A/N: Thank you for the reviews! It really encourages me to keep writing! : )
oOo
Chapter 6
Ino stirred the soup clockwise before taking a taste. Thinking that it needs more seasoning, she sprinkled some salt and pepper and stirred it again. She closed the pot and lowered the heat of the stove. A series of loud knocks coming from the receiving room caught her attention. Thinking that it could be Shikamaru, she removed her apron and dashed to the front door.
She immediately opened the door and cried out in surprise. "Shika - Oh, its you Sakura! Wait, what happened to you?"
Holding an umbrella while crying, Sakura asked. "May I stay here just for tonight?"
"Of course, come in." Ino pulled her inside and led her towards the kitchen table and gave her a glass of water.
"Okay, relax first," Ino instructed as Sakura gulped the offered drink. She gave Sakura another glass and gradually, her friend's crying was reduced to hiccups.
"It's Uchiha Sasuke, right?" Ino muttered in a know-it-all voice. Sakura did not respond but stiffened at the mention of his name. "He's the only one who can make you cry like that."
"Can I have more water, please?" Sakura asked. Downing her third glass of water, she shook her head.
"You want some more? I'll give you a jug if you ask," said Ino in a joking manner.
"No," said Sakura. "You have some wine or beer there?"
"Are you serious?" Ino asked with a raised brow.
"Yeah," affirmed Sakura.
"Okay." Ino rummaged inside the kitchen cabinet and took out a bottle of sake. She poured it on a small cup and placed it in on the table.
"Thanks," said Sakura hiccupping. She took the cup and was about to drink it when Ino snatched it away from her hand. "Hey!"
"This is mine," grinned Ino as she drank the sake. "You're pregnant, silly."
"A little amount won't hurt," Sakura countered and reached out for the bottle.
"Oops, no," said Ino in surprise. She moved away from her and placed the bottle of sake back inside the cabinet. Turning to her pink-haired friend, she shook her head sadly. "It won't solve your problem, Forehead. Besides, you're risking the health of your unborn child."
Sakura did not say anything and lowered her head to avoid Ino's pity looks. She felt stupid for risking the health of the child inside her yet, she felt like she wanted to do something reckless. She wanted to get drunk so she can forget the pain she's feeling at the moment.
"Here, have some." Ino placed a bowl of soup in front of her. "It's better."
Together, the two bestfriends-turned-rivals-turned-bestfriends-again ate in silence punctuated by Sakura's occasional sniffs and hiccups.
Lowering her spoon, Ino pause to eat and looked at her in an assessing way. "Honestly, you look like a total mess. Not just a mess but an awful mess."
"Oh shut up, Ino-pig. As if you look pretty when you cry," countered Sakura angrily.
"I'm just joking," grinned Ino. "Now that's the Sakura I know."
Ino's mischievous face was suddenly replaced with a serious look. "Kidding aside, Forehead, what happened? It's okay if you choose not to divulge it; I'll respect your decision. I'm just here."
Sakura began playing with her soup, stirring it like something would come out that would solve her problem. "I just can't understand him." She gave out a sigh that bordered on loneliness and exhaustion. "I'm just concerned with him but he got angry when I inquired about it. Is that wrong?" She turned to Ino, her green eyes asking.
"You know him better than I do, Sakura," Ino replied. "I can't say it's your fault because you said you just asked him and we can't blame Sasuke either for we don't know his side. And I doubt it if we'll ever get the reason why he got angry at you. I guess it's the circumstances."
Sakura frowned at her.
Ino gave a shrug. "I don't know maybe you just happened to ask the wrong question or you caught him in the wrong time or it could be both."
"You think so?"
"I'm just guessing."
Sakura's shoulders went forlorn as she ate the soup Ino had given to her while thinking about the whole day. She woke up and asked him if she could join them and he agreed. The lunch with Team 7 was okay. It just seemed to go downhill right after Sasuke had sparred with Kakashi. He looked really angry and had not even bothered to explain what happened. Later on, she pressed him for an explanation and that's when his anger exploded out at her. Does that mean that it is her fault then? She was just trying to ask him so she could understand and comfort him for whatever it was troubling him. But it turned out to be the wrong thing to do.
