AN: The omake's going to be a mini-series. The title, "Sore Ga AI Deshou!" means "That's LOVE!" It's actually a title of a song, the opening song for Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu. It's love as seen by the kids of our favorite couples. I'll be using the names, appearances, and personalities of the kids I used in my other fic, Little Uchiha Brats. Think of it as a spinoff.
This omake might have other pairings as a focus (wow, a first for me!) but as a tribute to all you SasuSaku fans out there, the first one, of course, is SasuSaku.
Sore Ga AI Deshou! - Uchiha Seiji
Disclaimer: I had a dream once… I was a multi-billionaire… then I woke up and realized I was still poor.
Uchiha Seiji felt excitement in his veins. In just a few months, or so Okaasama had promised, he would be a big brother. Not only that, but he would have two baby siblings, though whether they'd be boys or girls his Okaasama wouldn't say.
His Okaasama had gotten as big as a house. She was certainly acting weird; she would cry because she couldn't get her favorite chocolate, and she would laugh at Otousama for accidentally prinking himself with senbon when normally she would only giggle and heal him with her great Chiyute no Jutsu.
Seiji prided himself at being a keen observer (even if he didn't really know the word for it yet). His Otousama, who he noticed was short-tempered and easily irritated, might have snapped at her, like he would with Naruto-ojiisama, but he had only sighed greatly. Seiji wondered, with all his childish presumptions, how he could stay calm and secretly applauded his great shinobi of a father.
Even at an early age he knew patience did not run in the family.
One day, Otousama would snap. He watched out for this day and resolved to protect his twin siblings from that horrible, horrible sight (even if they couldn't really see it yet). Oh, yes, tears and soup would flow.
As his parents spent a dull, Sunday afternoon talking about things he hardly knew or cared about, he was concentrated on making a little dirt fortress, pretending it was Konoha, being defended by leaf shinobi. (Literally, though, since his "shinobi" were made of leaves.)
Klink. That little sound made Seiji turn to look where his parents were sitting, interrupting his spirited imitation of a battle with missing nin. Okaasama had her fan (an Uchiha fan, of course) in one hand, fanning herself with it, and in the other, a small bag. When she shifted it, that nice klink sound rang in his ears again. Otousama had a funny look on his face, something Seiji knew would be on his face only when Naruto-ojiisama would try to get them to taste his cooking.
"You want me to do what?" the raven-haired patriarch asked, his face rather screwed up. Seiji watched the proceedings as his pink-haired Okaasama hid her laugh behind her fan. Ooh, this might be the one he had been looking for.
"Come on, I can't do it myself, Sasuke-kun," she said, a genuinely pleading look on her face. "I'm getting too big, and I can't reach my toes. There are two little ones in here, after all." She patted her large abdomen for emphasis.
Otousama's handsome face (not unlike his own, Seiji decided, except for his green eyes) took on a long-suffering expression. "If you say so, Sakura."
"Thanks, Sasuke-kun," his wife replied. "I owe you big time."
"Hn." There was that one-worded reply of Otousama's again. Seiji used it more often these days; it saved the trouble of arguing with Uzumaki Ayane (ooh, that blonde was annoying), while his Okaasama would laugh and say it reminded her of something when she was younger. (Although Seiji could never imagine her any younger looking than she was now. Okaasama had always been Okaasama, after all.)
She handed Otousama the bag, and with a quick zip, he opened it. Seiji craned his neck to better see the thing that made that klink sound. Maybe it was a new toy, or a nice shuriken that Otousama might lend to him one of these days. Once he saw what it really was, however, his face fell.
His Otousama opened the bottle of nail polish, and that weird smell that made his head spin wafted out from it. He was glad he was situated a bit farther. How could his Otousama take that smell? And wasn't nail polish for girls?
He watched, half-interested, half-chagrined, as his beloved Otousama, the great ANBU captain Uchiha Sasuke of the Mangekyou Sharingan, favored by the Rokudaime Hokage himself, bent down and began painting his Okaasama's toenails.
Evil, evil, evil. His beloved Okaasama, the great ANBU head medic Uchiha Sakura of the Healing Hands, also favored by the loud Hokage himself, was pure evil for making Otousama do woman's work. She would pay with the spillage of miso soup and soap water later. His green eyes wandered over to his father, expecting him to be scowling quite scarily.
He didn't expect, however, to see Otousama with that half-smile on his face, actually looking peaceful and content, albeit concentrated with the task at hand.
It was bonanza weird. Shouldn't Otousama be cringing because of the indignity of it all, if not for the smell of nail polish? What was in this situation that actually made him smile?
Seiji looked into his Okaasama's face, and understood.
She was also smiling peacefully.
