouth parched and wordless, and then chucking her headlong into an exasperated rage.
It was complete and utter turmoil within her, all the while the emotions hung in the suspense of the small moment between them, that writhed along the anxiety that she was so used to experiencing in his presence.
She hated it.
Memories of her life from when she first met him, and down to every detail of their past encounters, came boiling up to the forefront of her mind.
A particular memory of how he had shamed her, once again, with the degrading genjutsu he forced upon her the last time she confessed, left a specifically contemptuous taste in her mouth.
She had forgotten about it, she realized. Back then she was more than relieved to know that when she recovered from the genjutsu, he and Naruto hadn't died in their final battle. She was caught up in the victory of his changed heart, and thought nothing of the animosity he had displayed towards her previously.
She even tried to forget it when he was released from prison, and when she offered to accompany him on his journey. But he had denied her. Again.
Remembering the day that she snapped in front of Hinata and Naruto, she now realized that she was truly justified in how she felt and what she had decided that day. She was confused then, but now the truth seemed so clear, as if it were reflected in his eyes.
Peering up into his unmistakably charcoal stare, she recalled the malice that had hid within them for so long. And possibly still does.
Even though he had apologized, it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to prove that he truly cared about her, and she gave him that chance by asking to go with him on his expedition.
She was exhausted from picking apart their every interaction, looking for any semblance of subtext that signified his possible feelings for her.
And the forehead poke, was not about to cut it.
For all she knew, it was just more miscommunication. She did not want to believe this at first, after so many years pining for a sign, but getting denied confession after confession left Sakura more protective of her heart with each blow.
There was only so many times she could extend her feelings to him, so vulnerably, until her heart had become hardened. It was going to take a lot more to convince her of his feelings, if there were ever any at all, then something that could be misconstrued as a friendly gesture. If he would or had just pursued me the tiniest bit, just to confirm that we were more than just teammates...
But that is fantasy.
She had decided that day, 10 months ago, that she will no longer be dominated by delusion and wishful thinking. That day, she left the fantasy she called 'love' behind.
We were once teammates, she thought, Nothing more, nothing less. The plan was to get him back to the village, and on our side. We accomplished that, she concluded.
I will not fool myself into believing otherwise, again.
"Uhhh, hey, you guys alright?" Naruto questioned cautiously, as he speculated the curious psychic interaction between the two.
Sakura was the first to respond, as she felt a certain pride swell up in her chest.
"Yes. Sorry, it's been a while hasn't it Sasuke?" Sakura pointed out coolly, as she crossed her arms, and leaned on one hip.
She let her eyes confidently size him up, wandering from his feet to his head.
He looked similar to when she last saw him, still dressed in his long dark cloak, and expression just as blank as it ever was.
She tried hard not to take notice of his rinnegan, skipping over it quickly, attempting to not get sucked into it's foreboding mauve hue. She would never admit it out loud, but the thought of looking into it again, sent chills up her spine.
She did notice however, that his hair was slightly longer than usual, making his regularly spiky hair a tad bit less pronounced.
"It has" Sasuke answered, equally detached, however his eyes hadn't left hers.
Recognizing the awkwardness of the moment, Hinata piped up.
"Well! Actually, we were only just on our way to the dress shop, we did some other errands earlier today" Hinata said, smiling unabashedly.
"Oh awesome! We can walk you there if you want, we were only just heading back!" Naruto offered, syncing up with Hinata's energy, smiling away.
"I would like that! Sakura-san, do you mind?" Hinata inquired, however she had already linked arms with Naruto and had started walking in the direction of the shop.
Raising an eyebrow, she appraised Hinata's nonchalance. "Not at all" she confirmed, dryly.
Sakura began walking then, not wanting to be left behind. As she moved, Sasuke kept pace with her, walking beside Naruto as Sakura walked in line with Hinata.
"Oh yeah, Sakura-chan, I forgot to tell you..." Naruto began, his expression jovial. "Sasuke is sticking around in the village for a while, and has agreed to be my best man!" Naruto announced with glee.
Sasuke kept staring straightforward, and said nothing in contribution to Naruto's announcement.
Great... Sakura huffed mentally.
"Ahh that's nice for you Naruto, I wasn't sure who you were going to ask!" Sakura said, in mock enthusiasm.
"And Sakura-san has agreed to be my maid of honor! I am so happy she is here to help me, the decisions have been much more difficult than I anticipated they'd be" Hinata commended, grinning at Sakura.
