In which trips are taken and serious discussions are had.
She felt like she deserved a break from all her training. So she hitched a ride with Sakura to the bridge to guard Tazuna. Kakashi didn't want her doing anything more until they got back to Konoha.
"Be careful." Kakashi fretted.
"I always am!" Sakura beamed. On the walk there Sakura chatted away and Haruhi half-heartedly payed attention. It wasn't that was she said wasn't interesting, it was just the heavy sun made her lethargic.
Kakashi had become super productive lately, checking up on Haruhi whenever possible. She didn't know what to make of it.
Sakura sat on the end of the bridge and Haruhi was nearly lulled to sleep by the dinging of the hammers.
"I'm here because I finished before them!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Huh. You're joking!" Tazuna said.
Sakura growled.
"Taunza! Uh, I need to talk to you." A man said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Haruhi gave him the stink eye. How dare he interrupt her beauty sleep?
"Huh, what about?" Tazuna asked, butting down the steel bars.
"-I've pushed my luck far enough. I want out!" The man said.
Haruhi opened both of her eyes fully. What a coward. Didn't he realize how important this bridge was? She sneered, closing one eye and keeping the opened one trained on the man who wanted to abandon the project.
"Now you're going to quit on me just like that! You're kidding!" Tazuna yelled, more upset than she had ever seen him.
"Gato and his thugs will show up eventually, and when they do, they will kill you and the bridge won't get built anyway. "He sighed, "It's a lost cause Tazuna, why don't we stop while we can still get out of this alive?"
Sakura was watching in rapt attention. From this angle Haruhi could see her mouth drop open a little bit.
"No chance." He said steely. "This is our bridge. Our island is poor and it will stay that way until this bridge connects us to the mainland! Commerce, trade, and Hope! That's what we're building here." Tazuna shouted.
"There's not going to be much hope if were all dead."
A beat of silence.
"It's already noon. Let's break for lunch." Tazuna walked past him without looking back.
"Tazuna! lets not end it like this!"
"Save your breath. And don't bother coming back after lunch." And with that he walked away.
They ran to catch up, and when Haruhi voiced her thoughts on the deserter, calling him a coward, Tazuna snapped at her.
"Try putting yourself in his shoes, will ya! I'm not exactly happen with him either, but I understand where he's coming from!" Tazuna rasped, then took a swig of beer.
Haruhi sank down, a scowl and a blush coating her face.
Instead of chatting like she did before, Sakura was silent, with an out of character pensive look on her face. Haruhi tried grabbing her hand but couldn't reach. Haruhi thought of the events leading up to this.
They had gone to the bridge and left Naruto and Sasuke behind to train. It was pretty funny seeing the looks on the boys faces.
Naruto clenched his fist, glaring down the tree like it was Zabuza incarnate. Sasuke's gaze was lodged on Sakura in disbelief. The girl preened before her smile slipped when Sasuke didn't break face and continued to look on with point blank disbelief.
She lost her concentration and jumped down, smiling at Kakashi's words.
"Girl power!" Haruhi cheered, trying to lighten the atmosphere. It worked, as Sakura giggled and Naruto started one of his rants. Sasuke turned away, with no congratulations or acknowledgement besides an annoyed grunt.
Fuckin twerp.
But she saw how he clenched his fist, and the desperation to do better in the way he glared at the tree.
"Hey Sakura! Exactly how did you do that?" Haruhi asked as loudly as possible.
In a chatty mood, she launched into a detailed explanation, Sasuke's and Naruto's ears both tuned in.
Kakashi sent them to the bridge and Sakura tried to lift the mood by chatting and it worked! Until that worker put a wrecking ball through it.
They were walking down a dirt road, roof shingles falling off the houses, paint cracked and faded, water stains on the houses foundations. It was a far cry from Konoha. Or maybe it wasn't, cause the only places she went was with the genin on missions and Kakashi.
