"Tadaima!" Precisely at eight o'clock Naruto came home.
He glanced up to see the clock on the wall when he kissed his wife, who was patiently waiting at the dining table. "Okaeri," She said gently stroking her husband hands on her face.
He came back to the table couple minutes later wearing his pyjama.
"How's today?" Hinata asked as usual.
"Everything's good, my dear.
He had not touch his food when his phone suddenly ringing. He held his chopstick mid air to receive it.
Hinata handed him his phone, noticing the caller's name which she did not know.
"Oh!" Naruto's brows immediately raised, "Yow, Sasuke-kun!"
"Naruto, I need to talk."
The unusual tone made Naruto concerned. "Yeah, what is it?"
"Do you have time tomorrow?"
What a coincidence. "Since you ask, I actually do, but, not tomorrow, how about the day after? Could you come to my house?"
"To your house?" a paused, "what time exactly?"
"We're inviting people to lunch, and it'll be great if you could come to join us. It supposed to be at lunch time, but, Sasuke you could come anytime you want."
"Well, send me your address then." Sasuke answered right away.
Naruto could not held back a smile. "Sure." He had been wanting to properly invite Sasuke to his house, and spend some times talking about anything.
Hinata squinted her two beautiful black marble eyes. Sasuke? She tried to recall.
"Uchiha Sasuke, I've told you about him, haven't I?" Said Naruto after finishing his call.
Hinata nodded, "Aah, I remembered, he's from Hokkaido and Sakura knows him too."
"Yep."
"He's the one who had lost contact?" Raising both of her eyebrows.
"Well, we never know right," Naruto was ready to devouring his dinner, "Itadakimasu!"
/
hERe aFtEr
9.
/
Tokyo, 2021
Spring
Behind the wooden door, her face showed up.
"Oh!" pair black onyx eyes lited up, "Sakura."
She stood still by the door. The uttered confusion only last two blinking eyes. "Please, come in," she finally said.
The way she opened the door, stepped back and guided him in; she must have been very familiar to this house.
"Sorry, I came late," Sasuke followed her inside.
Inside the main room, there was no one but boxes of present jumbled together fill up the room. At the corner there were two round tables full of cookies, cakes and beverages.
"It's fine. They're just began to announce the baby's gender."
They were walking toward the sliding door which connecting the dining room to the backyard, where the two families gathered. There was a giant white box on the middle between Naruto and someone-who was looking obviously pregnant-she must be his wife.
"Let's stay here," Sakura asked with her eyes.
"Okay." He nodded.
The two watchers stood side by side. Sasuke glanced to Sakura who was now leaning to the door frame. By the glimpse of it, he was certain that Sakura came here not as a guest.
The crowd started counting down to open the giant box. When the sky-blue baloons flew out of the box, the excitements was burst out; from cheering, clapping then to hugging each other, did not care which relative or family they were from.
"Aah," Sasuke was smiling as he once again, glanced to Sakura.
Out of the blue, seeing Sakura smiling from ear to ear, her emerald eyes looked like stinging from holding back her tears; made him remembered their graduation day. The moment when he saw her smiling behind the sea of parents and families gathered at the school yard with her own bucket of flowers, she stood proudly by herself.
/
Sakura said she needed to serve the cookies or something else, so she disappeared to the kitchen behind the dining room.
And Sasuke made his way toward the happy couple.
"Heeey, you didn't say you would come," Naruto exclaimed happily, "honey, this is my classmate from Hokkaido, Uchiha Sasuke," he then introduced his wife, Hinata.
She shaked Sasuke's hand gently, "Hinata. Thank you for coming, Sasuke-kun."
"Thank you for having me." Said Sasuke with a smile.
Sasuke tried to keep the smile to never leave his face when Naruto draged him to his family. Apparently, big families. Sasuke lost counting of how many cousins he had shaken his hand with.
He was in terribly awkward situation. Which made him wondered why it never crossed his mind in the first place.
Sasuke felt his relationship with Naruto itself was kind of bussiness related. Not to mention he was practically lost contact since their high school.
But, Classmate, Bestfriend, Naruto kept mention it.
In the middle of his stubborn-almost rude-silent with slight smile which never reached the eyes; a glass of orange juice dangling to his eyesight. He looked beyond the glass.
"Orange juice?" said Sakura with a jug of orange juice on her other hand.
He had been refusing to eat or drink when Naruto and Hinata asked him, yet somehow he took the glass, "Thank you, Sakura."