Knowing Sasuke's nature to keep things to himself, she had pressed him to explain when it seemed clear that he was already in a bad mood and he did not want to. She was forcing herself to step inside an invisible line that divides her from him. An invisible line that is out of bounds to her and to the rest of the world, a place where he houses his thoughts and emotions he does not want to share.
"You know what, I still can't believe that you are married and pregnant right now," said Ino suddenly. "Yet, in a way, I was also expecting it."
"Huh?" Sakura asked, quite confused at Ino's contradicting statement.
"Well, you were the first in our batch to get married and pregnant. To think that many are considering that you are the strongest kunoichi next to the Godaime," said Ino in an envious tone. Then, her voice changed again back to its haughty and cheerful one. "But I don't believe them; I still think that I'm better than you."
"Che," muttered Sakura, rolling her eyes at Ino. Like Naruto and Sasuke, the two of them were forever rivals who would never admit that one is better than the other.
"But after Uchiha Sasuke had returned to Konoha, I knew from that point that you are not going to let him go out of your clutches again."
"Hey, you're making me sound like I'm a witch!" Sakura accused.
Ino laughed and waved off a hand at her face. "I did not mean to make it sound like that. What I mean is, you would never let him leave Konoha again and I have a feeling that you would throw everything you have just to be with him. I just did not expect it to be that fast, you know. I haven't seen you date like other couples do. One day, you just appeared on my doorstep, inviting me to be your maid of honor."
"I know. Everyone was just as surprised like you." Sakura smiled at the memory of seeing Ino's stunned face as she announced the news that she's going to get married to none other than Uchiha Sasuke. "I'm really happy when he decided to stay here for good because Team 7 would be reunited once again. I admit that I still love him but I did not really expect him to return the feelings, I'm just happy and contented that he is back with us."
"But he loves you that's why he married you!" Ino squealed.
Sakura smiled a bitter one. Neither Ino nor Naruto know the circumstances why Sasuke and she decided to get married. It was all for convenience on his part. He wanted to revive his clan and he needed to do it properly with someone who would stand as an Uchiha matriarch who would bear future Uchiha children. It was really sad on her part because she had been dreaming that someday that someday Sasuke would learn to love her and ask her hand for marriage. But it turned out to be the other way around. The marriage got to be the first one and the learning-to-love part would remain as a dream that she hope would happen. Nevertheless, she agreed because she saw it as an opportunity and as a fulfillment of a dream. She just considered herself lucky that Sasuke chose her for his plans and not just random woman, for it would surely break her heart if she got to see the day he would be marrying someone else.
A sharp knock on the door was heard. Ino immediately stood up. "I'll answer it. It's Shikamaru."
And she disappeared from the kitchen and she heard Ino open the door and angrily asked Shikamaru why he was late.
"I was busy," Shikamaru's reply became clearer as he entered the apartment.
Sakura heard their approaching footsteps and tried her best to look her normal self. "Hi, Shikamaru."
"Hey," Shikamaru greeted cordially as he took a seat on the table.
"Sakura stooped by the flower shop and I invited her for a small chat," supplied Ino before Shikamaru could ask anything.
Shikamaru shrugged indifferently. He looked at the wall clock and frowned at the time. "It's still raining and it's getting quite late. We'll just fetch you home later if you like."
Sakura's tensed but Ino immediately went to her rescue. "Oh, I forgot Sakura's staying here for tonight."
Sakura relaxed at Ino's wink. She smiled at her. She just don't want to return home yet.
Shikamaru caught the small exchange between the two and even though he does not understand women very much, he is a keen observant on people's actions. Sakura went all tensed and rigid when he suggested that he and Ino would fetch her home. It seemed that Sakura does not want to go home.
Why?
Then, it clicked to him. Could it be that Sasuke and Sakura are not in good terms right now? That must be the reason why she went all tensed at his suggestion. And from what he could see, she turned to Ino for help. Well, there's no problem with that but he has to remind Ino that even though she is Sakura's best friend, she must know where to stand and avoid meddling on people's domestic affairs. Considering Ino, she was quite nosy and loves to interfere with other people's lives.
"Here," Ino shove a bowl of steaming soup on him.
"What's this?"
