Sakura sighed as she entered the kitchens. "Hey, you finished?" Rin asked, noticing her. Sakura smiled and nodded.
"Honestly, who would have thought," Sakura muttered. Sakura would never get over how good it felt to help her patients get better, now matter how taxing or strenuous the work was for her. "All that tea was missing was some watermelon seeds."
"Yeah, that is kinda strange," Rin said. "Especially since Suguro's dad wanted me to hand them out. Wonder if he knew."
"I actually wouldn't put it past him," Sakura said. "Where are you guys going now?"
"We're headed to the field office's guardhouse to give them dinner," Shima answered. "Okumura, can we go now? These are awfully heavy." The demon child was holding two large stacks of lunch boxes while Shima was only holding four.
"Wuss." Sakura rolled her eyes at him.
"Hey! Not all of us have superhuman strength!" Shima said quickly, glaring slightly at her.
"Just go," Sakura said with a huff. She watched the four boys leave out of the kitchen.
"I must thank you for everything you've done especially," Okami said, smiling at the pinkette.
"Huh? Oh no problem, helping people is my job after all," Sakura said with a smile. And oh what a wonderful job it is, Sakura lived for helping people.
"No, you saved the branch," Okami said. "They should all be back up in matter a days now thanks to you."
"Your husband is partially to thank," Sakura confessed. "He's the one that gave Rin the watermelons. Honestly I just didn't want the slices passed out without knowing how they would affect everyone. I came upon the positive reaction by pure chance."
"Still, thank you so much," Okami said. "And thank you for looking after my son."
"Suguro? No! He hardly needs someone to look after him, he's fine on his own," Sakura said, her cheeks turning pink. The smile on her face nearly faltered as she thought back to the times she attacked Suguro, with and without realizing she had done it. Just as quickly as those thoughts appeared so did the incident this afternoon, and on the train ride. "Actually, if anything, he's been helping me a lot lately, despite our arguments."
"Oh? Why would you two be fighting?" Okami asked. "You two seem close, I heard about this afternoon."
Sakura grimaced as she thought about Rin and Suguro. "Him and my brother, Rin, are actually the ones in the fight. It took a slightly hostile turn for a little while, and, I...nearly killed Suguro. I'm sorry, but I don't take threats to my family lightly, and unlike him, I actually have the guts to follow through."
"Oh, I'm sorry you were put in that position," Okami said a frown marring her face. "Whatever did he do to Rin?"
Sakura laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her neck. "He…kinda threatened to kill him if he hurt Shima and Konekomaru. He punched Rin and I…might have drawn my sword without completely thinking."
Okami frowned, crossing her arms. Sakura looked at her nervously, hoping that the angry look wasn't meant for her. "I'll talk to Ryuji if you'd like." Sakura let out a silent sigh of relief.
"No, this is something they need to figure out on their own," Sakura said. "But if things do get hostile again, I want to apologize in advance."
Okami breathed out a laugh. "No problem. Here, why don't you take one of the extra lunches and go eat dinner. You deserve a break."
"Oh, sure." Sakura bowed as she accepted the lunch. She looked over and saw Shiemi looking at her nervously. The blonde gasped and turned away quickly, returning her attention to the cutting board. Shiemi had been friendly before, but Sakura wondered what caused her to shrink back. In her experiences people didn't take too kindly to finding out their friend was a demon, but they still came around pretty quickly. Sakura hummed and shook her head. She smiled at Okami and thanked her once more before leaving.
Sakura blinked as she saw Suguro. He was slouched over, muttering something in his sleep. She giggled and walked closer to him. The closer she got, the clearer the words were, it sounded like he was mumbling chants under his breath. Sakura crouched down next to Suguro and poked his cheek, waking him up. Suguro jumped back, looking around wildly. When his eyes settled on her, he relaxed.
"Oh, 's just you." He moaned and rubbed his eyes.
"Yeah, you tired?" Sakura asked with a smirk. "I can help you to your room if you need me to."
"No, should be fine." Suguro grunted as he stood up, wobbling in his place. Sakura was quick to catch him, laughing lightly.
"You sure?" She asked teasingly.
