Wow. It's been quite some time! A few years to be exact lol. After a few emails asking me to pick my story back up, I read it over and decided that I would at least give my readers the respect of finishing it up. So after a much too long hiatus, here we go!
There she was. The flower blossom Sasuke had been looking for since he'd arrived. She was standing in the kitchen with Ino, Temari, Gaara's older sister, and Tenten. He could see Chouji behind th em in the refrigerator digging for something to eat. Ino was making wide hand gestures, sure to show off the diamond on her hand. Sasuke rolled his eyes. 'Girls…' Sakura though. She looked stunning. She stood there in a tight knee-high white dress, a red blazer covering her surely soft shoulders, and matching red pumps lifting her to new heights he hadn't seen her at. Her hair wasn't held back by her Shinobi headband now. It was loose and wavy and fell over her shoulders like a silky pink curtain, soft as ever. She looked so amazing, he was sure he had drooled on to his shirt.
He began to make his way over to the group when his feet suddenly came to a halt. What exactly was he going to say when he got there and dragged Sakura away from her friends? Was he going to tell her he loved her? Was he going to apologize for all the years of agonizing pain he had caused her? What was he going to even start with? The apology seemed like the best route since coming right out and telling her he loved her seemed a bit much. He didn't even know if he loved her himself. He needed to figure that out. But that couldn't happen if he didn't gather up the courage to talk to her and arrange time for them to hang out.
Sasuke sighed. His stomach was in knots now. Why the hell was he so nervous about talking to her? Why was his tongue as dry as a sand pit right now? His palms felt sweaty. He rubbed them against his pants. It suddenly felt hot in the room. 'Shit, man. What is going on? Just talk to her!' He heard Sakura laugh. He watched her. Her green eyes closed, her little nose crinkled with each giggle, her tiny hand covering her plump red lips. She was beautiful. So beautiful. And this made Sasuke even more tongue-tied. His stomach was doing flips. Was this what was always going to happen when he got around her? If he didn't push through this obstacle, it only made him look like a weakling and he refused to be one. In any aspect of his life. If he could make it successfully through ANBU training, he could talk to Sakura. He pushed forward.
"Sakura." He said, clearing his throat quietly so no one would hear him. Sakura turned around, she smiled widely at him and this made his knees go weak. 'Wow.'
"Hey, Sasuke!" She said happily. She looked even more beautiful up close. Sasuke could really see how much her facial features had grown and matured since they'd been apart. She had fully grown into a woman. She began talking again and Sasuke brought his eyes back up to meet his. "Well, ha, I'm going to be honest. I didn't really expect you to be here. Doesn't seem too much like your scene." Sasuke could see Ino, Temari, and Tenten nodding behind her in agreement. He didn't blame them. He had spent years brooding and giving off an anti-social persona anyways. It was a stretch that Ino had even invited him.
"Well, I thought I'd try something new. Also, a lot has changed since I've been back. I thought it would be a good time for you, me, and Naruto to catch up with each other." He punched himself mentally. Why would he want to include Naruto in this? Even though Naruto and Hinata were an item themselves, Naruto had always had feelings for Sakura. He didn't want him anywhere near her if he didn't have to be. "Or, well, you and I. Naruto is a little…preoccupied." He said, knowing Naruto was still dancing his head off. Sakura nodded. She looked at Ino who gave her a shrug of the shoulders. Sasuke looked confused. Must've been girl code and Ino was giving Sakura the "Ok" to go ahead and hang out with Sasuke. Sakura turned back to Sasuke and nodded. They were good to go.
Sasuke slid the door open to the back patio. It was dark and quiet out there. The music was faint in the background, a good place to talk. He closed the door behind Sakura and took a seat on one of the two chairs outside. Sakura took a seat next to him. The moon hit her pale skin perfectly and brought out her curves in all the right places. Sasuke took a deep breath, trying to control himself from throwing himself down at her feet. Sakura looked at him with a smile. "So, how have you been?" She asked quietly. And just like that, Sasuke's words were caught in his throat. He looked away from her and coughed slightly.
"Well, I've been good. Better than that, actually. So much has happened since I've come back to Konoha. My brother and I are closer than ever. I have my dream job as an ANBU officer. I'm stronger than I'd ever thought I'd be. Everything is great." He smiled. It was the honest truth. Everything was going so well for him. "What about you, Sakura?"