"Um, where are we going?" Sakura said over the guttural sounds of the motorboats.
"You wanna eat tonight don't ya? I gotta pick up some things for dinner." Haruhi nodded in understanding. She was glad she was so small now-she was easy to feed.
A man with sallow cheeks walked past with a sign she couldn't read. She assumed he was asking for food. People who stood on the side-streets had their heads bowed and refused to look anyone in the eye. Women held their malnourished children close. A prostitute was barely visible down one of the dark alleyways. Two young children sat defeated against the side of a falling apart building.
"Thief!" A voice cried out. A small boy ran in and out of the side streets. It rang strongly against the nearly silent buildings. And then she realized why she was so unnerved. She had never seen this many people, this silent.
"All these people...can't anyone help them?" Sakura asked looking around and taking in the slumped over forms.
"We are. Tazuna is." Haruhi replied.
"..."
They walked in silence for a bit more. Haruhi didn't like the eyes Sakura was getting. The people who did look up stared at her bag (the one she was in) greedily.
"Um, Sakura?" Haruhi tried calling. But she was way too lost in thought.
"Sak-AH!"
"What-HEY!"
With a roundhouse kick, Sakura knocked the man who grabbed her bag unconscious. People in the streets pointed and muttered as they hurried back to Tazuna.
"Huh. You really are a ninja. Girls around here don't fight like that." He sounded impressed despite himself.
Sakura said nothing, only nodding. They entered what could have been a grocery store. A man greeted them, but staring at the shriveled carrots only made her uncomfortable. Everything was meager. Tazuna was obviously one of the best customers as he got the royal treatment, the manager rolling out the red carpet. She guessed he had a lot of money stored away, because if he really was the only person to be able to build the bridge he must be really talented.
Sakura was silent walking back and Haruhi was getting worried about her.
A small hand reached up and tugged at Sakura's red dress-right by her butt.
"Hey buster-!"
A little boy with dirt on his face and hair spiked from grease smiled like a cherub. He cupped his hand.
"Please?" He giggled. His game was on point. He was using his cuteness to get food because he knew Sakura wasn't from around here. She didn't hold it against him-she did the exact same thing to Kakashi when she wanted something.
"...Hm, uhh...here." Sakura handed him some candies.
"Aw, thank you!" The kid looked at them like they were pure gold and ran away, clutching them to his chest. Sakura watched him go.
"Sakura, we should catch up to Tazuna. You can help them then." Haruhi called up softly.
They walked silently as they caught up with Tazuna.
"This is how it's been since Gato came here." Tazuna said, approaching from where Sakura was still turned. She wiped away tears.
"The children suffer and the adults are afraid to stand up to him. They've lost all hope, and that's why we have to finish the bridge. It will bring commerce and trade, but much more importantly, that bridge is a symbol of courage. We must restore the spirit of out people. When the bridge is finished...the people will start to believe again."
He clenched his fist.
"They will believe they can live with dignity. We can't let Gato stop us!"
Wow. Tazuna may not have been a ninja, but he was a man on a mission.
Sakura bowed her head. The walk back was quiet.
Tsunami was an excellent cook. A testimony to her skills was her turning what they brought back into a warm filling meal. Even though Tazuna could buy the best here, the best wasn't much. She still missed Kakashi's cooking though. Could go for some of that stir pot he always makes.
"It's been ages since we had so many guests around our table." Tsunami said.
Sasuke and Naruto were absolutely ravenous. It was like they had never eaten before.
"I want some more!" They both shouted in sync. They glared at each other across their chopsticks and bowls, breaking eye contact to only throw up.
Sakura didn't get up to yell at them which left it up to Haruhi. She decided to take a different route.
"Naruto! Sasuke!"
They looked up, wiping their mouths.
Haruhi was filled with white hot rage as she stared the two of them down. She remembered the little boy with ribs showing through his rag of a shirt and clenched her fists so hard red crescent moons appeared on her palm.
