Date: 09/07/12
Pairing: SasuSaku
Genre: General/Angst/Romance
Status: Incomplete
Author's Note: And again - thankyouthankyouthankyou for the reviews/alets/faves, you kind, beautiful people! Sai, Sasuke, heck, everyone might be a little OOC in this - I am trying to look at Naruto(the anime) in a different perspective and the 'what ifs' so... yeah. I came out with this. I admit though, that this chapter was a mess so I apologize beforehand. Oh, criticisms are welcome, as always.
Tsunade closed her eyes and massaged her temple — feeling an awful headache coming up. She narrowed her eyes at the source of her problems and sighed — though, the feeling of nostalgia warmed her heart when Sasuke and Naruto started bickering right after Sai left to find Sakura — and, speaking of Sakura —
Tsunade sighed once more.
She would have to talk to her later — when she was stable — though, the Hokage knew that Sai would take care of everything. She couldn't remember when she pushed the responsibilities to Sai — maybe it was right after Naruto and Kakashi were too focused on finding Sasuke and maybe it was after Sakura felt abandoned —
Did Sakura ever feel abandoned?
Honestly — the Hokage has no clue at all — even though she was the self-proclaimed mother to her apprentice, Sakura was always able to mask her feelings so well — so well that the people around her couldn't even tell what was going through her mind. Tsunade noticed that Sakura began to shun people out — from a bubbly, friendly extrovert — into an introvert, and she did find it weird and it was kind of sad that she had just realized it now — but, Tsunade was the Hokage after all – she was ever so busy, so it shouldn't surprise her that maybe — maybe she didn't really know her apprentice.
Besides, Tsunade has a lot of faith in her apprentice — Sakura would get over her pity-party soon — Sai would take care of everything — and, everything would be fine. It wasn't her fault that Sakura fell into this state — she trained her, didn't she? She taught the girl everything she knew — so, that was more than enough — it's all she could do. Sakura would be fine — she confirmed, eyes staring at the boys in front of her — it has been four years, she should be immune to pain. If little things like this could affect her this badly, then, sorry to say but — she is not capable to be a ninja.
"Uchiha." Tsunade said harshly — the boys stopped bickering at one another and gave their full attention to the Hokage, "for abandoning the village, joining Orochimaru despite knowing that he had killed the Kazekage and ambushed Konoha four years ago, during the Chunnin exams — not only that, you were also in touched with the Akatsuki — you should be sentenced to death, a public execution."
"But baa-chan —" Naruto protested.
" —Hold it Naruto — I am not done." Tsunade interrupted. "But because of a few deaths — mainly Orochimaru, Kabuto and Itachi — and also, you came willingly when I sent Team seven after you... One year of community service and you are not allowed to go for missions for seven months. Do you accept?"
Sasuke nodded stiffly, "I do."
Naruto grinned and pat Sasuke's shoulder roughly. "Did you hear that Teme? You live — let's celebrate! Ichiraku's on Kakashi!" Kakashi widened his visible eye and shook his head — he tucked his book in his back pocket. "Sorry boys — I have an urgent... Thing. To go to so — "
"Lies!" Naruto yelled, pointing a finger at his former teacher accusingly. Kakashi shrugged and vanished into a puff of smoke. Yamato imitated Kakashi right after the said man vanished, and now all was left were Tsunade, Naruto and Sasuke.
Tsunade smiled at the scene she had just seen. She opened the cupboard of her desk and took out an unopened sake bottle. She shook it and looked up — realizing that they were still there. "Well, what are you waiting for — get the hell out of my office."
Before Naruto could retort — Sasuke beat him to it.
"I have a question."
Tsunade raised her eyebrows as she leaned back and placed both of her legs on the desk — on top of a large stack of papers as she took a sip of her sake.
"Talk."
"You said that you sent Team seven after me."
"What about it?"
"Why wasn't Sakura there?"
Tsunade stilled —
Naruto stilled —
Sasuke noticed.
"Off-limits, Uchiha."
Sasuke frowned — his curiosity amplified. "But— "
"I said, the question is off-limits. You can ask Naruto — or better, Sai, if he wants to tell you, I doubt it, though. Kakashi, Yamato, or even Ino — but, you won't get it from me. Are you done? I want to finish my sake in peace so could you please, get the hell out of my office?"
"Come on Teme — let's beat it." Naruto said, dragging an unwilling Uchiha out of the door.
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Sasuke stared at Naruto — disgust blatant.
The blonde was gulping his third ramen in a row — Sasuke was glad that he didn't have to pay for all these — the kind man said that it was on the house — even so, he couldn't understand how a man could eat that much. Naruto let out a huge burp before sliding the bowl to the side — slouching onto his seat as he took big gulps of his tea.