She took in a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair. "Well, everything has been good for me too given the circumstances. I mean, I haven't even been home for a day and I feel like I've missed out on so much. My best friend is engaged and living with her former teammate, Naruto and Hinata are together? I mean, really? Who saw that coming?" They both chuckled. "Everything seems so good here. All of the villages get along so well now. I feel great knowing that I had something to do with that. I do however feel so left behind." She ran her hands over her knees, pulling her dress down. For the first time since they'd seen each other, she reminded him of the Sakura that he used to know. The one who never hesitated to pour herself out to him. He would be lying if he said he hadn't missed this. He was lost, so lost at one point in his life, but he found himself and had opened his eyes to what was once before him. By that time, she was gone only to be seen four years later when she returned from an S-Rank mission that he had never expected her to be considered for.
Sasuke lifted his hand to touch hers only to quickly yank it back when he heard the sliding door open. The sound of the music burst through so abruptly it made Sakura jump. He sighed, aggravated that it was probably Naruto come to ruin everything. He looked up. This face wasn't familiar at all. A boy that could only be a few years older than them came through the door looking them over. His face was just as emotionless as Sasuke's once was only a few years back. He put his hand on Sakura's shoulder which made Sasuke cringe.
"Sakura-san." He said leaning forward to kiss her cheek. Sasuke's eyes widened. Who was he? Sakura turned her head to meet the face of the stranger. "Sai…" She gasped. He leaned forward to kiss her lips and she pulled back. "Sai…what are you doing here? I thought, I thought you were on a mission." She asked. She looked as shocked as Sasuke was. 'Sai' stood up straight, keeping his eyes locked with Sakura's. He didn't even bother to acknowledge Sasuke which only annoyed the Black Fang.
"Well, I had just finished my own mission when I caught word that you were back home. I had to get here as soon as I could. I left the rest of my team behind just to come and find you. I missed you." He leaned down to kiss her but just to get the same result. She pulled back.
"You left me, Sai." She said sharply. Her facial expression was now that of a stone. She looked ready to kill. Those soft green eyes were now hard and serious. "Don't think that you can just waltz on in and everything will be back to normal. You deuced out when things got serious. We were together for three years, you left me halfway through my mission, and it took me two years to get over you. And trust me, I'm over you." She stood now and Sai wrapped his arm around her. Sasuke was about to stand himself until he saw Sakura grasp his arm. She gave it a small squeeze but it puzzled him. The squeeze was so slight, but it made Sai cry out like a baby. "Listen to this because it will be the only time I say it to you, Sai. You left me. I don't want you anymore. So get it through your head or I'll knock it into you…and I'm sure you don't want that." Sai was on his knees now. Sasuke's mouth was open as he watched. Now, he didn't know who Sakura was anymore. Was it she who had missed out on what had been going on in Konoha or was it him? Sai cried out again. What was Sakura doing to him? Not a single vain was protruding from her hand. She let go and Sai let out a huge breath of relief. She looked over at Sasuke and gave an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry, Sasuke. I'm going to go back inside with the girls." Her cheeks were red now. She was embarrassed. "Can we pick up this conversation tomorrow?" He nodded. "Great, meet me at Ichiraku tomorrow at around…two?" He nodded again. "Awesome. I'll see you then." And with a wave, she was back inside, and gone through the crowd.
Sasuke was so confused. What the hell had just happened? He looked down at Sai who was clutching his arm, a large bruise was already beginning to form where Sakura's hand had once been. Sasuke looked back at the doors and into the party. He could see Naruto slouched over on the couch, drunker than ever, Hinata standing over him and fanning him with her hand. Kiba stood behind her flirting with whatever girl walked past him. But no more signs of Sakura. This girl was so different from the one he knew and the night could not go by quickly enough. He was eager to get to Ichiraku to meet the pink haired Kunoichi. The once soft and fair maiden was now a fiery ball of attitude and he couldn't wait to know her better. He stood and stepped over Sai who was still groveling on the ground. Two o'clock, hurry up.
Okay, that's it for now! Hope you guys like it! Let me know what you think.
Lexi