"Can't you see it's a soup?" Ino replied irritatingly as if what she had cooked was something unrecognizable and unfit for humans to eat.
He tasted it and added in a joke which he realized later on was the wrong thing to say. "I thought it's a porridge!"
Shikamaru laughed at his own joke and was about to take another spoon when Ino grabbed the spoon and bowl away from him. "Hey!"
oOo
"-dare you insult my cooking when I've painstakingly cooked it-"
"-left my paper works at the Hokage office just to become a soup taster?"
"Then, you should not have bothered going here!"
Smelling that a squabble is about to ensue between the two, Sakura decided to leave the two than to be caught between their shouting match. "Uh, hey, guys, I'm leaving."
But it seemed neither of the two heard what she had said because their voices were now escalating to high decibels which Sakura had been too familiar to hear.
Oh, thought Sakura in amazement as she left the kitchen inconspicuously. Neither of the two noticed that Sakura had already left the kitchen and was on her way to the door. Sakura took out a piece of paper sitting on wooden cabinet and scribbled a thank you note to Ino. Then, she opened the door and left the Yamanaka Ino's apartment.
Even outside, she could hear snatches of their quarrel.
She would not be surprised if Ino would tell her the next day that she and Shikamaru had broken up because she was sure, that in just few days, she would be seeing the two again together. If her memory serves her right, Ino and Shikamaru had been dating each other exclusively for almost a year already. She had lost count of the times the two broke up. It seemed like a week would not pass wherein the two would not bicker about something. They would break off then get back together after a few days. It's almost like a normal cycle for them.
Opening her umbrella, Sakura stood outside Ino's house, not knowing where to go. She could not go to her parent's house. That's out of the question because for sure, they would berate her for agreeing to marry urgently. She would prove to them that she's responsible for her decisions.
Naruto. For sure he would get worried and would try to patch them up. Besides, he had said earlier after he dropped her home that he's going to meet Hinata. She don't want to ruin their date with her problems.
Guess she has no choice but to rent a room for the night.
oOo
Sasuke rolled to the other side of the bed for the nth time. For a few minutes, he remained immobile. Then, he opened his eyes and bolted upright, bringing his hands on his face. He gave out a sheer sigh of frustration. No matter how much he tried to force his eyes shut, he can't do it.
He just can't sleep.
He grabbed the small clock sitting at the bedside table and noted with a groan that it was almost two in the morning. It means he had been trying to sleep unsuccessfully for several hours. Deciding that it would be futile if he force his self to sleep, Sasuke stood and left the bedroom. Without opening the lights, he made his way towards the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water and gulped it one drink then went back to bed. He wondered what's preventing him from sleeping.
He had always been a light sleeper because of two reasons: first, he is a shinobi; second, the tragedies that he had experienced. As a shinobi, they have been used to sleeping for short hours. On missions, even though they sleep at night, they are always on their guard, their senses active for possible enemy attacks. The latter reason was borne out of the traumatic events in his life.
After the Uchiha massacre thirteen years ago, he never had a good sleep. He remembered his nine year old self waking up in the middle of the night, sweating, crying and screaming for his parents. Then, after he had calmed down, he would start cursing his brother Itachi, hating him and vowing to avenge the slaughter of their clan someday. For several years, he had to endure the nightmares. Every night, the massacre was relived inside his head like a video tape played over and over again. The images were forever etched in his mind: the blood everywhere, his parent's corpses lying in front of him and Itachi's cold eyes.
"You've always wanted to surpass me. That's why I'm going to let you live... if you wish to kill me, then hate me, despise me... and by all means flee, cling to your wretched life."
He thought that he after he had killed his brother; he would finally live in peace with himself. After he had learned the truth of the Uchiha massacre and Itachi's true role, his hatred was revived. Uchiha Madara revealed to Sasuke the "truth" of Itachi, that he killed his clan by orders from Konoha, how he joined Akatsuki to make sure the elders didn't forget him, and how in the end his only goal was to keep his village, and his brother safe. And that everything he had done was to make sure Sasuke grew strong. He was crushed by the realization that Itachi had been a kind and good brother to him all along and everything he did was for the sake of his little brother.
"Forgive me Sasuke... ...It ends with this"
His blind hatred had sucked him into an abyss of darkness.