"You know how it is here! There are people and children starving on the streets, and less than enough food to go around and you two decide to engage in an eating contest and throw it up!? Do you two think this is a joke? Apologize to Tsunami for wasting her well cooked food and then to Tazuna for wrecking his house."
She exhaled sharply, turning away from them.
"Naruto, I expected better from you." He flinched. Turning to Kakashi, she said;
"I think the two boys should accompany Tazuna to the village next time he goes food shopping."
Kakashi put his bowl down.
"That sounds like a lovely idea." He agreed.
Everyone was kinda shocked into silence from her outburst. Haruhi was normally calm and not easily angered. But she had seen a lot today, stuff she only saw on the news was suddenly shoved in her face.
"...Hm, for such a little thing, you got a pair of lungs on ya." Tazuna resumed eating and the tension was broken.
They continued eating and everyone was just finishing up when Sakura walked up to one of the pictures on the wall.
Here we go.
"Excuse me, this picture is torn is there some reason for that?" She asked. "Inari you kept glancing at it all through dinner, it looks like there was someone else in the picture but they got torn out. I mean that's kinda strange isn't it?"
Jesus Sakura, amazing deductive skills but show some tact at least. She noticed Naruto's hand twitch. All activity halted.
"It's my husband." Tsunami said quietly.
"They used to call him a hero in this land." Tazuna spoke in a low and gravelly voice.
Inari pushed back his chair and started to leave.
"Inari where are you going?" Tsunami asked. Uh oh, family drama no thanks. She went after him but not before turning back to yell.
"Father, you can't talk about him in front of Inari, you know that!" She slammed the door behind her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know, Inari..." Sakura stuttered.
"Is there a story behind this?" Kakashi asked.
"He wasn't his real father, he came into our family later. And he brought so much happiness. He and Inari were very close." Naruto gasped in realization.
"In those days, Inari used to laugh all the time. But then-!"
"Hm?" Kakashi said.
A tear dropped onto the table.
"All that ended. He never laughs or smiles anymore. Ever since the day everything changed."
Tazuna launched into a retelling of what happened to the village that had her fighting back tears along with Naruto and Sakura. And Tazuna. Seeing the the border-line hardass crying was a shock to the senses.
Is it weird this man reminded her of Naruto?
Then he got to the part where the man was put in front of the village. This bitch Gato was going down.
Naruto must have felt the same way, as he stepped up-only to fall back down, weak from training.
"I'm gonna prove it." He growled.
"Hm?"
"I'll-'I'll prove that it's true! That in this world, there are real heroes!" Naruto stood on his shaking legs, fists clenched.
"You do it." Haruhi hiccoughed. Kakashi glanced worriedly at her.
Another door slammed as Sakura ran out of the room, bawling.
"What's up with her?" Sasuke muttered.
"Shut up! You started it with her anyway!" Haruhi snapped, making Naruto open the door for her so she could go after Sakura.
"What, me?-" Was cut off. The hallway was long and empty, the dark bulbs providing no light. She was glad they had no pets. Faintly she heard muffled noises from one of the guest rooms. Slipping under the door crack she entered what appeared to be a darkened room-with Sakura's back against the corner and crying.
She was trying to muffle her sobs with little success and Haruhi stopped dead in her tracks.
"O-oh, Haruhi sensei. I-I'm sorry, it's-it's just that it's b-been-"
"-A rough day." Haruhi finished softly. Haruhi normally couldn't deal very well with tears, but she had been there right along with Sakura, and knew how she felt.
Sakura sniffled, nodding.
"...Do you want to talk about it?" Haruhi sat in the patch of moonlight from the window. And waited.
Sakura sniffled.
"I me-mean, this morning at training, when we climbed the tree I-I was so proud because for once, I did something better than the boys that wasn't book stuff. An-and I looked at Sasuke because I t-thought he would be so proud, but he ju-just lo-looked at me in disbelief! Like he thought I was incapable and I thought he would be impressed!"