"Ne, Sasuke — don't worry about Sakura-chan that much — Sai got it."
"Who says I'm worried, dobe? "
Naruto gave Sasuke a look to which the black haired man narrowed his eyes further — Sasuke hasn't noticed how his azure blue eyes had changed – how his azure blue eyes had hardened through the years when he was gone and —
"Naruto!"
Sasuke looked towards the newcomer — to the newcomers.
Naruto's face brightened instantly.
"Hey guys — it's been a while, hasn't it?"
Sasuke remembered the faces — he has an amazing memory, though, they were insignificant to him — still, he remembered them. Ino — Sakura's frienemy, along with her team — and the shy Hyugga who was still infatuated with Naruto — and of course, the girl with buns — what was her name again?
"I heard you brought back — oh my gosh Sasuke-kun!"
Sasuke flinched.
It has been a while since someone called him that —
SakuraSakuraSakura
— and it was nostalgic, but annoying, nonetheless. "Yeah, we brought back Teme here," Naruto said proudly, patting his back roughly, yet again, "We were just talking about Sakura-chan. I told him not to worry."
"Sasuke-kun, worried about forehead?"
Sasuke rolled her eyes — jealousy was blatant in her voice.
"Ugh — troublesome woman you are, Ino. Welcome back Sasuke. You shouldn't worry 'bout Sakura — Sai has it under control." Shikamaru nodded to Sasuke, acknowledging him.
"That's what I was going to say — Shika-kun, stop interrupting me, you lazy bastard."
Sasuke frowned — he was hearing that too much for his liking, he realized.
"Sai?"
Everyone turned to look at him.
"Yeah, Teme," Naruto said slowly, "Didn't you hear what I said just now? Sai got it — he knows how to handle her."
"Wherever there's Sai — there's Sakura, Sasuke-kun. So you should not worry because it's not your responsibility to — it's Sai's." Ino added on — Sasuke narrowed his eyes when the rest including Naruto nodded with her — agreeing with whatever bullshit she had spat out of her mouth.
Sasuke doesn't know what to say – or respond to that, honestly — he thought that it was Naruto's responsibility to take care of Sakura — or somebody that he knew — that he recognized to take care of his pink-haired teammate — not someone that looked like him, someone that he was a stranger to — because, well — waitwaitwait —
Why didn't Naruto take care of Sakura?
Sasuke stared at his blonde teammate as he laughed at something the girl with buns had said — what was her name, again — Sasuke pondered on his last thought — why didn't Naruto take care of Sakura, indeed — she was Naruto's love interest, wasn't she?
" – like I said, Teme, Sai got it under control. Sakura-chan will be okay tomorrow – just you wait."
Sasuke was still frowning.
What the hell is going on?
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Sakura opened her eyes groggily.
She could feel a pair of arms wrapped around her waist — she didn't panic, she would have four years ago, instead — she snuggled into the warmth, feeling content in that spur of the moment. She started to notice things — like how she could feel his muscles through her clothes — like how his smell invaded her nostrils — filling them with the scent of acrylic paint with a musky touch. It was no less than intoxicating.
Sakura looked up and stared — he was still sleeping — at his features. Painfully enough — he looked so much like Sasuke that it hurts. Though — she was happy to admit that he was nothing like Sasuke — because, then, she would have gone through another heartbreak.
Silently, she lifted a finger and traced his features — from his forehead to his eyebrows — the bridge of his nose to his upper lip — to the lower lip — she was surprised when his mouth parted — biting her finger lightly — as he flicked his tongue against her finger. Sakura didn't pull back — she didn't recoil — in fact, she was rather intrigued by the gesture — when she looked up, Sai stared thoughtfully at her.
"You should tell me you were awake the whole time, Sai."
"As should you, hag."
It was a surprise on how Sakura could grow fond of the nickname he gave her — she was quite appalled when he had called her a 'hag' when he called Ino 'beautiful' until of course — she took the time to understand Sai. It was one of their many nights together — when Sai would play with her hair — and she would sigh in bliss — but before she could murmur his name — Sai started talking about his past — about what he had went through — and, Sakura was glad — that he had chosen her to tell this to because for once, she had felt special — for once, she felt that she was significant enough.
It was silent then — it wasn't awkward or uneasy, it was a peaceful silence that Sakura appreciated very much. "I need to take a shower Sai." She said then, getting up unwillingly from her comfortable position.
"The usual, hag?"
Sakura smiled.
"The usual — this time, be much more gentle with my hair when you wash it, will you?"
Sai nodded.
"I'll try."