Sakura smiled back complacently, "It's my pleasure, Hinata. I am actually so psyched for the wedding, we've put a lot of planning into it already!" Sakura said, inwardly applauding herself at how well she was keeping her composure.
Sasuke said nothing as he took note of Sakura's role in their mutual friends wedding.
"I didn't know you were still in the village Sasuke" Sakura stated, creating harmless small talk.
"I was not supposed to be, however, plans changed" Sasuke answered, frankly.
Ice cold as ever... Sakura thought to herself, stifling a chuckle.
What has gotten into me? Why is this so funny? Sakura mentally scolded herself, before realizing how getting over Sasuke might not have been so hard, if she had known it was this easy to relax in his presence.
She felt like she had surpassed a specific milestone, and praised herself for her indifference.
Feeling eyes on her now, as Sasuke was watching her face intently, she gave him a small shrug and a "Hm" as an answer to his statement, and then continued looking forward as they all walked.
Arriving at the bridal gown boutique, Hinata came to a quick halt before it, stepping in front of Naruto.
"Alright, you can't come any further Naruto-kun!" she confirmed, with a tight nod and serious expression, as she held her hands out before him in protest.
Naruto looked confused, as he stopped before walking into her hands.
Before he could open his mouth, Sakura equipped a sly grin, as she slid in front of the shop door behind Hinata.
"She's right Naruto, it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress before the wedding!" Sakura grinned.
Still confused, Naruto retorted, "Huh?! But she hasn't even picked a dress yet!"
"Exactly. She's going to be trying on a bunch, and one of them might be it. Don't want to risk you seeing it, when she comes out of the changing room to the mirrors" Sakura said, persuasively, knowing that he would probably just complain about how boring the process was anyway.
Naruto scratched his head, "Well, alright I guess. I did just say we'd walk you guys anyway, see you two later. Oh, and good luck!" he said decidedly, finally breaking out into another wild grin.
Hinata and Sakura waved them goodbye, as the boys turned back the way they came. Sasuke had bowed slightly to the girls before departing alongside Naruto.
Hinata hurried into the shop excitedly, and Sakura spared one last glance behind her at Sasuke. That really, wasn't so bad, she thought to herself gleefully.
*~Tingle, Tink, Ting~*
The shop bells chimed, as Sakura followed Hinata through the door.
"Where HAVE you ladies been?!" cried an incredulous voice, "It is literally weeks from the wedding! We have so many dresses to go through, and I need updated measurements!"
A boisterous women wailed, bounding up to the astonished pair of girls.
She was a squat, heavy set women with thick red rimmed glasses. Her mousy brown hair was curled in an obnoxious up-do, and she wore a purple dress coat and skirt, with a gaudy pearl necklace.
Taking in the sight of the women, was a task of its own, but Hinata and Sakura didn't have long to stare before being pushed deeper into the store.
"S-sorry Oshiro-sama, we ran into the groom and his best man on the way over..." Hinata insisted as the lady, pushed Sakura towards the waiting area by the mirrors, and tugged Hinata into the dressing room.
Snapping her fingers, that were garnished with impossibly long, thick, red finger nails, four women obediently approached Hinata.
"Excuses, excuses. I do not care if you ran into the Hokage himself, we have a ridiculously tight schedule Ms. Hyuga. Soon you will be becoming a missus, but that will never happen if you fail to show up to your bridal appointments on time! For all we know, the dress you choose could be on back order, and it could end up taking weeks to acquire it and..."
The loud women continued nagging, as she rolled in tall racks of dresses, each secured in their own protective casing.
A startled Hinata, opened her mouth to apologize again for the inconvenience, until the four seamstresses approached her and gave her a little bow, before suddenly pouncing on her all at once.
"I'm sorr- Ahhhhh!" Hinata cried, as her clothes were being pulled off her left and right, the seamstresses already beginning the measurements, forcibly holding her arms out. Hearing her cry out, Sakura ran into the room.
"Is everything all right in here!?" Sakura asked, anxiously, eyeing up Hinata's situation
"Save your breath dear, you're going to need it to suck in that stomach of yours" the women said stiffly, completely ignoring Sakura, as she adjusted the edge of her glasses, peering closer at Hinata's body.