Sakura wiped at her face and Haruhi ran to the tissue box and dragged it over.
"'Danks." Sakura blew her nose.
"And t-then at the bridge, Tazuna didn't believe I could do it better and I know he was impressed later when I kicked that guy away, but I still can't stop thinking about that. And then we went into town, and oh! Those poor people and I felt so bad for being upset over everything else! A-and then I almost let you get kidnapped! Twice!"
"I don't hold that against you." Haruhi said quickly. Neither times had been her fault. But Sakura powered on.
"I never felt so helpless seeing all those people hurting."
"You're not helpless, Sakura. You helped me heal faster, remember?" Haruhi said.
"Y-yeah." Sakura picked on her dress. "But then there was the story Tazuna told us and I just felt terrible."
"Same here." Haruhi winced, thinking about what she said to Inari. Maybe she shouldn't have been so quick to jump the gun...
Her sniffles cleared up and Haruhi saw an opportunity for a life lesson. Might as well deliver as much as she can before she leaves.
"Sakura, you are a girl who feels very deeply and has a lot of compassion. You genuinely want to help people, and that's not a bad thing at all. The ability to show love and care for others is a sign of strength."
Sakura looked up, pink rimming her green eyes.
"Just think of today and all the people you helped! You explained perfectly how to tree climb, and Sasuke and Naruto both had it down by dinner! And that little boy-did you see his face? To him, you gave him gold. I wouldn't be surprised if he carried those wrappers around with him!"
Sakura giggled reluctantly, hiccoughing halfway through.
"And Sasuke never thought you couldn't do it, but logically it makes sense! When you have less Cat-ra or whatever, it must be easier to control!"
"Chakra." She mumbled, a small smiled on her face.
"Yep. But Sasuke wasn't unimpressed. In fact, Sakura, I'll let you in on a secret." Sakura went wide eyed and leaned in closer, hair forming a curtain around them. Haruhi stood on her tippy-toes and cupped her hands.
"He was jealous of you!"
Sakura gasped, hand curling to her chest happily before she frowned like Haruhi had just taken the gods name in vain.
"But I don't want Sasuke-kun to be jealous of me! I want him to like me! Haruhi-Sensei, can you help me?"
Haruhi popped out her hip, crossing her arms and stroking her chin thoughtfully.
"Sakura, what does Sasuke want, or like?"
"Huh? W-well he likes...kunai?" Sakura winced, knowing how that sounded. Haruhi's eyebrows twitched. She had some work to do.
"Sasuke likes power, and skill. And people who give him breathing room. You showed power when you K.O'ed that would-be thief, and skill when you got to the top of the tree. And you haven't really fangirled since the Bell-test! I'd say you're already on track!"
"Really?" She said hopefully.
"Really really." Haruhi nodded sagely. Sakura smiled for the first time since this morning, before it faded.
"Can I tell you something, Haruhi? And you won't make fun of me for it?"
"Go for it, kiddo."
"Well, um, The reason I joined the academy and became a ninja was because I wanted to be better, to be stronger, and make my parents proud. And I want to be a great ninja for them and for him. But...more than anything, I want to help him. When we were really young, I remembered h-he used to always l-laugh and smile. But he doesn't anymore." She finished quietly. "Like Inari..."
Oh shit. Oh shit.
"A-and I want to help him, to help him stop hurting, and my mother always said, hugs and telling someone you care is how to, but it never worked! But then you came, and I could see Sasuke look up to you. And you got him to laugh a few times. Something I've been trying to do since the academy!...So I tried to be like you..." She poked her fingers together.
Haruhi nodded, telling her to go on.
"I was worried you'd think I was like all those other fangirls...so I tried to be different and like you. I'm not sure if you noticed it Haruhi-sensei, but you got Kakashi-sensei wrapped around your little finger! And under you, Sasuke and Naruto behave and act good and I'm, I-!"