"I have long since closed my eyes... My only goal is the darkness."
But it was Naruto who pulled him from the deep pits of hatred and darkness when he thought himself that he was hopeless. He was like a long, lost brother. An obnoxious and stubborn brother who refused to give up on him.
Kakashi became sort of like a father figure to him while Sakura was like a lamp that guided him out of the darkness, a warm and comforting aura that reminded him strongly of his mother.
Sakura.
He wondered idly where she is staying as of the moment. If he guessed it right, she could be staying at her parents' house, Naruto's or at Yamanaka's house. He wondered further if she is having difficulty sleeping like him.
He looked at the empty side of the bed where she usually sleeps and somehow, he felt…uncomfortable.
Could it be that the reason he's having difficulty sleeping right now is because of her absence?
No, he immediately shook his head at the stupid reason. Brushing the thoughts aside, he pulled the blanket, closed his eyes and forced his self to sleep.
oOo
"Don't overexert yourself, Sakura-san."
"Yeah, thanks," said Sakura. "Bye." She waved back to her fellow medic-nin and walked away.
Sakura yawned involuntarily and stretched her arms. It had been an exhausting day at the hospital. A group of injured chuunins coupled with some civilians with random medical complaints poured in, demanding medical care. Some of the medics were out in the field so she had no choice but to extend some overtime.
Her feet walked faster as her mind drifter to things she wanted to do once she got home. A nice, warm bath; a bowl of dumplings and black tea then she would sleep afterwards together with-
She stopped in her tracks as she realized the train of her thoughts and the direction of her feet.
Did she just think of going home? To the apartment she shares with Sasuke?
"No," she bit her lower lip. She's not yet ready to face him nor talk to him. She needs more time to think so she can prepare herself emotionally and physically. Perhaps, tomorrow would be a good one when both of them are relaxed.
"Yeah, tomorrow I'll talk to him." She turned around and took a left turn on the next street. Opening her purse, she noted with dismay the amount of money left. In her emotional outburst the other day, she immediately left the house with nothing but her purse and an umbrella. She had been so busy at the hospital today that she was not able to go to the local bank and withdraw some money.
"Sakura-chan!"
The all-too-familiar loud, obnoxious voice drew her attention from the pavement. She looked up and greeted in return. "Naru-"
The name was not completed as she caught sight of the person walking beside Naruto. For heaven's sake! Of all people, why does it have to be him?
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called again and ran towards her. Sasuke was left a few feet behind walking with his usual bored face.
"What am I going to do?" She thought panickedly as Naruto jogged to her direction. She's not yet ready to face him after what happened yesterday. Suddenly, her heart began thumping hard inside her chest and her breath became fast.
"Relax!" Inner Sakura giggled obviously excited.
"Okay, 1, 2, 3. Relax." she told herself. She took three deep breaths and forced herself to relax as Naruto stopped a few feet in front of her. She placed a fake smile on her face as she greeted Naruto. "Hey."
"Let's go to Ichiraku!" Naruto suggested and immediately grabbed her wrist. "Teme's already agreed to have some ramen for dinner."
"Sorry but-"
Ignoring her suppose-to-be-excuse, Naruto only walked faster. They turned to another alley and soon, the restaurant became visible to them. "No more buts! Let's hurry!"
oOo
Keeping his expression impassive, Sasuke listened to Naruto's chatter with mild interest. The blonde was recounting his date with the Hyuuga girl the last night. Sakura was listening Naruto with her full attention as if determined to pretend that he did not exist at all. Well, if she wanted to pretend that he did not exist then he will let her.
"After we ate and the bill was given, I took my wallet but it was gone!" Naruto recounted with such enthusiasm.
"What happened? Did the two of you wash the dishes afterwards?" Sakura asked.
"Nope," grinned Naruto. He rubbed the back of his head and replied in a whisper, "Hinata paid for our meals."
Giving him a playful hard slap on the back of the head, Sakura berated him like a mother hen. "What? You made a girl pay for your date? That's very ungentlemanly, Naruto."
Massaging the back of his head, Naruto replied embarrassingly. "I told you I lost my wallet."
Rolling her eyes at his dumbness, Sakura sighed. "You're lucky Hinata's such a good one because if I were her, I would have walked out a long time ago."
