Chapter Five
Naruto smiled at me and nodded, and, taking a deep breath, I stepped into the Fifth Hokage's room.
"Yes?"
"Ah, Sakura," said Tsunade matter-of-factly. "I wanted to ask you a few things before I see your friend."
I nodded.
"I'll be blunt. While Naruto was away, did Sasuke in any way do anything harmful to you or your relationship with Naruto?"
"Um – no," I said, slightly startled.
"You can tell me, Sakura," she said, her voice lower. "Did he do anything that even suggested something inappropriate?"
I thought for a moment of that second when his face had been close to mine.
"Anything at all?"
I shook my head. "No, nothing."
She nodded thoughtfully for a moment, then smiled. "Alright. Tell the boys they can come in."
Sasuke came in first, with Naruto behind him.
"Lady Tsunade," said Naruto, with the slightest bow of his head. "Sasuke Uchiha."
Sasuke copied Naruto's movements, although his bow might have been the tiniest bit deeper.
"Sasuke Uchiha," she said thoughtfully. "Well," she continued. "I am pleased to inform you that I had set up a little exam, if you will, to test your integrity. I purposefully sent Naruto on this mission so you would be alone with Sakura. If you had tried anything, done anything at all, then I probably wouldn't have even seen you. But I have reason to believe that you were perfectly fine. Congratulations, Sasuke. You passed my first exam.
"Now, for the second. I want you to look me in the face and answer my next question. Can you do that? Good. Now… with all the honesty you can muster, do you or do you not regret what you did fifteen years ago?"
Sasuke stared at her blankly for a second…three seconds…five…
"In fifteen years," he said slowly. "I have thought about that every day. It haunted me, and I know that there is nothing in my life I regret more than causing those people's deaths and leaving this village. How could anyone not regret it?"
Tsunade stared at him for a moment, then smiled.
"What you meant to say was 'how could anyone with a heart not regret it?'" she said kindly. "Thank you. You can arrange our next meeting with Shizune and we'll discuss our actions. I suggest you begin to interact with your fellow villagers for the time being."
Beaming, I left with the boys.
"That was great, Sasuke, that was absolutely perfect," I said, holding hands with Naruto. Naruto nodded.
"I agree. You couldn't have said it better," he said almost… proudly? Sasuke smiled sheepishly.
"Thanks. Compared to the Third, this Hokage is very…" he paused, at a loss for words.
"Strong-willed," offered Naruto.
"Strangely stubborn?" I asked. Sasuke laughed.
"I think I'll go with strong-willed. But thanks anyway, Sakura."
I laughed. "This is great. This is absolutely awesome… You know what, Naruto?" I asked, leaning my head on his shoulder. "We should celebrate how fantastic this is."
"What do you suggest, Sakura?" he asked, resting his head on mine.
"Hmm," I thought aloud. "What do you want to do, Sasuke?"
I waited for the "I don't know, what do you want to do?" but it never came. Instead, Sasuke shrugged. "Hmm. I was thinking, I'm kind of interested in-"
"What is that?" interrupted Naruto.
"What?" I asked. He pointed at my wrist, where the bandages were poking out of the end of my sleeve.
"Nothing," said Sasuke. I smiled at him.
"Thanks for trying to cover for me, but I really don't need it, Sasuke." I pulled back my sleeve. "I got a cut, Naruto. It was an accident."
"Really?" he asked skeptically. "How'd it happen?"
"There was a nail, and I slipped," I said truthfully. He nodded softly.
"Right. And you cleaned it?"
"Of course."
He was silent for a moment, then said, "Are you sure, Sakura? It was an accident? Because, well, you know… I leave you with Sasuke, and you get hurt… kind of strange."
"Strange?" asked Sasuke defiantly. "Why is it strange?"
"Sasuke, please-" I began, but Naruto cut me off.
"As I recall," said Naruto through gritted teeth. "Sakura got hurt the last time you two were in close contact as well."
Sasuke stared at Naruto for a second, then shrugged and turned away.
"Naruto, drop it," I said in a low voice. "It was an accident, an unfortunate accident." I paused. "Please."
Naruto was silent for a moment, then sighed and nodded. "Okay. I'm sorry; I trust you." I smiled softly and kissed his neck.
"Thank you," I whispered. He shook his head, but a tiny smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
As we walked home, Sasuke and I would occasionally ask Naruto something about his mission. Naruto would shrug and respond with a single sentence.
When we got to the house, Naruto told me I had to go clean my cut again, and reapply the bandages. I sighed, but smiled and went into our bathroom to get some supplies. It took me a few minutes, but I eventually started to walk back out to the boys.