On the contrary to Sasuke's condition, Sakura was enjoying her time with both of Naruto and Hinata's family. She was busy helping them here and there as well, you could easily tell she was one of them, Sasuke noticed.
As if knowing Sasuke had been standing there-lack of physical movement-for almost an hour, she offered him a way out. "Could you help me for a moment?"
Sasuke intrigued. "Sure. What is it?" Honestly, he did not give much of a thought, looking back at Naruto and his wife who were still busy talking to their uncles and aunts.
Sakura tilted her head toward the sliding door with a smile.
"Okay."
Then they told Naruto they needed to do something and left the backyard.
Naruto's gaze lingered toward their back with intense curiosity.
They came back to the house, and was immediately greeted by two woman who was resting on the kitchen counter, "You came back with a help, Sakura-chan."
Sakura pulled a big grin, "Yes, finally." She then put down the jug beside the full and messy sink.
She turned to look at her helper, "Come here."
Sasuke followed her to another room at the corner.
"Could you help me to put these boxes inside?" In front of the tiny room there were boxes with various sizes laying on the floor.
Sasuke peeked through the narrow entrance of the storeroom between Sakura and the door. There was a tall vault inside, which already full of other boxes.
"It was too high for me, I'm afraid I'll nudge down some of those stuff then break it," Sakura cringed her face, "Hinata would kill me."
Without saying much-especially since the narrow space made the two of them suddenly had to almost squeezed their body to get inside-Sasuke merely nodded his head.
Sasuke took the folding ladder beside the vault then carefully opened it. He pulled up his sleeves until it reached the elbow before he began to climb up.
"Please, be careful, Sasuke-kun," Sakura handed the box slowly.
The first box effortlessly landed on the top shelf, where Sakura's hands barely reach it. "Okay, that's smooth," she mocked herself.
"What's all in these boxes by the way?"
"Mostly an expensive tablewares, and glass or ceramics vases and stuff. They need to make room for the guests and the presents of course. That's why."
"Aren't they gonna use it again after the party?" Sasuke noticed how their fingers-right now their hands-kept brushing onto each others.
"No, it's not safe to have these around baby, so they gotta store it anyway."
"Aah."
Sasuke had to make sure where he put or touch his hands. And in that split second process, Sasuke noticed the unevitable.
There was this thin-long scar on her left wrist. It looked like a scratch-but he was sure it was not-faintly visible from under her silver watch.
Certainly, there was nothing wrong with having scar on your body. But, it suddenly made him did not know what to think of it, when it was clearly on her wrist.
"That's it, that's the last one," said Sakura while clapping her hands off of the dust.
Sasuke slowly climbed down the ladder.
"Thank you for your help, Sasuke-kun."
"Is there anything else?"
She shook her head with a grin, "If you wanna wait for Naruto, you could use the main room, there's no one there. Besides, it won't be long, I think they all gonna go home after the anouncement."
He unnecessarily felt shy. I bet I need that advice. I must've been too obvious back there.
To his surprise, Sasuke enjoyed helping her more than to sit alone on the couch in the quiet room. His half empty glass of orange juice did not quite help anymore.
And he did not like the fact that the image of Sakura's scar preoccupied his mind.
/
Sakura was right, it did not take long for people finally went home and Naruto joined Sasuke in the living room.
"Let's talk in my room," Naruto led Sasuke to go upstair with him into his workspace.
"Well," Naruto let out a long sigh, "You knew all the consequences, I'll trust you on this." Naruto responded to which Sasuke filling him all the detail about his meeting with Orochimaru.
"I hope I could end this as soon as possible." Sasuke studied Naruto respond and expression.
And Naruto looked nothing but fully comprehend the circumstances. The Uchihas were really facing the end of their hotel bussiness, this is a bit reckless but Sasuke was desperate to end this, he thought deeply.
"That's all for now, Naruto," added Sasuke after some times.
"Sure, we just have to wait. I got my team to tracking all the investors as well, you already know this. So, you could take a break," Naruto was looking very serious, he took pause, "it won't help the hotel's proggres if you're too enggrosed on this."
Sasuke could not agree more. "That's why I came here," he recalled his reason in the first place.
Naruto smirked. Eventhough, Sasuke looked like a kid loosing his candy earlier at the backyard, at least he said he came because he wanted to.
"I'll make sure to bring something next time."
"Yeah, that would be nice," A full grin on Naruto's face. "Sooo," he continued.
By the look on Naruto's face, Sasuke knew what it was going to be.