"What 's with you?" Suguro asked, confusing her for a moment.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked. "Are you actually trying to pick a fight?"
"No, why would I?" Suguro asked, looking at her in confusion. "You'd kick my ass."
Sakura laughed and helped him sit back down. "Indeed I would. So it seems like you have a brain after all."
"Not like yours." Sakura blinked, not expecting that comment. Suguro had done many things that surprised her, and others that had confused her, yet, his statement just then easily did both.
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked.
"Your mind, 's…incredible," Suguro muttered, a faraway look in his eyes. "You get top marks 'n class, you cured everyone of the poison, and then there's the stories you tell, anyone that can do things like that…they're incredible."
"Oh, I'm really nothing special," Sakura said with a sad smile. Images of Sasuke and Naruto flashed through her mind."My teammates can do so much more than me."
"Coulda fooled me," Suguro muttered.
"Come on, you saw Gaara and his siblings, they could take me down easily," Sakura said simply. She chose to leave out the fact that they nearly succeeded in killing her when they were kids. It was probably best to let Suguro imagine what could happen between the four of them.
"I don't believe that, not for a minute," Suguro said quietly. Well, that wasn't what she thought he'd imagine.
Sakura stared at him for a moment, shaking her head in disbelief. "What is with you tonight?" Suguro sure was acting strange, Sakura could barely understand a word he was saying.
"Nothing," Suguro muttered. He turned away from her, staring at the garden with unfocused eyes. "Hey, why do you hate me so much?"
"'Hate you'? I don't hate you," Sakura said. "Where'd you get that idea?"
"You always threaten ta kill me," Suguro pointed out.
Sakura chuckled and shook her head. "I threaten you because you threaten Rin. He's family, I don't take threats on my family lightly."
"Guess we're a lot alike," Suguro muttered. "I can't stand the thought of anyone hurting my friends or family."
"It's something that everyone feels," Sakura said. "But, since we're on the subject, why do you hate me?"
"I could never hate you," Suguro said. "Far from it."
"...what do you mean?" Sakura asked. Her face became warm at Suguro's implications.
"You're amazing," Suguro said simply. "Actually, amazing doesn't even do you justice."
"Okay, where is this coming from?" Sakura asked, laughing nervously.
"Don't know," Suguro answered. The two fell into a slightly awkward silence. "Where are you from anyway."
"I've already told you, Konaha." Sakura smiled fondly, remembering her village.
"No, I mean...what's it like?" Suguro asked. "And I don't just mean war stories."
"Everyday life?" Sakura hummed and leaned back on her hands, looking up at the sky. "It was warm, every day, and I was always surrounded by friends. There was never a dull moment, and I always heard laughter. The village is beautiful, nothing could compare to it."
"Course not, it's your home," Suguro said. "Home is where the heart is after all."
"But my heart doesn't long for Konaha, no matter how I miss it," Sakura said, placing a hand over her chest. "All I want is to be surrounded by friends and family." Suguro nodded in agreement and drank from the can he was holding.
"I'm going to bed." Sakura blinked and turned to look at him, only to gasp when his face was suddenly next to hers. His lips were warm against hers, a welcomed, yet completely unexpected, change from the cool breeze the night offered. Sakura breathed in a sharp breath from her nose, her whole face turning pink. "G'night Haruno." Suguro stood up, not even acknowledging the fact that he had kissed her.
"W-Wait a minute!" Sakura shouted, stopping him. "Wha-what the hell was that?"
"...a kiss?" Suguro looked at her in confusion, as if what he did was so simple. Sakura's eyes widened at his nonchalant attitude. He acted like kissing her was something normal, something he did every day. Which it completely was not! Not even close!
"I mean, why!" Sakura shouted. "Why did you do that?"
"Oh." Suguro shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. "'Cause I like ya."
"Wha-? Since when?" Sakura asked. Her face darkened when she heard her voice crack, the first word coming out as a squeak.
"If I had to say…since the training camp," Suguro said. "It was amazing how you sacrificed yourself for Okumura." Sakura didn't get to say anything more before he disappeared. She sat there for a moment, the past few minutes playing in her head on repeat. His confession pounded in her head, making it spin.