Sakura hunched over in exhaustion.
"..."
"...Sakura, you are an amazing person, with boundless compassion and you always want to help others. Changing to help Sasuke because you care for him and want to help is sweet and touching."
Sakura nodded, telling her to go one and nervously biting her lip.
Haruhi paused.
"...But you should never change yourself for someone who doesn't appreciate it. If you think it's worth it-then it is! But you must always help yourself before helping others. Because how can you help others when you can't even help yourself? You should improve for yourself, is what I'm saying, Sakura."
Sakura's jaw dropped, eyes popping open as she processed the words.
"It-...-it is worth it to me." She mumbled, more to herself than Haruhi.
"Then do it."
Sakura looked up gratefully.
"Thank you!" She snatched Haruhi up and squished her to her cheek. Which was still damp. "You're the best!"
Haruhi giggled as Sakura squished her to her cheek and groaned as she felt her shirt get wet. She pushed back. She needed to say more-she wasn't done yet. She needed to put Sakura's actions in terms Sakura herself could understand.
"Sakura," She dropped her voice into a low whisper, making sure Sakura was listening, "This is what you want, and that's great in all, but if Sasuke doesn't want a romantic relationship-which he has already made clear he doesn't- then don't push it."
Taken aback by Haruhi's sudden turn, Sakura could only stutter.
She continued in a whisper.
"Sasuke doesn't need someone who clings to him, and smothers him 24/7. He needs friends, people he can count on to have his back and help him. People who won't put him on a pedestal, or worship him. You need to treat him like a person, Sakura, not a prize to be won between you and Ino, or a trophy. Sasuke has put up barriers between the two of you because you make him uncomfortable!" Haruhi whispered-shouted.
"W-what! No…" Sakura looked to be on the verge of tears again, and Haruhi quickly continued before she could start sobbing.
"Sakura, how did you feel when Naruto would follow you around all day, clinging to you and saying how much he loved you?"
Sakura's tears quickly subsided at the sudden question, replaced with angrily furrowed brows.
"I felt so annoyed! Why couldn't he just leave me alone? You'd think he'd take a hint!" She scoffed.
Haruhi raised an eyebrow.
"So, to clarify, you felt irritated by his constant advances, and uncomfortable, especially since he couldn't take no for an answer. You felt almost like you were being attacked, hounded with affection you didn't want. Is that correct?"
Sakura gasped excitedly.
"Yes, that's exactly it!"
Haruhi licked her lips.
"Did you ever consider that, maybe Sasuke feels the same way? That you are doing the same thing to Sasuke that Naruto did to you?"
Sakura was struck dumb. Her mouth opened and closed in complete shock. She blinked rapidly, brain turning over what Haruhi just said.
Haruhi's eyes softened in sympathy.
Choked noised emerged from Sakura and she stuttered out a short sentence.
"I-I didn't mean too!"
"Of course you didn't mean too, Sakura! But you did! You and the others! Imagine how Sasuke felt with all that attention, especially after...after he lost so much. He needed a friend, not a wife." Haruhi whispered.
Sakura was silent.
"You may not have intended for this to happen, for him to feel this way, but you made him feel uncomfortable, like he couldn't be safe or secure around you. That is the result of your actions, and you need to own up to that." Haruhi said seriously.
Sakura nodded slowly, the reality of the situation sinking in.
"...What do I do now? How can I make this better, Haruhi-sensei?" The guilt and self-hatred in Sakura's eyes made Haruhi wince.
"If I'm to be honest, Sakura, there is only so much you can do," Haruhi whispered. "You certainly haven't helped, but bad things have happened to Sasuke that were outside of your control. He has issues of his own to work through, like his tendency to isolate himself. And there are other people-not just fangirls-who put so much pressure on him. You can't do anything about that."
Sakura ran her tongue along her teeth, then bit her lip.
"So, nothing at all? Sakura whispered
"No."