About to say something, I stopped before they saw me. "-already told you, Sasuke, the pieces just sort of fell together," Naruto was saying.
"Yeah, but I just can't believe it. I mean, I remember her so differently, and in the few days I've been back, my whole image of her has been redefined," replied Sasuke.
"Hah, I know how that is," said Naruto. "I remember, after the war, after everything had finished, I wouldn't talk to anyone for weeks. It was finally Sakura who snapped me out of it. I'll never forget what she said to me," I could hear the smile in his voice, "'Stop it,' she said. 'We've had enough pain already, without you reminding us of all the crap we've just been put through. So buck up,'" he paused. "'And live with it.'"
It was silent, and then Sasuke said, "Wow."
"Yeah. I was so surprised; I think my jaw literally hit the floor." There was another silence.
"So who do you think has changed more?" asked Sasuke, so quietly I could barely hear him. "Sakura or I?"
Naruto didn't say anything. Instead, he sighed and stood up from the couch they were both sitting on. I quickly ducked back into our room so he didn't see me.
"Sakura, are you alright?" he called.
"Yeah," I replied, stepping out to him. "I'm fine, totally fine."
We hung out for a little while, and I couldn't help wondering why Naruto hadn't answered that question. Of course Sasuke had changed more than I had. He had been cold, cruel, and destructive before. But now, here he was, calm, understanding, even kind. There was no question.
That night, when Naruto and I were in our room, he said to me, "You were listening, weren't you?"
I smiled at him, and pulled back the sheets to get into bed. "Maybe. Why? Did you say something you didn't want me to hear?"
He laughed softly. "Sakura, please. I knew you were there, and I think Sasuke did too."
I nodded slowly, slipping into bed. "Why didn't you answer his question? About who has changed more? He has, hasn't he?"
He shrugged and wrapped his arms around me. I pushed him away slightly and raised an eyebrow at him. He sighed and nodded. "Yes, he has changed more."
"Then why didn't you just tell him?"
"I don't know."
"Yes you do."
"No, I don't."
"Oh, stop it, Naruto."
He laughed again and pulled my closer to him. "I thought," he said, his chin resting on the top of my head, while I snuggled against his chest. "That if I told him he had changed more, then he would try and steal you away from me."
"Aww. You know that could never happen."
"Yes, I know he never could. But if he tried, I would be forced to kill him."
"…I really don't know whether to laugh or slap you."
"You never do."
The next morning, Sasuke was still asleep when Naruto and I got up. Naruto left him a note on the kitchen table and we left for our work.
"This is it," I whispered to him as we walked into the Academy, his arm around my shoulders, my arm around his waist. "We have to assign them to their sensei today."
"Then we get a two months, then the new kids, I know how this goes, Sakura," he said, almost smiling. I could tell he wasn't looking forward to it, though. Naruto loved all his students, and he hated having to say goodbye to them – although he was very happy for all of them.
He lingered in my classroom until students began to file in, then he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and went to his classroom.
The class was chattering in excitement, but the moment the bell rang, they were silent. Today, only the students who chose to move on and be assigned a sensei had come – the others had to come to a one-week day-camp where they are briefed on what they would have learned with a squad leader.
I wasted a while with having them go over, once more, everything they had learned. They were all very accomplished, and I could not help being impressed. They were two years younger than I was when I graduated the Academy, yet so far ahead of me…
Finally, I began to call out squads. There was much squealing and groaning, but I think everyone was happy with their squads, in the end.
Once everyone was grouped appropriately, sensei after sensei began arriving. I chatted a little, said goodbye to the kids, promised them I'd see them around, accepted a few gifts, and then strolled out of there with Naruto.
Walking home, I sighed. "I need to talk to Ino. Tell her how I mercilessly gave her cousin to Chouji."
Naruto laughed. "Oh, Chouji'll love that. Just what he needs. More Yamanako."
When we finally arrived home, Sasuke had left a note for us.
Well, I didn't think it qualified as a note. Naruto said he thought it was enough though.
Going out, it said. I almost laughed when Naruto handed it to me. It felt so strange – Sasuke Uchiha was going out. It just didn't seem to sound right, no matter how much I had realized he had changed.
We hung out a while, talking about the kids and the village in general. We didn't bring up Sasuke once; I thought that was strange, but Naruto seemed to change the subject whenever I (almost) brought him up.
It was like it had always been. It was good to just talk to him for a few hours, to be normal again.