"You've guys already met? She hasn't told me anything."
Sasuke looked nonchalant. Or, pretended to be one.
Naruto's raised both of his eyebrows in his dramatic way, demanding an explanation. So, Sasuke told him how he and Sakura met.
Listening to Sasuke, Naruto kept his smile the entire time.
"Sakura-chan insisted to help us today, I've told her not to, but what can I say they've been planning this since the first week."
"She looked familiar with everyone."
"She was close with Hinata for a long time, even before I met her again, because she was in relationship with Hinata's cousin, Neji." Naruto paused, they heard the girls were laughing from the first floor.
"But, they got even closer when Neji died."
Sasuke's eyes went wide.
"What happened?" Sasuke furrowed deepen.
"An accident happened. He was riding his motorcycle late at night and all of sudden rain was pouring hard, then he got slip. I remembered clearly, it was a hard time for all of us. Including Sakura," Naruto exhaled deep breath, "certainly Sakura."
Another pause filled in with the sound of the girls's chattering and giggling.
"She was such a wreck back then. Hinata used to met her at the hospital when she was having a meltdown, because she almost never go home. They both relied onto each other so much." Said Naruto finally.
It must've been hell for her. Sasuke gritted his teeth. Is that why she has the scar?
Sasuke never fancied the idea of wanting to know why someone do someone's bussiness. Hence he shuted his mouth up and his particular thought as well.
Even if he had the urgency to ask, the person who has the right to answer it was Sakura only.
"So, do you guys wanna stay for dinner?" Naruto asked both of his long-friends when they went back to the living room.
The two were exchanging glance without saying a word. As though knowing each other's answer.
"I've asked her just that," Hanabi responded, "But, she said she wanna go home."
"Thank you, Naruto, but maybe next time," Sasuke said almost whispering his words.
Naruto looked at Sakura who was now put an apologetic face. "I'll help you guys finish cleaning this up," she said referring to the pile of presents.
Naruto squinting his eyes. They kept raising his suspicion.
/
Sakura kissed the Hyuuga sisters goodbye. She closed the door behind her and stepping down the small staircase in front of the door. She noticed Naruto and Sasuke who were still talking behind the tall bushes at the front gate.
"There she is," Naruto turned around.
Sakura looked puzzled. "What is it?"
"Nothing. I just told Sasuke to give you a ride."
You what? Sakura tilted her head. You're trying to be a good dad on me, huh?
On the other hand, Sasuke just enjoyed standing there sucking his podstick, either out of hunger or for distraction. It had been a very long time since he used it. He lowered his eyelashes to observed Sakura's reaction.
She looked surprised and confused at the same time.
"Thank you for coming today, both of you, it means a lot to me. I really wanted us to spend more time together, but of course I had to help Hinata, so maybe some other time, right?"
Sakura pulled him in a hug, "Okay, just get inside already, Naruto," she responded quickly.
Sasuke tap him by the shoulder.
The bright cerulean eyes looked sparkling under the radiance of the orange sky. He was beaming, looking back and forth to his two friends.
What a perfect day for Naruto.
Disappeared behind the door, Naruto left them hoping they could spend the time he could not gave them. Even if he could ask for more, he wished for them to fill the gap of nine years they were apart.
ePiLoGue
Itachi took Sakura by the hand, "Thank you so much, Sakura-chan," he held it tightly, tried to emphasizing the message in his words.
Today was his last check up at the hospital. The effect of his therapies with doctor Hiramoto surprisingly quicker than they had expected. Professor Dai gave him the medical check up results this morning, and he was happily announced that it was all good.
Itachi was indeed feeling a lot better than ever. And he was thrilled.
"I know it's hard, but never impossible. Please, take good care of your health, Itachi-kun."
Sakura was well aware that doctor Hiramoto played big role to his proggres, but the one who really struggled was always the patient.
"And thank you for doing your best," she added returning Itachi's grip.
It was such an emotional moment for Itachi. He did not realized someone was watching over his back.
Tapping his fingers on the steering wheel; a pair of onyx eyes were staring indefferently from inside the car.
Sakura and Itachi ended their brief conversation at the hospital lobby by took a bow to each other. Itachi walked toward the car which already waiting outside. And then he noticed the weary and annoyed look written on all over his brother's face.
Itachi intensely staring at his brother beside him. "I've told you to come with me, right?"
And Sasuke was unfazed, "I said nothing though."
"How's the results?" Asked Sasuke trying to break the provoking stare.
"Worth the struggle. Let's just go get mother."