"Yeah, I'm really lucky coz if it were you-"
"Care to finish that sentence, Naruto?" Sakura asked sweetly, every word dripping with venom.
Unperturbed, Naruto continued. "-If it were you, uh, well, you're pretty violent. You're like a madman sometimes."
"How dare you compare me to madman!"
"Oops!" Naruto jumped in time to avoid another one of Sakura's "playful" punch. He took a seat on Sasuke's left side, leaving an empty seat between Sasuke and Sakura.
Sakura stopped and glared at Naruto. She looked at the empty seat between her and Sasuke. Their eyes met for a brief second then she looked away immediately and returned to her seat, a chair away from him.
"Here's your ramen." The cook gave them their respective orders: a special jumbo ramen for Naruto, beef for Sasuke and seafood for her. She winked at Sakura, "I have added some dumplings on Sakura because I heard you're pregnant. Congratulations, my dear!"
"Oh, thank you," said Sakura blushing.
"Hey, how about me?" Naruto held his bowl in front of her as if waiting for it to be added with some toppings.
The lady cook shook her head. "Sakura-san is eating for two. She needs nutrients."
Suddenly, a mischievous grin was plastered on Naruto's face. "Hey, I'm also eating for two."
The cook stopped and stared at him, obviously appalled at this statement. "I'm sorry? You're not telling me you are also pregnant, are you?"
Sasuke and Sakura instantly realized what Naruto's answer would be.
Naruto's mischievous grin grew even wider as he answered, "No, I'm not pregnant. I'm also eating for two, I have Kyuu-"
"Naruto!" Sakura gave him a glare that stopped the fox-faced boy from continuing his "joke."
Still calm, Sasuke elbowed Naruto hard on the ribs and whispered. "Shut up, dobe."
If looks could kill, Naruto would be probably be dead by now judging the angry stares he's receiving from his two teammates. "Okay, okay. Gomen."
The cook looked at the three of them with confusion, not understanding the simultaneous exchange of glares and hidden messages.
Realizing that someone needs to speak for it, Sakura took the initiative and smiled at the woman. "Naruto means cute worms inside his intestines. He's not really hygienic, you know."
"Oh," the woman exclaimed in surprise. Then, as if an idea occurred to her, she said. "Enjoy your meals." She immediately left them and disappeared behind the kitchen. Sakura sworn she heard the woman muttered something about "disinfectants" on her way to the kitchen.
"Hey, I don't have worms in my intestines!" Naruto whispered angrily. "Because of what you said, they might not let me avail discounts or worse, they might not let me eat here again."
After making sure that the cook was out of ear shot and nobody was within hearing range, Sakura turned to Naruto. It was really hard to focus her eyes on Naruto with Sasuke being in the middle of them. "Kyuubi? You think it's funny?"
"It's just a joke, Sakura!"
"The villagers still have not forgotten the last war," reminded Sakura. The Fourth Great Shinobi War was still vivid in her mind as if it was just yesterday. It was chaotic, everyone was in panic, there was blood and dead bodies everywhere, enemy-nins attacking and killing shinobis and villagers and the monstrous bijous destroying the village.
"Drop it off," said Sasuke in his quiet, authoritative voice.
Sakura was about to say something but chose to close her mouth. She forgot that Sasuke was still pretty sensitive with his past affiliations. For unknown reasons, he betrayed Uchiha Madara during the height of attack and helped in defending the village. Yet, some of the villagers still think that he did not deserve the pardon given by the Hokage.
"Let's eat!" Naruto exclaimed glad for the drop of topic. "Itaedekamasu!"
"Hmpf." Sakura grabbed a pair of chopsticks on the container near Sasuke's side when her hand accidentally brushed the back of Sasuke's hand, who in turn was also about to get a pair of chopsticks. She gasped out loud and instantly removed her hand as if electrocuted.
Unfortunately, Naruto noticed this and frowned. While slurping the noodles, he asked the two. "Hey, issomethinwong?"
As if nothing happened, Sasuke simply ignored Naruto's question and started eating his ramen.
"Nothing," said Sakura feeling quite embarrassed at her reaction. From the corner of her eyes, Sasuke was eating calmly, unaffected and here she was, acting weird just because of mere physical hand contact.
