Stranger by angrypixels
"The basic food plan for a healthy diet consists of a large portion of carbohydrates, followed by fruits and vegetables, then meats and finally fats and oils."
Sakura automatically fell into a lecturing mode as she walked side by side with Sasuke through the bustling village market while avoiding speeding carts, wandering poultry and frustrated shoppers. Sasuke threw steely glances around and purposely gave a wide berth to every person. Not that they wanted to be near him. Civilians may not recognize him, but most of the older nins in the village would have recognized him from for his signature Uchiha appearance or the large clan symbol drawn on the back of his shirt.
Sakura took note of this but told herself not to give any thought on it.
"Your muscles are breaking down due to malnutrition. You need to take in more proteins to build it back." Sakura said and stopped in front of a poultry stall. The stench of freshly butchered livestock filled the air.
"Let's start here. What type of meat would you prefer?" Sakura asked as she turned around to look at her silent follower who stopped walking the same time she did. He slowly turned his head as he surveyed the different slabs of meat laid out on the table.
"Beef." He intoned quietly. Sakura nodded. Beef was good, rich in proteins.
And they both stood there staring at each other.
Sakura frowned. "Well, go on. Buy the beef. Lean meat though. "
Sasuke stared at her and she could see disbelief in his eyes.
How hard was it to buy food yourself? Was he expecting her to buy it for him?
Sakura pointed to the butcher. "Just tell the man that you want a few pounds of lean beef. Are you expecting someone else to help you buy your food?" She chided. And it better not be me, she thought furiously to herself.
Blinking, Sasuke seemed to understand the situation and hesitantly stepped forward. Sakura found it hilarious when the butcher couldn't hear his mumbling and shouted at the top of his voice "What? I can't hear you son, speak louder!".
After some minutes where there seemed to be some miscommunication regarding the amount of meat bought and the cost, the pair finally stepped away with Sakura fighting off a grin and Sasuke looking utterly frustrated while holding onto a plastic bag yet holding it away from his body as if it was a diseased corpse.
"Well, that's settled." Sakura said as she gave him the encouraging smile she gave to patients who managed to finally follow simple instructions. "Shall we go on to the vegetable stall?"
Sakura saw Sasuke's face become even paler despite the scorching sun.
Sakura spent the rest of the afternoon leading Sasuke, who reminded her of a lost sheep, around the market, showing him the different stalls, naming different foods and tips on how to differentiate between the fresh and rotting.
"No Sasuke, that is not an eggplant. That's taro." Sakura explained patiently as he picked up the tuber vegetable and looked at her in question. "The colouring may be a little similar, but taro is much more harder and takes a longer time to cook." Squatting down, Sakura picked up a startling purple eggplant from the cart and squeezed it to show her point. "Taro does have a lot of fiber which is also good for your diet." Sasuke seemed to understand this and handed the vegetable in his hand to the stall keeper along with a handful of tomatoes.
"Ugly. Shopping for dinner?"
Sakura whipped her head around and smiled. "Sai!" She stood up and gave him a hug which he bore with his usual smile. Sai glanced sideways at the silent man who was watching him guardedly. Sakura took note of Sai's interest in Sasuke and stood aside to see how they would interact.
A lot of people had commented on their similar facial features. Dark hair, dark eyes, straight nose and somewhat pale pallor. However, Sakura knew that they were very different. She was sure that both males knew of each other and had heard a few things about each other, one being the replacement of the other. Sakura was sure that with Sai being in ROOT, he knew much more about Sasuke than the other way round. And with Sai's annoying habit of giving inappropriate nicknames…
"Hello man-whore. You must have sacrificed quite a bit of your body to get Ugly here to do your shopping. Do you satisfy her before or after?"
Sakura could feel her eyes bulge out in horror and before she knew it, she had her hand on Sai's ear and was twisting it with all her might without tearing it off.
"Sai! How many times do I have to tell you to stop sprouting out rubbish and offending everyone!" She shouted into his ear as she pulled him down to her level. Sai winced in pain while somehow keeping his fake smile plastered on his face.
She gave him another painful tug while quickly turning to glance at Sasuke's reaction. She noticed that he did not have much of an expression, but she was willing to bet that he was frozen in shock with the way he stared back unblinking.
"Ugly, why are you angry? Has he not satisfied you enough? If that is the case, I am sure you can find that dog in heat to help fulfill your urges…"
Sakura growled and grabbed Sai's neck and strangled him while shaking him back and forth.
"Stop bringing Kiba into the conversation! And how are my urges your business! You idiot good for nothing trouble maker!"
After squeezing his throat for good measure, she finally let go and Sai collapsed onto the ground wheezing and massaging his neck. She turned around to look at Sasuke who had widened his eyes slightly as he stared at his heaving lookalike.
"Ignore Sai. He is a social retard. He has this stupid habit of giving nicknames which are either opposite or a hilarious version of what he thinks of a person on first impression. We have been telling him not to do so and explained why yet he refuses to listen. Stupid idiot. Must love the attention and all the violence I inflict on him." She glared at Sai as he finally stood up.
Sai winced when he tried to speak and coughed a bit. "You never answered my question. Isn't that considered impolite?"
"You are impolite." She retorted. "I am under orders to be Sasuke's medic and I am helping him to plan a proper meal."
Sai nodded slowly while he scanned Sasuke from head to toe. Sakura knew that Sasuke was feeling very uneasy as Sai watched him like a lion with a piece of meat in addition to the fact that a crowd had gathered around to watch the little drama. Giving Sai a small push, she shooed him away and told him she would spar with him the next day.