When Okaasama can't reach her toes and can't paint her nails, and Otousama does it for her… sore ga ai deshou.
AN: Here's my new ficcie!
This takes place after that incident in the Forest of Death with Orochimaru, just after the whole curse seal fiasco. Then the second part is after the Third's death. The third is a future fic.
Marshmallow 9:
Haircut: Preferences of Pink and Blue
As Sakura sat on a rock about a few meters from him, cleaning the fish Naruto had caught, Sasuke couldn't help but cringe as he looked up time and time again, Sakura's recently shortened hair catching his eyes. The frayed pink hair was distracting him, like an annoying fly that was perched on his nose, swatted away but persistently coming back.
The coral pink locks, as it seemed to the Uchiha heir, were askew, and looked as though it had not been cut properly. The lack of the usual organization of his teammate's hair bothered him like no other, except maybe Naruto's obnoxious voice.
He knew why her hair was cut off, of course. He had woken up from his cursed state to find her watching him worriedly, her once long hair haphazardly cut across, part of it longer than the rest. From what he had gathered (and he was a ninja genius) she had cut her own hair to save him and Naruto from Sound nins.
This had puzzled him. Usually, it was he or the other male of their team who did the saving. He had to admit (to himself, that is, never out loud), however, that the action was unselfish and brave of her. He knew (with the limited knowledge he had of the females of his species) that girls spent much time making their hair just right. But why she had cut it with kunai so carelessly, why she was so unselfish, he didn't know.
He had seen the Yamanaka girl call to Sakura to trim her hair and even it out, after her emergency haircut to get out of the enemy's clutches. Out of the corner of his eye, he had watched the blonde trim the unique hair that Sakura possessed.
He vaguely remembered them being fierce rivals when they were at the Academy. For what, he really didn't know or care, but it was oddly fascinating to try to fathom why Yamanaka Ino had offered to even out her hair.
They had spoken in low, scathing voices, and all he had really done was stare at his hands, wondering how the hell he had woken up with black marks all over his skin, power overflowing in his body. He vaguely recalled being possessed by some kind of lusty desire to kill the ones who had caused her to cut her own pink locks off.
Which brought him back to the present, a day since then. It was the third day since they started in the forest, and he wondered why the annoyance about her hair spiked up only just then. In fact, he was stumped as to why it had come up in the first place. Maybe it was because he wanted to change the subject of the overflowing power in his mind for a while. Or it was probably because he needed to distract himself from the stinging pain of the curse mark on his neck.
Whatever the reason was, it certainly wasn't because she was sitting so innocently a few meters from him, concentrated, for once, not one him, but on the task at hand.
It most certainly wasn't because she actually caught his attention in a way that no other person could. Anyone who dared to suggest that would find himself with kunai stuck into several places in his body.
Her hair was distracting, however. Her hair, where it should've been cut straight across, formed an M. It wasn't right, not for a girl. He was straight, thanks very much, but even he felt order was the key to everything. Even haircuts.
He had to do something, or he wasn't going to get any rest. That M-shaped haircut just didn't suit Sakura at all.
Of course, it wasn't like he cared how she looked or anything. She could have her hair shaven off for all he cared.
It's a teammate thing, he though irritably, quelling any ideas some sick divine audience might have about his feelings towards his once-long haired teammate.
A teammate thing. Just that, nothing else.
But do teammates really look out for each other's hair?
Sakura bent over on the rock where she was cleaning the carp Naruto had caught about a few minutes ago. Sweat trickled down her larger-than-normal forehead, and she hastily wiped it with the back of her hand. A cool breeze blew past her, and she was thankful, for once, her hair had become shorter.
Otherwise, she hated it. She hated the way it was frayed along the bangs that framed her heart-shaped face. She loathed the way it felt wrong on her head. It made her look much too young, she decided. After catching a glimpse of her reflection in the water of the river a short distance from her, she had come to a conclusion she would never look in another mirror until she grew her hair long again.
Oh, everything her hasty haircut stood for was good, she would give it that. It symbolized her blooming at last into an honourable kunoichi, ready to sacrifice for her teammates. It symbolized her being able to make sacrifices, big and small, for the people who mattered. It stood for the fact that she wasn't a silly little girl who put her looks above everything else.
She was a female. Warrior. Kunoichi.
But why the hell couldn't she bear to look at her reflection anymore?
She wasn't forehead girl for nothing. She wasn't the smartest girl in her age group for anything. Being what she was, she traced from where her desire to pull on her hair, to force it to grow longer, came from.
It hit her like a brick from the golden buildings of Heaven as she glanced at the raven-haired Uchiha genius, currently staring in the opposite direction. Ah. Of course.