Starting now, she would practice learning the art of nonchalance.
The light post in the corner of the street illuminated Naruto's form as the blonde waved at them enthusiastically. They were standing in front of their apartment which they have passed after eating at the Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto dropped them off and left, heading to his own house which is still a few blocks away.
The cool night air blew against the dark surroundings, bringing forth mixed scents of flowers, leaves and water. Sakura kept rubbing her arms, trying to make her body warm against the chilly environment. A sudden urge to pull her into his arms came to his mind. Then, he remembered that they were still not in good terms and he immediately brushed the idea away.
Standing a few feet in front of him, Sakura watched Naruto disappeared from the corner of the street and remained in her position, as if she did not want to turn behind and see him. What is she going to do now that they are all alone? Would she still pretend like everything is okay or will she make the first talk? Is she going to sleep on the apartment tonight or walk away and spend her night somewhere else?
Well, he would not ask her nor wait for her decision. He slid the gate open and marched towards the door. From his peripheral vision, he saw that Sakura turned around at the sound of the gate and looked at the house as if unsure whether to enter or not. He turned the door knob and pushed the door open. To his surprise, Sakura walked past him just as he opened the door and she hurried inside. Without even looking at him, Sakura held her head high and turned left towards the direction of the bedroom. It's as if she wanted to remind him that the apartment is also her house and she has every right in it as much as he does.
Conjugal property, he nearly forgot about that thing.
Closing the door, he went straight to the kitchen and poured a tea. He wondered if he should sleep on the bed too now that Sakura came back. It would seem rather…awkward. Yet, he does not want to sleep on the floor when there's a bed available. Well then, if she started making fuss about it, he would remind her about conjugal property.
He has every right to sleep in that bed too whether she likes it or not.
oOo
Sakura paused by the bedroom door, her ears all perked up, listening for footsteps and movements on the other side. After five minutes, she decided that he must be in the other parts of the house.
"Well, good. At least I'll have the bed on my own," she thought with a chuckle.
Without opening the lights, she went to the bed and laid with her arms spread-eagled. The, she rolled from side to side, basking in the softness of the bed cushions and the silkiness of the sheets. She grabbed a pillow and buried her face into it, allowing sleep to envelope. Then, she suddenly remembered that she had not showered yet.
Lazily, she stood up, grabbed a pair of pajamas from inside the cabinet and made her way towards the adjoining bathroom and started removing her clothes one by one. She stepped into the tub, adjusted the water thermostat and turned the knob into full blast. A rain of warm water started pouring into her head like small needles cascading into a rock.
Closing her eyes, she allowed the tepid water drenched her from head to toe. Putting a moderate amount of shampoo on her palms, she lathered it through her hair, massaging her scalp down to the roots of her hair. Her hair may not be as long and straight as Ino's blonde one but at least, hers is soft and low-maintenance.
Next, she sat on the tub and started washing her body with a shower gel, scrubbing the grime and blood she had gotten from the hospital. The shower gel mixed with water began forming bubbles on the surface like ocean foams. Absentmindedly, she stared at the bubbles and played with it letting the minutes passed by as her mind drifted to things she had been pondering about.
Throughout their dinner at the Ichiraku Ramen until now, she did not even speak to Sasuke. Well, neither did he. It's as if both of them were pretending that the other does not exist. It was a good thing that Naruto did not notice the silent war going on between her and Sasuke. They must resolve this on their own…if it's going to be resolved. With the way things are going, if neither of them is going to initiate, nothing's going to be resolved. She's pretty sure that Sasuke would not make the first move. He believes that he's always the right one.
Arrogant bastard.
"I'm tired," she sighed. She had enough of thinking about Sasuke, his pride and their problem. What she needed right now is a good sleep.
She removed the plug from the tub and slowly, the water drained. She stood up and turned the water to rinse her body.
Perhaps if things would not work out until this week, she must initiate the move. She needs not to plan; she would just let things to roll out spontaneously.
Across from her, she heard something creaked. Like a door being opened. She turned to her left and saw Sasuke standing with a mild expression of surprise, his hand still on the doorknob. For a split second, their eyes held each other. Then, he broke the eye connection, raised his brow in a somewhat bored and amused expression and travelled his eyes from her head down to her feet. She followed his gaze and realized in horror her physical exposure.