Going pale at the woman's boorish comment, Sakura noticed Hinata blushing wildly, as she stared at Sakura, silently pleading with her eyes for help. Sakura reassured her friend with an awkward smile, and a shake of her head to indicate that she looked fine.
Madam Oshira noticing the exchange, turned towards Sakura then, glaring at her with a spine chilling intensity.
Feeling the ferocity, Sakura bit her lip and backed off slowly to a free chair in the dressing room and just sat quietly, a sweat drop rolling down her neck.
"Seriously! This is exactly why I take measurements so often with you young girls, you need to maintain a consistent weight or you won't have time to get the dress tailored properly to you before the wedding. The last thing ANY of us need right now is..."
The rude woman continued, flitting aggressively through the dresses, as the seamstresses took the last of Hinata's measurements.
"Alright, enough of this chitchat" the lady suddenly said, in a cutting tone, "Try this one on! QUICKLY!"
"Yes Madam" the seamstresses nodded, rushing to grab the dress, and then darting back to Hinata.
Sakura smiled tentatively in encouragement, nodding to the uneasy bride.
Hoo boy, this is gonna be a long day...
*~SASUKE~*
Her eyes... it had been so long since Sasuke had last peered into them. It was a strange moment that had occurred between them for sure, Sasuke saw a multitude of facets flicker in Sakura's eyes, that were very foreign to him.
He had seen a variety of Sakura's looks over the years, each emotionally charged in their own way, however, there was something different about this time.
He recalled her varied expression, and how it at first perplexed him. He chalked it up to surprise, or nervousness from seeing one another after such a long time, but there was something... More to it. Something definitive.
Sasuke continued to ponder the idea, analyzing the moment for clues, curious as to what her eyes might have been betraying, when his thoughts were rudely interrupted.
***GRUMMBBLEE***
Sasuke heard an obnoxious sound, coming from Naruto's stomach.
"Ahhh man, I'm starving! All this shopping and what not made me hungry. Whaddaya say we stop and eat something Sasuke?" Naruto whined, clutching his stomach, attempting to control the ferocious growls.
Curbing a chuckle, Sasuke nodded in agreement. He will just have to set his personal thoughts to the side for now.
"Hmmm... Ichiraku's is a bit far from here, how about we try this place?" Naruto asked, obviously pretty desperate to eat, seeing as Ichiraku's is never too 'far'.
He pointed towards a small traditional looking restaurent. After appraising it, Sasuke agreed with a taut nod.
Following Naruto in, who practically blazed right by the waitress to seat himself, Sasuke took his seat across from his friend.
"Can I get you two started with some drinks?" the young lady with a bubbly voice asked, as she stood in front of the table.
"Actually, I'm ready to order right away. Is that alright with you Sasuke?" Naruto asked briskly.
Sasuke scanned over the menu quickly, and mumbled a yes, as Naruto began to order anyway.
"Whaddaya mean you don't sell ramen?!" Naruto wailed in shock, nearly rising to his feet.
The lady gawked at Naruto's intensity, but bowed in apology to him.
"I'm sorry sir, the only thing close that we serve here is dipping noodles" the girl said, attempting to console and persuade him.
Naruto's face distorted into even more agony as he cried, "DIPPING NOODLES?!", and let his face fall into his hands in defeat.
"Not this again..." he groaned.
The girl suddenly piped up in determination, and said "Why yes! It seems they are all the rage right now, and our restaurant was a bit behind the times. We had a lovely woman from the village come by and teach our chefs!"
Naruto already knew where this was going. Defeated, and too hungry to care, he obliged the women and ordered the dipping noodles.
"I'll have a set of katsuobushi onigiri" Sasuke stated, and handed the waitress the menu's.
"Alrighty, and how does two green teas to drink sound?" The waitress inquired, scribbling down their orders on a notepad.
Sasuke nodded politely.
"Sure, sure" Naruto said glumly, waving the waitress away.
Several minutes later, the waitress returned with their order.
Upon receiving their food, the waitress took extra care to lay Sasuke's out nicely in front of him.
"Anything else I can get you boys?" the waitress asked sweetly, attempting to give both guys equal attention, but her eyes kept uncontrollably resting on Sasuke.
"No, that's all thanks" Sasuke said politely, turning his attention to Naruto who had already started on his noodles.
As if waiting for the waitress to leave, Naruto suddenly picked up the bowl of broth, and poured it into his noodle bowl.
"I'll have to live without the toppings, just this once... But NEVER again!" Naruto vowed, holding up his chopsticks triumphantly, before digging in.
Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke took a sip of his tea before starting on his favorite dish.
"You sure that's gonna fill ya?" Naruto said, in between obnoxious slurps, gesturing towards Sasuke's plate.
"Yes, I wasn't all too hungry to begin with" Sasuke confessed, taking a bite.
"Hmmm" Naruto hummed in response, his chopsticks increasing in velocity.
Naruto sighed, as he finished in record time. He was no where near full however, and he began to look around for the waitress. When he did finally catch sight of her, he failed to get her attention.
The woman seemed to be daydreaming in their direction, but unable to take notice of Naruto's many, obvious signals.
Getting a clue then, Naruto asked dryly, "Hey Sasuke... You mind calling her back over here? She seems to be staring at you..."
When Sasuke looked at Naruto questioningly, Naruto was giving him a wry smile, as he jerked his head in the waitresses general direction.
Sasuke shifted uncomfortably, before reluctantly looking over at the woman who, was indeed, looking his way from behind the counter.
Noticing his gaze immediately, the girl glided over to their table.
"Is everything to your liking?" She asked Sasuke sweetly, before Naruto cleared his throat.
"Uh yeah, can I get another two servings please?" Naruto requested impatiently, as the woman who seemed to have given up entirely on equal customer service, begrudgingly tore her attention away from Sasuke.
"Sure" she said dismissively, before turning back to Sasuke, who had already started to eat again.
With a lingering smile towards him, she departed with Naruto's order.
"Tch", Naruto clucked his tongue, "Looks like you're still as popular as ever Sasuke".
Looking up at Naruto, Sasuke's expression remained unaltered and unphased.
"Speaking of which..." Naruto began, hesitantly as he looked down at the table, his aura suddenly becoming frigid.
Alarmed by Naruto's sudden emotional shift, Sasuke put down his last onigiri, to give his friend his full consideration.
"That was a weird tension between you and Sakura huh?" Naruto questioned, slightly rhetorically, as just about anyone who had witnessed the scene would probably agree.
This surprised Sasuke though, as he didn't think Naruto would be the kind to bring it up, even if he had noticed.
"Yes it was. Why do you want to talk about it?" Sasuke inquired smoothly, taking a sip of tea.
"Straight to the point eh..." Naruto sighed, uneasiness settling within him. He wasn't sure whether he should meddle in Sakura's private affairs, but he still held the same opinion he had 10 months ago when Sakura had revealed her feelings.
There's just no way I can let Sakura give up like that, they belong together, Naruto thought earnestly.
I'll bet she'd thank me for this, in the future, Naruto winced inwardly at the thought of present Sakura finding out what he intends to reveal to Sasuke.
Sasuke studied Naruto's conflicted look, and felt a growing curiosity build within him.
"Listen... I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be saying this to you, and honestly, I'm not exactly sure how you even feel about the situation... But I do think you have a right to know about someth-"
"Here you are!" The waitress suddenly appeared, the same warm smile directed at Sasuke, even though she set down the dipping noodles in front of Naruto.
"Thanks!" Naruto said, exuberantly, oblivious to the woman's ignorance of his presence.
Sasuke ignored the woman, peering at Naruto more, who seemed to be more enamored with his food now, than whatever it was he felt inclined to tell Sasuke.
Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed in frustration, as Naruto began to slurp away at his noodles, not even bothering to finish his previous thought.
"Well?" Sasuke asked finally, crossing his arms.
Naruto's eating began to gradually slow, before coming to an awkward pause mid noodle.
"Well..." Naruto began again, setting his chopsticks down.
~*AUTHORS NOTE~* Made this chapter a little longer, since it's been a while :3
Thank you to Ber23 for the feedback on the last chapter, it's much appreciated :)
I definitely do want to focus on making Sakura harder to get, as that was my original purpose for this fic! x3
I hope this chapter solidifies my intent on that ^-^
Thank you to the new followers of the fic, Tash0726, KaShiMah13, and BlackcatSkye :D
And thanks as well to Maria Camila818 and BlackcatSkye for favoriting! ;3
As well, of course, thanks to everyone who already has followed and favorited, and to everyone that even bothers to read this fic ^_^
Means a lot to me :) Hope you all have a great week!! ~(=^‥^)/
As always, all reviews and feedback super appreciated~*
(:~Every single one of you, inspires me to continue~:)