Sasuke-kun supposedly likes girls with long hair, she thought, depressed, fingering her short hair. She had been growing her hair long specifically for that purpose. And the fact that she would have no chance to gain his attention (or so it seemed) sent her into waves of depression and nausea in between.
She knew she wasn't supposed to care for her looks so much, but not being able to catch dear Sasuke-kun's eye felt rather disappointing.
Sasuke was a guy. Guys liked women who looked mature, or so it seemed. She felt much more like a grown woman with long hair. All the clues seemed to point to one conclusion: there was no way in heaven or hell that any guy, let alone the god-like Sasuke-kun, was going to give her a second glance. She thought of Naruto's scream after he'd seen her with short hair, and flinched. Even her (supposedly) number one fan was aghast with her so-called image change.
Oh, hell's bells,… I'm the ugliest creature in the world. Who the hell has pink hair? Short pink hair, for that matter! Who? Curse my genes and bad luck.
Shannaro! Inner-Sakura shrieked, clutching her (short) hair. I'm never going to get Sasuke-kun now! Curse you Sound bastards! Subconsciously, she drove the kunai she was using into the fish's eye, spurting its blood on the rock.
"Geez, don't mutilate the fish," a bored voice said behind her. She whipped around.
"Ah!" she exclaimed. "Sasuke-kun!" She noticed a slightly chagrined expression on his handsome face and cocked her head to the side curiously. "What's up?" she asked concernedly.
He put his hands in his pockets, and looked away, trying not meet her eye, the way he did when he was nervous. Wait a second. He's nervous?
"Come here," he said. Sakura blinked, but complied. When she was in front of him, he continued, "Sit down."
"What for?" she asked as she squatted in front of him. He went around her.
"Your hair's uneven," he said expressionlessly from behind. "I'm going to even it out."
"O-oh!" she cried, surprised. She turned to Sasuke, who had already knelt in front of her hair. "Y-you don't have to, really," she said hastily, reddening in embarrassment. "I'll –I'll do it myself." She fumbled for a kunai on her thigh holster, but his hand on her wrist prevented her from getting one.
"You idiot," he said, pretending he didn't see that blush on her cheeks. (They both knew for a fact that redheads blushed easily.) "How the hell are you going to do that without a mirror? Unless you can't be a mile away from one and have one in your pouch."
"It's – it's not that," Sakura said, shifting uncomfortably. "It's just that –well, you're a guy…"
"So?"
"And, um… you might cut it too short and stuff…" she mumbled, suddenly interested at the way her toenails curved.
"So in other words," Sasuke began callously, "you don't trust me."
"It's not that!" Sakura exclaimed, growing pinker each second. "It's just that, well…"
"What?"
"I…" Sakura struggled for the right words.
Sasuke put his hands on her shoulders and shifted her so that her hair was facing him. "So if you have no objections, I'll start." He removed her hitai-ate and combed out her hair with his fingers.
"Yes," she said meekly, accepting the offer (which seemed more of a command, now that she stopped to think.) She felt mildly mortified with the fact that a straight boy was going to cut her hair, her beloved Sasuke at that. It didn't feel socially right, but…
…in the depths of her heart, it all fitted perfectly.
SHANNARO! Inner-Sakura shrieked. Love wins! Yeah!
Sasuke, meanwhile, held a kunai in one hand, and Sakura's hair in the other. He had never given much thought about how exactly a girl's hair, particularly this girl's, would feel in his hands. But now that it came to this, it suddenly felt fascinating. It was odd that her hair would feel like satin against his rough hands. He ran his fingers through them absently, savoring the feel of the soft locks in between his digits.
Suddenly, he became more aware of the fact that Sakura's hair had a certain luster to it. It shone in the afternoon, light reflecting on it, a testament that her pink tresses were, in fact, glossy.
There was also the detail that, as he breathed a little shallower than normal, that every whiff he took smelled like flowers. He realized now that it was her shampoo he was breathing in. He knew it was at least three days since she last washed her hair, and he was puzzled why it still smelled so-
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura's bell-like voice asked, interrupting his musings. "Why are you touching my hair like that?"
Sasuke withdrew his hand quickly as though he had scalded his skin. Damn. I can't get carried away. He was only glad that the freaking idiot wasn't there to barrage him with yells of "Don't touch my Sakura-chan, teme! I'm the only one who can touch her hair!" (But it would only result to Naruto getting decked by the spunky, hot-tempered female of their team. Still, Sasuke felt it would be better without that.)
"It's nothing," he said in his usual stone-cold tone.
"Sure, Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said, her voice trailing off uncertainly.