"Wha-? Why? What the-? Wait a minute!" Sakura shouted in distress, her ears turning red. Sakura could still feel his lips over hers, the area still burning. She was beginning to feel a little lightheaded as well. "Get back here Suguro!"
"Is this what you spend your nights doing now?" Sakura bristled at the intruding voice. She slowly turned towards the garden, glaring at the man standing there. A can was in his hand and he was sniffing it, a grimace on his face. "Getting drunk and seducing teenagers?"
"Sh-Shut the hell up!" Sakura shouted, throwing Suguro's discarded lunch box at him. He easily dodged and gave her an unimpressed look.
"Mind telling me what I'm doing here, Sakura?" Sakura jumped up, growling lowly at Sasuke. The man in front of her was dressed humbly. He was wearing a dark blue shirt, a longer black shirt under it. He had on black shinobi pants, the ends frayed and torn. Sasuke had a gray shawl wrapped around his neck, a matching cloth headband was wrapped around his forehead. "And it's not like you to get drunk with one can of cheap beer."
"Wait...beer?" Sakura asked. She jumped into the garden and ran over to him, ripping the can out of his hand. She sniffed it before taking a small sip. The familiar taste of cheap alcohol washed over her tongue. Relief filled through her, and shortly after, so did a sense of nervousness. People tended to be honest when they were drunk after all, a fact that Sakura knew very well, it had gotten her into some awkward situations in the past. And, even through her thoughts distracting her, Sakura hadn't noticed a single tell of a lie when Suguro confessed."Oh thank god he was drunk! I knew there was something wrong with him!" She laughed lightly, her nerves entering the laugh. "But why the hell did he do that?" She groaned and hit her head against his chest. "Sasuke…I'm in trouble."
"No kidding," Sasuke said with a sigh. "Care to explain why I'm here?" Sakura groaned and looked up at him, pouting.
"Can't I just leave you in the dark?" She asked.
Sasuke huffed and rolled his eyes. "What do you think? Start talking."
Chatter filled the dining hall as various exorcists and monks ate breakfast. The maids walked along the aisles, placing food on the trays so the guests could eat, and refilling drinks. At the end on one of the aisles, away from everybody else, Sasuke and Sakura sat across from each other, the air around Sakura was tense as Sasuke stared at her, his eyes never blinking.
His eyes finally closed when he shook his head in disbelief. "Unbelievable."
"Well you better believe it!" Sakura said. "I mean the proof is staring you in the face!" Sasuke rubbed his forehead, glancing up at her. His eyes zeroed onto her tail, watching it sway back and forth as if it were wary of him.
"What is with this team and demons?" Sasuke asked. "I swear, he attracts them."
Sakura's face brightened and she leaned forward, smiling at him. "He's returned?" Her face fell when Sasuke shook his head.
"No." Sasuke sighed and placed his hands on his knees. "No one's heard from him in months. Actually, it's almost been a year." He raised an eyebrow as he watched her tail fluidly change from one emotion to another in a matter of seconds. It had tensed and began wagging at the thought of Naruto, stilled at Sasuke's words, and was now drooping, as if there was no life in it at all. It was interesting to watch, to say the least. At least he knew she could never hide her true feelings from him, not with a tail that expressive.
"But why?" Sakura asked sadly. "Naruto wouldn't just disappear like that for no reason!"
"I don't know, no one does," Sasuke said. "But we can't dwell on it right now. There's nothing we can do at the moment, both of our hands are tied." He picked up his chopsticks and grabbed the bowl of rice.
"I know that." Sakura looked at her breakfast sadly. She took out her pills and swallowed one, drinking some tea right after to wash it down. However after the tea she just looked at her tray sadly, not raising a finger to touch the food in front of her.
"Eat, or else you'll pass out," Sasuke ordered. Sakura nodded and picked at her fish. Sasuke watched her pick up a piece and eat it, choosing then to finally ask a question that had been weighing on his mind. "So, who was that guy last night?" He would never admit it but the look on her face as she nearly choked on her fish was slightly funny.
"R-Ryuji Suguro," Sakura answered. "He's an Exwire like me."