Sakura looked up, startled.
"No, there is something you can do."
"What?"
"For starters, you can try being his friend first. While your admiration is understandable and, well, admirable, it makes him uncomfortable. The best romantic relationships start off as friendships. In order to have a healthy friendship with him, you need to respect his personal space. You need to respect him as a person dealing with real trauma."
Sakura nodded, then her face screwed up.
"Can I still compliment him?" She asked.
It was Haruhi's turn to be rendered speechless. When had she ever, said to give Sasuke the cold shoulder? Thinking back on their conversation, realization dawned on her.
While she had never said that, what she did say, about giving him his space and not worshipping him, could be taken that way.
"Of course you can! Just phrase it in a way that would sound like a normal complement, like one you'd give to a classmate." Haruhi corrected herself.
Sakura breathed out a relieved sigh, and Haruhi was again reminded of just how young she was.
"Sakura, I have another question for you."
"What?"
"You and Naruto are friends now, how did that happen? I want you really think about it."
Sakura shifted, sitting on her butt now. Her hand went up to rest on her lower lip and her eyes narrowed in thought.
"Well," Sakura began, "Naruto stopped following me. Stopped bombarding me with question and asking to go out with him. He gave me distance, and the space I needed to grow closer to him." Sakura answered.
Haruhi let a warm smile crossed her face.
"Good girl. That's what you need to do, too." She said. Sakura grinned, eyes sparkling with determination.
"And remember, It's not just you. Sasuke may take awhile to completely warm up to you, and even if you become real friends and not just teammates, he still might not want a romantic relationship with you. And that's okay! It may feel like the end of the world, but it won't be. Trust me."
Sakura frowned at that, but again, slowly nodded.
They sat in silence for a bit, thinking about what was just said.
Sakura's face had blanked out, the stress of the past few days finally getting to her.
"Haruhi-sensei?" Sakura asked.
"Yes?"
A smile slowly spread across her face before she picked Haruhi up and gave her a pseudo-hug.
"Thank you!"
"Uh, you're welcome..." She pushed against Sakura's cheek. " It's about time to go to bed, though."
Sakura giggled.
"Ya know, you give really good advice for someone who doesn't like anything but stir-fry."
"This is true."
Sakura put her down, both of them saying their good-nights. She walked towards the door-sliding under. She took one last look at the door before turning around and gasping in surprise.
Sasuke was leaning against the door.
At her gasp he looked down like a deer in the headlights but before he could run, Haruhi latched onto his shorts and jumped onto his shoulder.
"And what do you think you're doing?" She hissed.
"U-uh." He backed away from the door.
"How much did you hear?" Sasuke flushed in embarrassment
"Nothing much." He muttered.
"Well, don't let Sakura know you overheard. Goodnight." Haruhi said curtly. She jumped down and started walking away. It was probably her fault he got curious, anyway. She had yelled at him twice before she left. She walked down the dark hall, turning the corner and leaving Sasuke by himself.
"..."
"...Goodnight." Sasuke whispered back.
…
Haruhi was fuming.
Her pace was quick and agitated as she made her way towards the guest room. A finger reached up and started twirling strands of the curly hair around. Guilt gnawed at her as she thought about her recent behavior.
She had been behaving like a child.
While the stress of her situation was understandable, her judgmental attitude of these people was not. Writing off Sakura as just an airhead, criticizing that man on the bridge, hell, just her attitude towards Sasuke alone was abhorred. It wasn't their fault she was stuck here.
She fumed at herself, punching her arm.
How could she apologize?
The thought of going back there and saying sorry was daunting, and she wasn't sure she could do it, or stand to see the condescing look on his face if she did.
Haruhi headed to her room. She could apologize later, but right now, she wanted sleep.
Lord knows she needed it.
Wow! Talk about some character development am I right! And yes, I just made Sakura relatable. I know, filler chapters, but they are important to the plot.