"Don't mind me," Sasuke said shortly, starting to shear her hair where it was uneven. He moved the kunai carefully around the uneven part, slowly but surely. He had learnt this basic skill along with learning to live alone. The M-shape was disappearing, and the hair was starting to become even. Sasuke began to wonder if the Yamanaka femme had left the M-shape on purpose to spite the only girl he'd ever acknowledged.
Sakura began to relax and accept the fact that Sasuke was – face it - cutting her hair. Now that she came to think about it, it was actually kind of fun, like a bonding thing (Oh, shoot me, Inner Sakura muttered) for the both of them.
Usually, it was either her and Naruto, or him and Sasuke, but almost never her and Sasuke. Now that they were spending time away from Naruto, at least until he came back with lunch, then she might as well enjoy the moment. She only prayed the blond and loud self-proclaimed Hokage-to-be would not come until later. Much, much later.
It was a simple haircut, but Sakura felt it meant the world to her. After the fiasco the couple of days before, and the day before that, a moment with no worries was all she needed.
It didn't mean her curiosity and constant chatter would die away, however.
"Ne, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. When he didn't answer, she pressed, "Can I ask you something?"
Sasuke sighed exasperatedly. "Shoot," he muttered.
"Do you really like girls with long hair?" Sakura ventured.
Sasuke snorted in amusement. "Heh. No."
The girl's green eyes widened. "Really? But I thought – I'd heard-"
"-rumors that have no factual basis," Sasuke finished for her, direct and to the point.
"They said you liked girls with long hair," Sakura probed, as he moved to her left side to trim the hair around her face.
"I don't," Sasuke said as-a-matter-of-factly. "Long hair is impractical."
"How so?"
It easily gathers dirt, and is a hindrance to movement. Not only that, but I'm betting it's very hard to maintain."
"That is true." She couldn't move her head, but she met his obsidian orbs with her green ones. "So you like girls with short hair, then?"
He glared at her. "Stop asking personal questions, Sakura," he said sternly. She grinned.
"Aw, come on, you can tell me," she persuaded, pushing her lower lip forward to a pout. He sighed tiredly.
"If it'll make you shut up," Sasuke muttered. "Let's just say some girls look better with short hair, some with long hair."
"But you have to take a solid opinion somewhere," Sakura insisted.
"Let's put it this way," Sasuke said as he shifted to cut her hair on the right side. "Some girls just look plain pretty with long or short hair."
Sakura paused for a moment. Then she murmured, "Was I all right with long hair?"
"You looked fine," Sasuke said dismissively, shrugging, though Sakura imagined a blush on his pale cheeks. She smiled.
"But how do you like hair, really?"
He rolled his dark eyes at her, still concentrated on her tresses. "I don't have time to think of my hair."
"I didn't mean your hair," Sakura pointed out. "I meant girls' hair. How short, or how long, exactly? Boy-cut short? Shoulder-length short?"
Naruto came in sight as Sasuke brushed off the excess hair off from her shoulders. Sasuke picked up his kunai and stood up, and Sakura looked at him uncertainly. "Well?" she asked.
He didn't look at her as Naruto went nearer to them, shouting their names. Sasuke didn't meet her eye deliberately. "That short," he muttered, jerking his thumb towards her and walking away to help Naruto with the fish.
This short? She asked herself, touching her now even hair.
Then, after a few seconds of contemplation, she realized what he had just said.
Her hand flew to her mouth as a blush spread prettily across her cheeks. "I might grow to love this haircut after all…" she murmured to herself.
Two secret smiles graced the afternoon that day.
It was a few days after the final Chuunin Exams, and it wasn't Sasuke's day at all.
It was a warm afternoon, the way it was when it would rain the next day. The atmosphere was humid, and he felt hot and bothered, his surroundings making him feel he was in an oven. His insides still hurt from the battle with Gaara the day before. His long hair, which he had grown out while training with Kakashi, stuck to his chin and neck, irritating the heck out of him.
But what was really bothering him was the emotional aspect of it all. The Sandaime Hokage was dead, and the entire Fire Country mourned. Everything was gloomy, while the people tended to the injured and repaired destroyed facilities.
And there was the fact that Naruto – the Naruto who had been last in graduation – had become better, better than he could have imagined. For that, Sasuke struggled to cope with the fact that he was the one who actually done something to defeat Gaara and rescue Sakura.
Sasuke cursed as he flicked his sweaty hair from his neck. He had to admit – the freaking idiot was catching up, and quickly too. To be able to summon the boss of all frogs, Gamabunta, was a big feat, especially for a genin. And that ingenious move of using the Pain of a Thousand Years technique (at this the Uchiha prodigy grimaced) to stick an explosive note attached to a kunai under the Ichibi's tail was something only a prankster like Naruto could pull off.