"What does that mean?" Sasuke asked.
"Um, from what I understand, it's the equivalent of a genin. A Page is basically an academy student, but 'Exwire's are still treated like an academy student would be, but with a few more freedoms."
"They're like an in-between," Sasuke said. Sakura nodded and ate her rice.
"Everyone's training to be an exorcist," Sakura said. "However, exorcists are a bit more complex in this world."
"An exorcist, huh?" Sasuke hummed, finishing his miso soup. "I heard Kirigakure caught a demon recently. The first in a while so they had a huge festival to celebrate. Made a whole show out of killing the demon right in the middle of the village. The Elders have been talking and have decided that Konaha is due for one soon. They just need to catch a demon."
"Remind me to stay away for a while," Sakura said quietly. Her eyes widened and she ducked her head, the tips of her ears turning red. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, turning around to see what she had seen. Suguro was entering the dining hall, Konekomaru beside him.
"Oh look, it's lover boy." Sakura's face brightened at his choice of words.
"He is not!" Sakura growled. She reached over the tables and punched his shoulder, glaring at him darkly.
"Oh, morning Haruno," Suguro greeted, approaching the two tables.
"M-Morning, Suguro, Konekomaru." Sakura sat back down, keeping her head bowed. After last night she couldn't bare the thought of looking him in the eyes.
"You okay?" Suguro asked.
"Yeah, just had a little something to drink last night," Sakura said with a laugh.
"What a coincidence." Suguro huffed and shook his head. "Ms. Kirigakure said she gave us some soda last night, but it was really alcohol. I got drunk and fell asleep. I don't remember anything from last night." Sakura's head snapped up and she looked at him in shock.
"Nothing?" Sakura asked. Suguro shook his head. Relief flooded through her that moment. Suguro didn't remember confessing to her, so as long as she didn't acknowledge it, it could be like the whole thing never happened, she hoped. Sakura laughed, smiling slightly. "Really? One can had that much of an affect on you? And it was probably cheap too, man, you're such a lightweight."
"Hey! I don't drink daily like the two of you!" Suguro said.
"I do not drink daily thank you very much!" Konekomaru leaned back as the two bantered. A shiver went down Konekomaru's spine as he felt someone staring at him, he blinked, looking down at the man sitting a ways away from him. Sasuke observed him, taking the young monk in, there was something in his eyes that made Konekomaru flinch back and grab Suguro's arm.
"Hey, Bon…?" He whispered, tugging on Bon's sleeve.
"What is it Konekomaru?" Suguro asked. Konekomaru pointed at Sasuke, looking at him nervously. Sasuke turned his attention from Konekomaru to Suguro, his gaze sending a shiver down the boy's spine as well.
"Who's this?" Suguro asked, looking at him nervously.
"My jailer," Sakura answered with a slight smirk.
"Sasuke Uchiha, at your service." He bowed his head mockingly before turning back to his breakfast. "As she said, I'm her new guard. And oh what fun it is."
"Sasuke." Sasuke hummed and turned back to look at her blankly.
"What Sakura?" Sakura groaned and shook her head, a slight smile on her face.
"Nothing, just eat your damn breakfast."
Sasuke pouted as he raised his rice. "But it wasn't made by you. Why would I ever eat anything that wasn't made by your lovely hands." Through his pout the two arias could see a playful and mischievous intent.
"I will kill you." Sasuke snorted quietly and continued to eat. "He's my teammate from Konaha. He was on the original Team 7 with me and Naruto. He's a jackass, but he's harmless, for the most part anyway. Recently he seems to think he's developed a sense of humor, twisted and screwed as it may be. Like I said though, he's harmless."
"If you say so." Suguro lead Konekomaru to the tables set up in the next row, sitting down and beginning to eat.
"So, there's two of them," Sasuke said.
"There are two girls, and three more guys, not counting our teachers," Sakura said.
"You created a book?" Sasuke asked.
"Of course. I'll show you later, it's sealed in my scroll right now," Sakura answered. "Oh! Rin-chan!" She waved her brother over. Rin blinked tiredly and grumbled, walking over to her. He sat down next to her and yawned, his hand reaching up to rub at his eyes.