Sasuke came back around one in the morning. Naruto and I weren't asleep yet – somehow, we had silently agreed that we were going to stay up until Sasuke came home. Instead, we were still on the couch. I was curled up and leaning onto him, and his arms were wrapped around me, in a comfortable silence.
"You know," said Naruto, as Sasuke shut the front door behind him. "We should really give you a curfew." He turned to look at Sasuke. "Where have you been?"
Sasuke shrugged. "Here and there."
Naruto looked at Sasuke for a moment (I imagined him reprimanding Sasuke for being irresponsible in my mind), then shook his head and nodded. "Okay."
We went into our bedroom, and I said to Naruto, "We're such parents."
"What?"
"Oh come on, we're so obvious. We stay up until he gets home, you ask him where he's been…please, Naruto, you are such a dad."
We both slipped into bed
"Why not? I don't think he's grown up, and his parents were killed when he was, what, six? Seven?"
"I know, you're right, but still. It feels weird."
"Everything feels weird with Sasuke."
I laughed.
"I don't know. It's like…it's like he hasn't been away at all, but instead it's like he was here all the time and he just changed, like, now."
Naruto looked at me skeptically.
"Well, what do you think?"
He shrugged.
"I definitely feel like a kid when I'm with him. I can't really get over how we used to act around each other, you know? But I'll be talking to him, getting annoyed with him, and then you'll just walk into the room, and I'll remember that I'm not the same as I was, and that it's different now…I'll remember how much I love you now."
"Oh, you always loved me," I said, grinning at him. "I just was too stupid to realize it."
He laughed softly. "We were all stupid."
I propped my head up on my hand and looked at him. "What is one thing about you that I don't know?"
He smiled.
"I thought you knew everything about me."
"Aha, then my plan is working."
He laughed. "Okay, okay, let me think of something…I have a wasted talent as a whistler."
"What?"
"Oh yes," he said cheerfully. "I can whistle almost any tune. It's pretty cool."
I laughed. "You're hilarious, Naruto."
"I know," he said. "I know."
"But…I'm serious," I said. "Is there anything, specifically about Sasuke, that I don't know about?"
He shrugged slowly.
"Probably not. I mean, you of all people know how much it sucked when he left. I guess I've always regarded him as a brother. And you know what? He seems really interested in how you and I got together. I've told him about it several times already, but he just keeps asking."
"Do you know why?"
"I have a theory. I might be way off, but I'd be willing to say he honestly doesn't know what love is…he's been wandering around through the villages for fifteen years, and when he comes back, here we are, settled down, perfectly in love…I think it annoys him how we haven't let him leaving stop us from loving each other. It annoys him how we aren't like he would be, in our position…I don't know."
"No, that makes sense," I said fondly. "You're so good at this, Naruto."
He smiled again. "I'm a teacher," he said. "I have to be."
"That's not fair," I said, pulling a face. "I'm not any good at it."
"Oh, yes you are," he said fondly, holding me close.
I closed my eyes and made a happy little noise. "You're too kind to me, Naruto."
He kissed the top of my head.
The next morning, I was woken up by a call on my cell phone.
Still in bed, I reached up to grab it on the night stand and murmured a tired, "Hello?"
"Sakura? This is Shikamaru."
"Oh," I said, yawning. "Hi. Why are you calling so early?"
"We're at the hospital," he said. "Ino's in labor."
I sat straight up in bed.
"What?"
"I just – I thought I should call you, she'd want you here, I thought, since you're her best friend-"
"Yes, I'm coming," I said, slipping out of bed. "I'll be right there."
"Okay," he said. "See you."
"See – wait!" I said, before he could hang up.
"Yes?"
"Congratulations, Shikamaru."
"…thanks," he said softly.
Click.
"What's up, honey?" asked Naruto sleepily, as I began getting dressed.
"Ino's having the baby!" I said excitedly. "Right now!"
"Oh," he said with a smile. "That's great. Tell them congratulations for me. I'll be there later."
"Okay," I said, giving him a quick kiss. Sasuke was still asleep on the couch, so I tried to be silent as I rushed out of the house.
I met Shikamaru at the hospital.
"Hey," I said, giving him a hug. "How is she?"
He shrugged, looking pale. "Alright, I suppose. She's been swearing non-stop for forty-five minutes."
We winded up on either side of her, each holding one of her hands. She was, indeed, swearing non-stop.
But it was worth it in the end.
Because, in the end, the doctors handed my best friend her newborn daughter, while the child's father watched the both of them tenderly.