Sakura, he regretted to say, reversed their roles, making him feel more ashamed than ever. The fact that she had jumped in between him and a raging Gaara with only a kunai at hand increased his respect for her. She had grown in not in strength, but in emotional maturity. She was now more of a kunoichi than when the first started out as genin.
His stomach twisted at the fact he wasn't able to save her in return when she had been slammed against the tree, trapped in Gaara's sand. He could hardly deny that she meant more to him than just a teammate. She was a friend.
Of course, she was only that, nothing else. He could never think of her as more than a friend. Whoever dared to suggest such a thing would find himself mangled beyond recognition. Even Naruto.
Right?
Sasuke growled as a part of him dared to suggest that felt something more for the pink-haired kunoichi. No, revenge and being was his whole life. He had no time for useless bonds like that.
Ah, but having no time doesn't mean you don't really want it.
Shut up! he growled at his inner consciousness. He was truly denial royalty.
Just where is she, anyway?
Shut up about her!
The green eyed kunoichi was actually bent upon a mission, a serious one, much more serious than the mission she had from Kakashi: to recover after being suffocated by the Sabaku Sousou. It was a personal mission… it was payback.
A pair of scissors seemed out of place in Sakura's weapon pouch as its owner walked to a certain ghost town.
The village was actually very quiet, due to the fact that everyone was getting over some loss, material or otherwise, even human. Everyone had lost someone dear, or else, losing them. The loss felt by everyone, of course, was the dear Sandaime Hokage.
Sakura's cheeks flushed in anger at the snake bastard who had not only hurt Sasuke, but had killed the Hokage. She had heard the adults moaning about how Konoha would be vulnerable now that the he was dead. He who had been a leader and a father to all of them was gone. Everyone looked miserable, but Sakura knew once the funerals were over they would work tirelessly to restore the village. Everywhere she looked today she found people already starting to work to mend things. It would continue to be a work day for all the villagers, but tomorrow would be a day of mourning.
Which brought her back to her mission. A wicked little glint in her eye would probably tell anyone that Inner Sakura was laughing like a demented hag, but no one looked twice, and no one really knew Inner Sakura anyway, with the exception of Ino, but she never really got to know what Sakura named the inner being inside her.
She marched with all bravado into the ghost town that was the Uchiha Manor. It was easy to locate the place she was headed to, it was the largest house, and the only one that actually looked inhabited. The twelve year-old walked straight, took some right and left turns, until she found herself in front of the house of the boy she loved. She smiled a little to herself. This was going to be fun.
She knocked on the door, feeling a little nervous. She suddenly felt a bit weird being here, but then again, it was payback time. She heard footsteps, and soon found herself looking into the face of one irritated looking Uchiha Sasuke.
"What do you want?" he asked brusquely. That was Sasuke for you – blunt and straight to the point.
"Hi, Sasuke-kun," she said in that lilting voice of hers. "I was wondering… can I come in?"
He frowned at her. "What for?"
"Well," Sakura began, wondering how to word her explanation, "um, there's something I need to tell you. Actually, something I need to give to you."
"Give it to me right here then," Sasuke replied, scowling deeper as humanely possible.
"That would be a bit hard, you know…" Sakura said, reaching around to open her pouch. She slid the pair of scissors out. "…as cutting your hair right here would be kinda awkward," she continued, grinning. She snapped the scissors open and close rather ominously as Sasuke put her words together.
When it finally came to him, he eyed the pair of scissors apprehensively. "No, Sakura, you are not giving me a haircut," he said as vehemently as possible.
Sakura's eager face fell. "But it's gotten so long and unruly-"
"No."
"But it'll-"
"No."
"Aww, Sasuke-kun! I-need-to-repay-you-for-cutting-my-hair-for-me-when-we-were-in-the-Forest-of-Death!" She said this sentence quickly so that he had no time to interrupt her.
"You don't need to repay me," Sasuke replied, looking a bit bewildered.
"But I want to," Sakura said, pouting pleadingly.
"No"
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes!"
"Would it get you to shut up?" he asked exasperatedly. She looked surprised, but in a second a bright smile was on her face once more, and she nodded quickly to show she was interested. Sasuke opened his mouth to say "Forget it."
He was still wondering how Sakura managed to change his mind at the last nanosecond as he sat in front of her. They were in front of his bathroom mirror. She had been cutting his hair for the past few minutes, and to his relief, after checking for the umpteenth time, she was almost through. Or at least he wanted to believe so.
Eye-catch! one: a reflection of a short, green-eyed, pink-haired girl, her tongue was stuck out in concentration, her rather large forehead with beads of sweat, looking determined to cut through the raven locks.
Eye-catch! two: a mirror image of a slightly tall, onyx-orbed, raven-haired boy, his expression a nice little mixture of disbelief, anger, chagrin, and – oh, was that contentment?