"Mornin' Sakura." Rin yawned once more, his tail shaking as he did so.
"Impressive bedhead." Sakura smirked and ran her fingers through his hair, messing it up even more. Rin lightly slapped her hand away. He picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of food before acknowledging Sasuke.
"Who's he?" Rin asked.
"Uh, Rin, this is my new guard, Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke, this is Rin Okumura, my younger brother, and fellow demon." Sakura gestured between the two of them, nervous about the introductions. Sakura had mentioned Sasuke to him before, but so far, it hadn't been pleasant things. Of course, she was telling Rin stories in order of happenings, so she hadn't really been able to get to the part where Sasuke had had a change of heart and saved them all. Sakura just hoped that Rin was too tired to remember any of that.
Rin stared at Sasuke for a moment, chewing on his food. His eyes widened and he jumped up, pointing at him.
"Wait a minute! You're that jackass that broke her heart and tried to kill her!" Rin shouted. Damn, luck was not on her side lately. Sakura looked around nervously, noticing how everyone turned to look at the three of them.
Sasuke rolled his eyes and put his drink down. "Indeed I am. You're smart, would you like some candy?" Rin growled at the smirk on his face.
"Rin, please calm down," Sakura said, pulling on his hand.
"But sis! How can you stand to be near this guy?" Rin asked. "He betrayed you! In every possible way!"
Sakura huffed, rolling her eyes. "Rin." she gave him a warning look but he ignored it.
"No! Why does he have to be your guard?" Rin asked.
"Rin!" Sakura shouted, glaring at him. "You're disturbing everyone, so be quite. I'll only talk to you once you've calmed down." She wrapped her hand around his tail and pulled him down harshly.
"I'm finished." Sasuke stood up, stretching his arms. "You said today was your day off?"
"Yeah, I'll meet you in the garden," Sakura said. Sasuke nodded and left, pulling his shawl back on. Sakura sighed and turned to Rin, glaring at him. "People can change you know!"
"How the hell can he change?" Rin asked. "You said it yourself, he doesn't care for you or the village."
"No, I said he 'didn't'," Sakura said. She groaned and rubbed her head, she really should have spent more time telling Rin about her teammates history, especially the recent history, but, in her defense, she didn't expect Sasuke to appear as her latest guard. Oh, just her luck. "Things are complicated, okay? I don't expect you to understand."
"And why not?" Rin asked, slamming his hand on the table.
"Because of how you're reacting now." Rin flinched back at the hard look his sister gave him. "Rin, things happen, okay? People make mistakes. They realize them, and they make up for them. The village screwed Sasuke over, he was completely justified in his hatred. We were the ones in the wrong to try and force him to get over it. Naruto and Sasuke saved our world, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be sitting here right now, and this world would have a lot more problems than just with this whole Impure Eyes…thing." Sakura sighed and stood up, ruffling his hair. "Besides, it shows how much of a mature adult you can be if you forgive someone for their past mistakes. Sasuke's been doing nothing but make up for it since he returned. I'm going to go train, I'll see you later."
Rin watched her leave, guilt immediately gripping his stomach as she did.
"What was that about?" Suguro asked. Rin turned around and sighed.
"That was her old teammate, Sasuke," Rin answered. "She's told me stories about him. Apparently he betrayed their village for power and broke her heart, even tried to kill her at one point."
"Broke her heart?" Suguro raised an eyebrow, looking for an answer.
"Sakura was in love with him," Rin said. Suguro's eyes widened at the information. "She tried to get him to stay by confessing, but he rejected her, rather harshly too. Ever since then, he's done nothing but cause her grief."
"Really? They seemed to get along," Suguro said.
"Yeah, I don't know exactly what happened," Rin said. "But I do know that he tried to kill her and her closest friends several times. Even if she does, I don't trust him. His hands…are soaking with blood. He's much more of a demon than I could ever be."
"Haruno can handle herself," Suguro said. "If anything happened, I'm sure she could take him down. You know she could."
"Yeah, doesn't stop me from worrying though," Rin said. "Everyone has their weakness."