"GET OUT!" Like a shuriken, she grabbed a bottle of shampoo and threw it at him with such speed and force she had not used in months. She immediately covered her breasts and crouched down, glaring at him.
"What the f-" Thanks to his fast reflexes, Sasuke caught the flying bottle of shampoo. Because of the speed and force on which it was thrown, the plastic container of the shampoo cracked and the white liquid started to streaked across his palms. Immediately, Sasuke threw the broken bottle to the trash can located under the sink and washed his hands. After that, he looked at her crouched position and said in a business-like voice. "Next time, lock the door."
Subsequently, he turned around and closed the door.
"As if I have not seen it before," Sakura heard him mutter before the door closed.
As if I have not seen it before?
The nerve of that Uchiha!
She glared at the door with such intensity that it could have bored hole right through it.
"He's right," piped Inner Sakura. "You two had made love before. Stop acting like you're still a virgin."
In contrast to the anger she's feeling at the moment, Inner Sakura seemed to enjoy what happened earlier. Her alter ego was now performing a seductive dance number.
"Shut up!" Sakura mentally scolded Inner Sakura. "I still have some dignity left, you know."
Inner Sakura stopped dancing, glared at her and shuffled towards a dark corner, grumbling under her breath, "Prude."
Sakura rinsed her body thoroughly and dried it afterwards. Next, she donned her pajamas and wrapped a towel around her dripping hair. She left the bathroom and sat next to her personalized bedroom cabinet and mirror and rummaged for a blow dryer.
Upon removing the towel around her hair, she faced the mirror and was about to start drying her hair when she saw something unpleasant on the mirror. She turned around and looked questioningly at the person sleeping on the bed.
Without even looking at Sakura, Sasuke replied to her questioning look in a matter-of-fact attitude. "I sleep here."
Sakura opened her mouth to say something but she can't find anything to retort to his answer. Instead, she closed her mouth and turned her irritation to the blow dryer, drying her hair roughly. Because her hair was short, it dried easily and after brushing it, she returned the hair dryer back inside the drawer and crept to the futon. She turned to her right, her anterior body facing the open window and pulled the covers which only reached to her waist.
Not contented, she moved to the edge of the bed, creating as much space possible between her and Sasuke and tried to wrench the blanket more to her side.
oOo
The bedroom was dark with only the moonlight sifting through the leaves and branches just outside the open window as the only source of illumination, creating a large shadow of an old man's gnarled hand against the cream-colored walls. It was relatively quiet; the rustling of the leaves against the crisp night air and the chirping of crickets could have provided a person a calm and restful sleep. But no, the woman beside him kept fidgeting and squirming in her position, creating unnecessary irritating sounds.
He closed his eyes again and forced his mind to sleep. A minute had not yet passed when he felt the blanket being tugged from him again. With his back turn against her, he remained immobile and tucked the other end of the thick blanket under him, securing it for himself. The woman beside him pulled harder, trying to get the larger surface area of the blanket for herself.
Why doesn't she get another one for herself?
It was a silent tug-of-war between them and it was quite amusing to hear her irritated remarks as she tried to wrench the blanket from him while he maintained his firm grip on the blanket and pretended to be asleep at the same time.
They have not spoken to one another since the other day. They had a short conversation just a while ago at the bathroom but it cannot be considered a conversation at all. The bathroom incident was both their fault. Sakura did not lock the bathroom door while he, on the other hand, did not bother knocking. The bedroom was already dark when he arrived and he falsely assumed that she was already asleep.
Her late reaction was also quite funny. It took her a few seconds to realize that she was physically exposed, standing stark naked in front of him. Of course, it's not like he had never seen her unclothed before. The shampoo-throwing was also amazing and surprising at the same time. She had thrown the shampoo at him at such speed and force that if not for his fast reflexes and sharp eyes, the shampoo bottle would have hit him full on the face. It just proved that her weapon-throwing skills have not rusted after almost four months of being deprived of field missions.