ARGH! Sasuke felt irritated at himself as Sakura cut his hair, humming a tune. Now that their roles were reversed again, he felt a little hot under the collar, and it wasn't just the summer heat. As Sakura skimmed his hair, combing out some knots with her soft fingers, he had the sudden urge to grab her hand and… well, after that, he hadn't really known what to do. Against his will he admitted that her digits felt good against his scalp. He blushed even deeper.
Sakura, on the other hand, was greatly enjoying herself. Who knew Sasuke-kun's hair would feel this nice? she thought happily, snipping the too-long locks here and there. It's enjoyable, really. She ran her fingers through his hair for the umpteenth time, wondering if it was Sasuke's shampoo that provided for its silky smoothness.
But it was too quiet, especially for the pink-haired chatterbox. She hated awkward silences and had to start talking. "So, Sasuke-kun," she began cheerfully. "What did you think of the Chuunin Exams?"
Sasuke bristled. "Gee, Sakura, I really wouldn't know. Maybe it's because I wasn't there when it started?"
Sakura blushed in embarrassment. "O-oh! You never got to watch any of it?" Sasuke snorted, and she took that for a yes. "Sorry," she mumbled. "But you should've seen it though," she added enthusiastically. "Shikamaru was so cool, and I mean cool-headed, but he forfeited, it was too bad. And Naruto! Oh, he was the comeback kid back there. When he broke Neji's jutsu with that odd red chakra-"
"Sakura," Sasuke interrupted. Their eyes met at the bathroom mirror. He glared. "Concentrate on my hair. I don't want to go bald." Sakura grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry!" she said quickly. "It's just that… I really don't like awkward silences. It makes me feel something's amiss."
"Just shut up for a moment and try to listen the peace of silence, or whatever it's called," Sasuke said irritably. "Your unending chatter won't let it be heard."
And Sakura listened, still cutting Sasuke's hair. Yes, it felt rather nice, with only the snips of the scissors punctuating it. She supposed it was because silence fitted so well with Sasuke's attitude. There was a lullaby even in the humid air, a soft song of silence that was joined by a little chorus of birds chirping. If she listened harder, she would probably hear a theme song somewhere. She smiled at the thought. He was right, silence was nice if you only thought about it.
It was a lot more peaceful now, Sasuke decided, as he watched a slight beam spread across the girl's face. She looks rather prettier when she's quiet and smiling, huh?
Yeah…I mean – no! Of course not! What the HELL are you talking about?
Only what's in your subconscious.
He had to learn to block out that little voice someday.
Sasuke walked Sakura to the door after they swept his bathroom of his hair. As he glanced at the mirror, he saw that she had actually managed to give him a good haircut, and he couldn't have done better himself. "You look better than ever, Sasuke-kun," she said, grinning.
"Hn," he replied in a typical fashion. He ruffled his hair, a small gesture of nervousness. I suppose I had better thank her.
Sakura stepped out into the sunlight. "Well, thanks for letting me do the job, Sasuke-kun," she said, that smile not leaving her face. "It was nice to actually do something useful while spending time with you."
Sasuke opened his mouth, trying to force the words out. Sakura watched him curiously. "I – I – well-" She raised her eyebrows, looking politely interested. "Thanks," he finally mumbled, watching his toes curl nervously.
Sakura blinked. "E-excuse me?" she sputtered.
"I said thanks," he said curtly. Honestly, why did the damn girl have to sound so surprised? "For cutting my hair."
Slowly, she beamed. "No problem, Sasuke-kun!" she said energetically. "I love doing stuff for you. I mean…"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he mumbled, shooing her off with his hand. "Go on now."
Sakura smiled. Finally, she had gotten under his defenses, just once. And that was all she really needed to be happy.
About three years passed since that secret meeting.
Three years later saw Naruto running through Konoha after the short mission report in the Hokage Tower. He was in a jovial mood. Everything was going to be all right. Things were going to get back to normal. Sasuke was back, after all. If his trial would go well, then thing were definitely going back to how they were.
Naruto went to the direction of the hospital, wanting to have a little talk with the Uchiha prodigy. He may have been back, but there were still things to settle. Naruto knew he knew that some thing might not be forgiven. Kakashi had disappeared somewhere, saying he had already said his piece, Sai (The bastard with dicks in the head, Naruto thought irritably) had said he had nothing to say, while Sakura had just slinked away after the debriefing, mumbling she had something to do.
Naruto often felt such raw feeling that that moment he just felt an aching pain in the chest area, the way it would when he knew something wasn't right. Wouldn't Sakura usually be the first with those things? Shouldn't she be the one making the first move to talk to Sasuke?
