FRIEND

Chapter 8

They jumped out of the portal and it closed behind them shortly. The feeling in their bones got lighter. The ice world had made them a little slower in comparison. Sasuke stood there letting all the feelings come back to his hands and feet, since Sakura still had his jacket.

Truth be told, even though he was used to the climate, it still got cold after a while. As he was lost in his thoughts he could see Sakura approaching him.

"Here you go." She said as she reached around her shoulders and pulled off the cloak.

"Thank you" she added. The rest of the team stood there. She quietly made her way to Haru. Sasuke watched him put his hand around Sakura and pull her in endearingly. His flesh burnt hot.

"We should head back" Sasuke said.

"What happened in ther-" Ino was cut off when Sasuke leapt onto the trees and went back to the direction they came from.

Flashback

A loud snap causes him to open his eyes. "Wake up" one of the guards said. A grunt was all that needed to escape from his lips for the guard to know he was wide awake.

An arm jerked him upwards. His anger fueled. The metal around his head rattled.

"Let go of me" He said as the metal was unbuckled from around his head. His sight had been returned.

The guard simply threw the contraption on the ground before he made his way to the bars that locked him in the enclosed space.

Sasukes mind wondered why his sight was returned to him, and his mind would only allow him to revisit Sakuras promise to him. She had that thing removed in a day, he was impressed to say the least.

The guard makes his way back around.

"You have a visitor" He knew exactly who had come to see him.

As he watched her walk up, his heart fluttered like it did in the hospital. A warm smile enveloped her face, and she sat down holding yet another basket in her hand.

"I'm glad they removed that monstrosity" was the first thing Sakuras sweet face spat out. He chuckled at the remark, and she noticed.

"I brought you something again, it's not food though. Well it is, but it's also something else." She babbled. He watched her silently.

A sheepish smile covered her face as she pulled out a few apples. Tomatoes, and a piece of paper out of the basket.

Her bangs had gotten slightly long, he was having trouble seeing her eyes. He wished she would move them out of the way. It was as if she had read his mind, and that is exactly what she did. She parted the hair to the side and made eye contact with him.

"I have a letter for you." she said.

"From who?"

"Naruto. He informed us his mission is going to take longer than expected since most of the countries are still recovering from the war. He has had to make some stops, so he sent you a letter."

"Have you read it yet?" Sasuke asks Sakura.

"No, he sent it to Kakashi-sama"

"Will you read it to me?" Sasuke said as he picked up an apple. It was an odd request, Sasuke was not aware of that. He could have read it himself, but he did what he pleased, and said what came to mind.

Sakura cleared her voice.

"Oi teme, heard you're allowed to have visitors in prison now. Glad to hear you're not alone. Unfortunately I'm away for another 2 weeks at best. I know Sakura-chan is probably visiting so be kind to her and don't be the jerk you always are. See ya soon." Sakura finished with half a giggle.

"Don't worry Sasuke, you're not being a jerk to me. Your behaviour is less hostile than your environment which says a lot." She smiles at him.

He nods in agreement.

"Oh I almost forgot, I brought you something else."

"Hn?" He asked as she pulled out a black book from underneath her coat.

"I brought you a book, well actually I brought it last time as well but seeing as you were visually… impaired I thought I'd just give it to you when you werent."

"This is one of my favourite books, I think you'll enjoy it. Since there is no source of entertainment, just read this and let me know how you like it."

Sasuke observed the book. He nodded in reply. "Well I have to get going, I'll see you soon."

She got up, and turned around.

"Bye" escaped his lips which made Sakura smile on her way out.

He went back to his cell and sat on the single bed looking at the book in the dim lighting. Out of sheer boredom, he started reading it.

She was right, this book was really good. He had gotten completely engaged into the story.

As night fell, and the sun dawned, Sasuke couldn't put the book down. He was reading about a girl who had been entered into a dangerous competition where making it out alive was the main objective. Even when all the odds were against her, she figured out ways to keep herself alive.

He already saw the similarities between him, and the protagonist, and sometimes he would think about the similarities Sakura shared with the characters. For once, he was really excited to talk about something. He could not wait until the next time the pinkette would show her face.

Present

"You're more transparent than you think teme" The blondie said as he skipped trees alongside the raven haired man.

"What are you going on about this time?" he replied.

"Just because I don't have a sharingan, and a rinnegan for eyes doesn't mean I'm blind. I can tell something is bothering you, and the only time I sense it is when you're around Sakura-chan. So are you going to tell me directly or will I have to watch the painful longing look in your eyes for the next century"

"Shut up, you don't know what you're talking about."

"So why did you put her in a genjutsu?" The question came out of nowhere. Which caused Sasuke to physically look at Naruto as he skipped. The others were a fair distance behind.

"How do you even know about that"

"I might have been drunk, but I still had functioning ears."

"It's none of your business."