Sai nodded while shooting knowing glances at Sasuke as he walked away.
"Forgive him. Being part of ROOT means that he sees the world differently and doesn't really know how to act around people." Sakura said as she looked up to the setting sun. "It's getting late. Let's head back to your place and I will teach you how to prepare your food."
The trek to the Uchiha compound was not a light hearted one. Once the faze of being verbally accused and being stuck in a crowd faded off, Sakura noticed the tension in Sasuke's shoulders slowly fading off to be replaced with…with something Sakura couldn't guess.
As they edged closer and closer, Sakura noticed the empty streets and abandoned houses. The only chakra signs around were her own and her guide. She knew that the Uchiha clan owned the entire street and ever since the massacre, it had gone unoccupied and to waste. Unattended buildings, overgrown trees and shrubbery, signs swinging on long ago rusted hinges, it was as if the area had not seen a soul in ages. Which was true, since all those souls had perished so many years ago.
Over the years, Sakura had tried to place herself in Sasuke's situation. Having her whole family killed, a whole clan lost in one night at a young age. To be lost and alone with only revenge on mind. It was hard to imagine what Sasuke had gone through.
But then, it didn't matter to her. Sakura gave herself a forceful mental shake. She stared at the tall, muscular back in front of her as they turned to walk into the main entrance of the compound. She wasn't that boy. And this man in front of her, wasn't the boy she thought she knew either.
Inside, the compound was remarkably clean without litter, but then, there was little else other than houses that were sealed shut. Sakura guessed that Sasuke had used his weeks of confinement to clean up the whole compound, sweeping leaves, uprooting dead trees and dumping rubbish. It all looked a little dreary with a lack of greenery.
The main branch's house was situated in the middle of the compound, right next to the main road. It was a large one, a home to a once upon a time large family. Sakura expected to feel a sense of foreboding upon stepping barefooted into the main house. Perhaps cobwebs, mysterious footstep sounds, dried blood splattered over the floors. However, she was a surprised when all she found was an empty, clean house. And when its sole owner switched on the bright lights that, it appeared a little too empty.
Despite all that, she wished with all her heart that she wasn't here. In the same house as this stranger.
Upon setting all the food down on the kitchen counter, Sakura turned to face Sasuke.
"Since this is the first time, I will show you a few ways on how to prepare your meals so as to ensure that nutrients are not lost during the cooking process. Also, I took the liberty of …"
Sakura was cut off by a large banging sound outside, shouts of an over familiar voice and a surge of an overbearing chakra.
"I invited Naruto and Kakashi-sensei over. It wouldn't do to leave out the rest of the team." She said. Sasuke gave her a blank look. Sakura gave him a fake sweet smile and shooed him to get the door.
All for the sake of giving a united front. Sakura thought to herself grimly as she started taking out the grocery.
In the end, Naruto's exuberant shouting and Kakashi's snide remarks got onto Sakura's nerves and she threw them out of the Uchiha kitchen and ordered Sasuke to help out while giving him cooking instructions. It was odd to work side by side as he obediently obeyed her and sometimes flashed his sharingnan to follow her actions and chop up the vegetables quickly and accurately. Really, you would have thought he was on a mission to kill with the way he stoically held the pots and pans.
After a noisy dinner with generous helpings of meat, rice and stewed vegetables (although Sakura still felt the whole affair seemed forced when she laughed along half-heartedly at Naruto's proclamation that all was well again) she sat down with a full stomach and wrote out various reminders and tips while Naruto and Sasuke washed up the dishes. Kakashi, the lazy pervert, had disappeared with a poof after eating his share.
Sakura literally had to butt into a one sided shouting match and drag Naruto out of the Uchiha house afterwards.
"That was great! I still can't believe he is back!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he walked her home. "Soon, he will be back with us permanently and we will be a team again."
Sakura gave him a weak smile but didn't say a word. She knew Naruto was envious of the other teams in the same year and the way they stood together never breaking apart. He was just happy that his best friend was back yet he still had not figured out what the next step would be. Life had always been moving on yet Naruto might be the only one stuck in the past.
"Hey Sakura-chan, while washing dishes, teme asked me about Sai." Said Naruto as they neared her flat. "He asked who he was and I told him Sai was just as a teme as him."
Sakura laughed and told Naruto of the market incident as she was sure as hell Sasuke wouldn't mention it to Naruto.
"Hahaha! Man-whore, isn't that just great!" Naruto clutched his stomach as he almost rolled onto the ground. "It's way worse than the stupid name Sai keeps calling me. Remember the clothes he wore when he was with the snake bastard? Now that is man-whore. How could he fight without all those clothes falling off? "
Sakura whole-heartedly agreed and they chucked as they thought of the various underlying reasons for the snake sannin's dress code for his underlings. As Sakura unlocked her door and stepped in, Naruto suddenly leaned towards her and whispered dramatically. "Teme also mentioned that you tortured Sai at the village market and he enjoyed it. You know, Sakura-chan, I always knew you were violent and if that turns you on, I will be perfectly fine to take Sai's place. You don't have to choose him you know, I bet he doesn't even know what pleasure is and I am always available. Why, Ero-sensei taught me some tricks that you might like…"
And with that, Sakura slammed the door in Naruto's face.
Well, at least that was all a good show for the ANBU watching them.