To give them a moment, I slipped out of the room, to where Naruto was already.
"Hey sweetie," he said, putting his arms around me and kissing my cheek. "So?"
"It's a girl," I said. "A beautiful, healthy baby girl."
Shikamaru beckoned us back into the room.
"So," I asked. "Do you know what you're going to name her?"
"Sumaji," said Ino, not taking her eyes off her daughter. She finally tore her eyes away from the child and looked up at Shikamaru. "Sumaji Nara."
The boys left to see Chouji, who had just arrived, and Ino suddenly started to laugh.
"Oh Sakura," she said. "I'm so happy."
"She's beautiful, Ino," I said to her. She laughed again.
"I know. I think she's going to look like her father, though….And while we're on the subject of her father…Shikamaru just asked me to marry him!"
"What?" I asked, for the second time that day.
She laughed some more.
"I know! Sakura, I love him so much, I love this baby so much, it just seemed right, you know?"
"Yes," I said, smiling. "That's so great, Ino. Congratulations."
Another laugh.
"I want to get married to him as soon as possible. Just plan it, and bam, it's done."
I laughed. "That sounds like you and Shikamaru, yes."
"And I want to hold Sumaji through the whole thing," she said, caressing her daughter's cheek. She sighed and closed her eyes. "You know what, Sakura," she said softly. "This is what we live for. This is what we have been living for…this one moment." She opened her eyes and looked up at me. Sweat plastered her hair to her face, she looked tired and her face was red, but she could not have looked more beautiful. "It's incredible, Sakura."
I smiled. "It must be."
The day seemed to pass in a blur. I was so happy for my friend, and at the same time, I wanted what she had. A baby, a husband…the life I coveted.
I said nothing to Naruto, but I think he got the point. Honestly, I think he wanted it too. I spent most of the day with Ino, talking about the baby, about Shikamaru, the wedding, and anything else we could come up with. When it got late and she went to sleep, Naruto and I spoke with Shikamaru for a moment.
"Congratulations, really," said Naruto, giving his friend a short hug. Shikamaru smiled.
"Thanks for coming. It really meant a lot to us."
"We're very happy for you," I said, taking Naruto's hand.
"Thank you…but now comes the hard part. Actually being a parent."
I laughed. "I bet you're a wonderful dad, Shikamaru." He smiled gratefully at me and nodded.
"I don't know. I feel like I'm going to break her whenever I hold her..."
We said our goodbyes and Naruto and I strode home. We were mostly silent, thinking about Shikamaru and Ino, but then it began to rain. We ducked under the nearest shelter and stood there for a while.
Suddenly, Naruto turned to me and kissed me fervently.
After a moment, I pulled away and looked at him quizzically. He laughed.
"I've never made out in the rain," he said. "Isn't that something you see in every cheesy romance movie? You can't tell me you don't want to."
"Well maybe I already have made out in the rain," I teased. "And you're just so inexperienced."
He kissed me again, harder.
"Yes, I am," he said, his face close to mine, his voice husky and low. "Teach me."
I smiled and kissed him back.
I don't know how long we spent out there, but by the time we were done, we were both soaked to the bone and shivering.
He pulled away from me and held me, his lips so close to my ear, I could hear his every breath.
I waited for him to say it – to him to ask –
"Sakura," he whispered. "Let's – let's-"
I closed my eyes, my answer ready.
"-let's go home."
I stopped, and looked at him. He stared at his shoes.
"…okay."
It was dark by then. We walked home in silence. I had been so sure, so sure he was going to ask me…what went wrong?
When we got home, Naruto went straight into our room. I talked to Sasuke a while, telling him about the new baby. I promised him I would ask Shikamaru and Ino if he could stop by later to see them. He seemed genuinely happy for them and I was happy he felt that way. Before I followed Naruto into the bedroom, I have him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. "I don't care if it makes me sound like a mom," I sighed, my arms around him. "I'm proud of you."
He smiled, and I let go of him and went into the bedroom. Naruto was standing at one of the dressers, hand on the drawer handle, like he had just closed it. His eyes were closed. He looked so sad, standing there, all alone. I went over to him and rested my head on his back, putting my arms around him.
"What's up, baby?" I asked him quietly.
He turned around and put his arms around me.
"Nothing, Sakura."
We held each other for a moment longer, then slowly and silently got undressed and slipped into bed.
You were so close, Naruto, I thought. So close.
But you didn't do it.
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Man, I absolutely LOVEE this chapter. Poor Sakura. SHE'S SO ALONE :D
Come on, guys, reviews!