If that wasn't the case, then there was really something wrong. He'd often thought that after this was over, Sasuke and Sakura would somehow end up being together. But the way things were going, well, that might not happen. And he felt bad about that. It wasn't right. Really it wasn't.
He had to talk to Sasuke about it. It would seem an awkward topic to talk about, considering they had just tried to kill each other a few days ago, but he knew he had said his piece about revenge and loyalty already. They were done talking about that.
This subject about Sakura would be dangerous ground and he would have to tread lightly. Naruto knew he was a little dense, but not dense enough not to feel that spark of something between his two teammates.
He entered the hospital, asked for Sasuke's room number, and went to find it. Once he did, he barged into it, not caring about the ANBU guards who stood beside the door or if he disturbed Sasuke's rest. "Oi, teme," he called by way of greeting.
"Hn," Sasuke said, sitting on the hospital bed, not looking at his rival. "What do you want?"
"We need to talk, Sasuke," Naruto said. Sasuke sneered.
"You going to repeat your whole revenge-isn't-really-what-you-need crap?" he asked mockingly.
Naruto pointed at him angrily. "You – you piss me off!" he yelled. "I don't know who's worse, you or Sai-bastard! That's not what I meant! I meant Sakura-chan!"
Sasuke, who had been sneering, dropped the sneer and put on a bewildered look instead. "What do you mean?" he demanded.
It was Naruto's turn to smirk. "You have a thing for her, dontcha?"
At Naruto's accusing grin, Sasuke stammered angrily, "You shut up, freaking idiot! I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Oh I think you do," Naruto said sagely, still grinning. "Has she been here lately?"
Sasuke stared at the hospital blanket. "No," he said quietly. The atmosphere turned heavy. Naruto knew he had gotten through.
"Well, if she hasn't yet, you'd better hope she will," he said just as quietly.
"Why do you say so?" Sasuke asked.
Naruto looked at him seriously. "Because if she doesn't, it means she's over you. Better hope she finds an excuse to come here."
Sasuke struggled to look at what Naruto was playing at, gripping the blanket harder subconsciously. When he realized what the Kyuubi vessel meant, he spat angrily, "What makes you think I care? She can get over me, for all I care."
Naruto sighed and put his hands behind his head. "That's not what your face is saying," he said. "Come on, Sasuke, you have to admit – it's getting to you, isn't it?"
"No it's not!" Sasuke growled. "Out, Naruto – get out."
"But-"
"OUT!"
"Fine!" Naruto snapped, striding to the door, slamming it open and close. Geez, try to do a guy a favor and he kicks you out! Naruto fumed. Well, he can't blame me if he blows it with Sakura-chan!
It was official: Naruto was a nosy git and Kakashi was the same. Sasuke found himself boiling with anger at the both of them. Why couldn't they mind their own beeswax? It wasn't their business what he thought or felt about Sakura.
He remembered Kakashi saying, "You know, Sasuke, of all the people you have to make it up to, it's Sakura and Naruto you have to the most."
To which he replied, "Shut up, Kakashi. I don't have to make it up to anyone if I don't want to."
"Yeah," Kakashi said, opening his Icha Icha Violence. "But remember, Sasuke, you may not want to admit it, but you want your rival and your so-called number one fangirl to welcome you back. You know you do."
Dammit! Sasuke thought angrily, thumping his fists on the bed. I don't care if Sakura doesn't come here and tell me she forgives me!
But what if she didn't?
A slight pang went up his chest. What if she didn't? He still wouldn't care, right? That was how he was, and nothing would change that.
If she didn't come, who would care? He knew he didn't. He had better thing to worry about, like how his trial would turn out, and how he would kill Itachi, in his situation. He couldn't worry about some lovesick kunoichi's feelings.
But that lovesick kunoichi is Sakura, something inside him said slyly. That must make a difference.
No, it doesn't, Sasuke argued angrily. She's just another fangirl.
A fangirl who'd be willing to give up her all, even her life for you, the inner something said. Doesn't sound like just a fangirl to me.
If she doesn't come… Sasuke thought,
I think I'll go crazy.
Somehow, the thought Sakura might not chase after him and give him her heart, gave him the feeling that there was a yawning gap in his chest. Would it really feel… this empty?
Sakura… she was a special girl; Sasuke realized that. But was she special enough to have a place, right in his heart? He let his head rest on the wall behind him.
The moment I break her hear, I rip out mine.
Exactly.
He looked at the door anxiously. Would she come bursting in? Or would she stay away forever? He felt nervous – of all the confrontations, this was one he realized he dreaded. She hadn't said a word to him when they fought to get him back. That didn't affect him then, but now, it definitely sent him into panic.