His mind went back to reality. Sakura was still hell bent on yanking the covers from him. Inwardly, he sighed at her stubbornness. He might as well stop the tug of war and give the blanket to her. The cold December weather might affect her health. Therefore, she needs it more than him. Besides, he still need some sleep in preparation for his mission the next day.
He pulled the ends of the blanket from under his body and relinquished his hold on it, feeling the warmth of the thick blanket slide away from his body when a shriek made him jerked up from the bed.
"AH!" He heard Sakura shrieked out loud.
Instantly, he bolted upright to see what happened.
It was only through his sheer will power and determination that prevented him from uttering a laugh. Instead, he just smirked at the scene before him.
Lying on the floor a few feet away from the bed, Sakura was partially rolled inside the blanket like a crab meat wrapped inside a ball of rice and seaweed wrapper. She strongly reminded him of a sushi. It looked as if when she was pulling the blanket with great force, his sudden relinquish made her lose her inertia and came rolling off towards the floor.
He stood up and was about to lend a helping hand when she spoke.
"You're awake all this time?" She asked in disbelief, her bright green eyes bulging. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Sasuke blinked at this accusation and answered. "No."
She glared at him at lashed out. "You wanted to make fun of me."
"No," he answered truthfully. But he knew that she would not believe him. He leaned and reached out a hand to help her.
"No, I can manage. Thank you very much," she answered haughtily and extricated herself from the blanket. She moved back towards the bed, pulled to the blanket to the top of her head looking like a large cocoon wrapped inside and did not speak to him again.
Likewise, Sasuke returned to his position and attempted to sleep again.
oOo
Bright green eyes fluttered open to a familiar cream-colored ceiling. She glanced at the window and saw that it was almost daybreak, the vestiges of yellow peeking and squirting out from behind the clouds and the dark blue skies. She turned to the other side of the bed and as expected, its empty.
"Sasuke," she muttered softly.
Hong long are they going to keep the cold and silent treatment? Days? Weeks?
A sudden burst of energy and inspiration seized her causing her to jerk up from the bed. She went to the bathroom to wash her face, pee and changed her pajamas. Then, she left the bedroom and walked along the hallway, making her way towards the kitchen. She was thinking of a different breakfast to cook for the day so that maybe when he decided to eat with her, they can … talk. She had barely made ten steps when she saw him standing on the end of hall.
In full Anbu uniform.
"You have a mission?" Her eyes suddenly widened and she clamped her hands to her mouth as if she had spoken something forbidden. His words to other echoed on her mind.
I married you but that does not mean that you have the right to meddle in everything I do! Stop being meddlesome!"
His fingers were adjusting the straps of his white chest plate when he stilled upon hearing her words.
She bit her lower lip and looked away. "Never mind."
Like a stone falling downhill, her heart and spirit plummeted to depths. Just when she decided to talk to him and start patching things between them, fate intervened. With her head lowered, she slowly walked towards the kitchen.
"Land of Spring," His smooth voice floated through the hallway. Then, he added in a low voice, "I'll be back."
Her head snapped up to his last words. If she's not mistake, those words indirectly mean that he's willing to talk and patch things up when he comes back? She looked at him hopefully, waiting for any reaction that might prove her assumptions wrong.
Sasuke had already finished adjusting his white chest plate and was almost complete except for the white animal-painted mask hanging below his neck. He threw a fast side wards glance at her as he too, was waiting for her reaction or reply.
Both of them stood at opposite ends of the hallway, waiting for each others reaction or reply.
Sasuke broke the awkward scene and decided to go. He turned around and walked towards the door.
Sakura's eyes panicked at his retreating figure and she fumbled for something good to say. "Uh-uh-I'll wait."
Sasuke gave an imperceptible nod and walked outside.
Sakura ran and followed him, only to miss him by a fraction of a second. He had already leapt to the neighbour's roof and was about to jump away.
Cupping her hands on her mouth to amplify her voice, Sakura repeated loudly to him. "I'll wait!"
This time, she caught his small nod and she watched his figure grew smaller and smaller as his distance increased away from her location.
A smile curved into her lips.
Yes, she will wait for him.
oOo
A/N : Thanks for the reviews! Sorry if it gets late because sometimes I'm doing something or ideas gets sluggish!
ADVANCE MERRY CHRISTMAS GUYS!
KURISUMASU OMEDETOU!