"No, It IS my business. Why would you put a teammate under genjutsu if it wasn't necessary. I will no longer watch that stupid look on your face every time Sakura is beside Haru because it clearly bothers you. So why the hell did you do it?"

"I wanted time."

"For what? A bouquet to greet her with?" Naruto scoffed.

"Just leave it."

"You know I'll keep asking until you tell me the truth."

"Do what you want." He said before speeding up even more. He hadn't thought his emotions were so transparent. If dense Naruto could tell, could Sakura also tell? He stopped thinking about it before it slowed down his performance.

He knows what he did, and he had to live with it. He could not face Sakura in the middle of nowhere with no reason to be in her life all of a sudden. So he needed time, and he did the only thing that came to mind. He put her in a genjutsu, which was quite stupid of him since genjutsu did not work on Sakura. He knew this, but certain situations can make the smartest man a fool. -

"How much longer?" A voice said, unshackling him from his thoughts. He turned his head backwards to find Sakura right beside them, but it wasn't Sakura who had said it.

"Naruto, you can literally see the village gates from here. Where is your head at?" She said with a sigh.

They walked until they got to the gates.

"Will all of us need to report back? Or only the people that went in." Said Haru as he adjusted his boots that had frozen mud all over.

"I think the three of us should be fine, you guys can head home." Said Sakura in reply to Haru.

She looked Ino and gave a reassuring nod. Ino had tried to speak to Sakura on their way back, but it would just end up in small talk because Sakuras mind was somewhere else completely. She didn't know what had gotten into her on the battlefield. She had lost her cool, and composure.

"Ino will you head to my apartment? I need to speak to you about something. Breakfast is on me. I'll be back shortly."

"Hm." Her friend replied.

"I guess I'll go back to my place then." Haru said.

"I'll see you soon." Sakura said to him as he left.

"Let's go see Kakashi-sama." Said Naruto.

They made no small talk, and quietly walked over to the building. The team had gone through a lot together, but silences were never so brutal between them. Naruto knew even he couldn't diffuse the situation.

They all walked into Kakashis office to find him slumped over a bunch of paper work fully asleep.

"OI SENSEI." Narutos loud voice yelled. Kakashi snapped out of his sleep.

"You guys are back? What happened?" He said adjusting himself in his chair.

The question triggered Narutos loud mouth tendencies and he went onto a whole tale with no detail spared.

"Huh, four living Otsutsukis. Are you sure there are no others left?"

"I am not sure. I did not detect anyone else's chakra other than theirs."

"Sakura took care of most of them though." Sasuke finished.

"Thank you. You guys may go on and rest now, the mission was a success in my opinion."

Both Sakura and Naruto said bye, and Sasuke, like always, stayed quiet and made his exit.

Sakura quietly walked home glad Ino was waiting for her there. She needed a friend this week more than ever.

She walked into her apartment complex, and stood in front of the grey door rummaging through her purse looking for her keys, in case Ino was sleeping.

Ino had heard Sakura outside the door and opened the door for her. Ino always had a spare key to Sakuras home.

Ino was wearing Sakuras T-shirt, and shorts. She had cleaned up in the time she was gone. She walked in, took off her shoes, and put down all the mission gear and sat down on the round table in her kitchen. Ino followed, and sat down beside her.

"Will you tell me what's going on, or will you make me ask?" Sakuras quiet sigh caught in her throat.

"He's back"

"I know"

"Did anything happen during the mission?" Ino asked.

"No. Maybe. I don't know." She said with her head in between her elbows.

"What about Haru?" Ino asked cautiously.

"What about him?" She said looking up.

"Do you still think you can carry on with him?"

"Yes. It's not him I'm worried about, it's just he's back. I don't know how to act towards him."

"It's like he's trying lives on. Every few years, he does something different, and it ends up directly affecting me. I don't understand what goes on in his head."

"It's not your responsibility to understand that. He owes you many apologies, but we all know Sasuke you're not getting that from him again."

"You know he put me under a genjutsu when I bumped into him the night he was back."

"What?" Ino said to confirm what her friend had just said.

"Yeah, what does that mean?"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I don't even know what's going on, what was I supposed to tell you."

Ino reached out her hand and it landed on top of Sakuras.

"Take it slow. I don't know what any of it means either, but before you decide anything about him remember all that you gave up, and all that you had to do to get rid of the ghost of him."

"We don't have to talk about what he did. If there's one thing I'm not letting him get the satisfaction of is that he got to me this time. That night was the last time he got anything out of me. I have the potential to be happy, and I will not blow it away just because he is back."

Ino nodded in approval.

"Is that what was bothering you at the park?" Ino inquired. Sakura let out a laugh.

"You really are your fathers daughter. You know exactly when to ask the questions."

They both shared a small smile. That answer had been enough for Ino to know, that was exactly why she was on a swing in the middle of the night.

"I told you breakfast was on me, get something from my closet, and let's go out."

Sorry for the late update babes. Was busy!