What would life be without Sakura? It would be one less fangirl to worry about, and he would get on with life. But what kind of life would it be?
An empty shell sort of life.
Sasuke closed his eyes, trying to drive away that dull pain that had settled in. It didn't feel too good. In the silence of his surroundings, however, he made out footsteps from outside the hall. They were getting closer. He didn't want to hope, but he found himself watching the door, waiting anxiously.
The door opened, and the light from the hall filtered in. Standing there was the very person he was thinking of.
"Sasuke-kun."
"Sakura," he said dryly, ignoring the thumping near his Adam's Apple. "What do you want?" Was she going to cry, or throw herself all over him, or do something drastic?
Sakura walked up to him, stared at him with smoldering eyes, and slapped him.
Sasuke's head turned at the impact, and he looked at her, confused. She grabbed him by the collar and began yelling at him. "That was for leaving me on that bench and leaving Konoha, you bastard! What do you think you were doing, dammit! You had me worried sick! Three years, Uchiha, three years! Did you get the strength you wanted, you fucker? Did you finally get that stick outta your ass? Well! If you ever, ever do that again, I'm going to hunt your shitty chicken head down, you hear me?"
Sasuke stared at the hyperventilating kunoichi. When had she gotten so… foul-mouthed? This wasn't the sweet, gentle Sakura he knew. He only saw her talk like this to Naruto, but even then, she didn't use such dirty language. Where had the old Sakura gone?
The pink-haired nin finally let go of him and sighed. "Whoo! I'm glad I got that off my chest." She smiled at him. Sasuke could still feel his jaw sagging.
"That's… it?" he asked. "You forgive me that quick?"
Sakura raised a finger. "Nuh-uh. You owe me – and Konoha – big." She reached for something in her pouch. Sasuke blanched when he saw the familiar pair of blades in her hands.
"Oh no-"
"Oh yes," she said, smiling dangerously sweet. "Consider this the first installment of your debt."
"Fine," he complied, sighing as though exasperated, although he was actually relieved. "It was getting long anyway."
"Skooch over," she said, and he moved to make room for her. She wrapped a big piece of cloth around his neck and started snipping at his overgrown raven hair.
"It isn't a good idea to cut hair on a bed, you know," he said fairly.
"You're injured," she replied fairly. "I don't want to strain you. You didn't take care of your hair much, now did you?"
"I didn't have time," Sasuke muttered. Sakura smiled.
"Well, now that you'll be training harder than ever, do you trust me to cut your hair from now on?"
He frowned. "What makes you think the Hokage won't have me executed?"
"Because I know Tsunade-shishou isn't like that," Sakura replied. "Well, what do you say? Shall I become your official hairdresser, Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke smirked contentedly. "Only because it'll pay my debt to you." Sakura giggled and they remained in comfortable silence. For now he could rest, knowing that for the moment, all was right in the world.
He was welcome now, no matter what the rest of Konoha may say. His teammates made sure of that. Sakura made sure of that. Her forgiveness was all he needed at the moment.
He was home, and he knew that only because of a haircut.
The simplest actions can be made to feel special – with the right amount of love.
AN: After a long break, I am DONE! I got a one-day reprieve from my dad.
This just came to me, another short omake. Two lines. I swear.
"Sakura, don't expect me to love you. I don't have a heart."
"You don't have one? Oh Sasuke-kun, have mine then."
I am lost in the pudding of fluff-loving-ness. Absolutely drowning, dearies.
Thankies to: iluvanime493 (that's to show she isn't such a fangirl anymore), Darkofthenight, PrincessChii, Details, flowerangel050, sweetmaiden, Jellybean89, CrAzY-siLLy-Me, Brandy Camel,x.Ninja.No.Yuki.x, Oukaru Hanako, paperpenman, Sakuranime, Kawaii Koneko92, babykitty2270, SerenityMelody, Little Minamino, fuu-nk, Ayane Selznick (Aya-chan, checked out your drabbles. They were love), kurama-kawai (yeah, that kind of tomatoes. Maasim at maliit yung atin. Ohagi, parang kakanin ng Hapon. Never tasted it, sadly), Queen Cow and Steak, AiTenshiCosmos, ArishaGinkaze, Akita, Imperial Angel (what's a strudel?), Tears like Crystals, bittersweetdreams (I end ALL my chapters like that hun), Nenekko-chan, Snotty Chim-Chim, purpleblush (nice to know maraming maka-sasusaku na Pinoi!), emina-anime, ligice76, TsuneKunoichinoAme... And all those who read, squealed in fangirl-ism-ness, and cosplayed as Gai and Lee! You make my heart warm...
And for reviewing the last chapter... you all get... A Kabuto plushie! Complete with a baseball bat!