The next couple of weeks went by like this.
Naruto kept training with his clones, taking the rest of the team's suggestions to heart. He borrowed Sasuke's training grounds, having found it was an ideal place to practice his techniques. Sasuke had given his permission and often went with him as Sakura and Haku were occupied. That's where Haruhi and Kakashi spent most of their time too.
Sakura threw herself into her work with a passion never seen before, taking Haku along for the ride. She seemed to care about little else, noticeably toning down her reactions to Sasuke to the point that Haruhi (and Sasuke) were left blinking. Haku and Sakura trained endlessly and were always talking about things that even Kakashi couldn't understand sometimes. After their medical work they would all join up at Sasuke's training ground to train as a team.
Sometime during this, Kakashi found a back route to the training ground through the forests and showed team seven the path. It defiantly beat walking through the ghost town and she couldn't help but feel Sasuke was grateful to them for it.
It had sort of become their unofficial meet up place.
They had cleared out the shed and updated it with new equipment and snacks. There was even a recliner in the corner. Kakashi surprised the four pre-teens by adding new training posts and targets.
They found during one of their training sessions that Haku had the best accuracy, Sasuke being a close second. Sakura would have been third, except her throws had too little force behind them. One day Sasuke had enough of it.
"Here." Sasuke said one day, and demonstrated how to throw more forcefully. Sakura threw the kunai and hit the edge of the bulls eye. It stuck. She offered a small smile and said thank you without looking Sasuke in the eyes, being immersed in her book. Sakura and Haku had a test coming up soon and were bouncing questions off each other.
"Sakura, what do you know about the Endocrine system?" Haku asked.
"Oh!" Sakura said, beaming, and launched into an explanation. Sasuke stood stunned, Naruto snickering, before he hurtled a Shuriken so hard it cracked the wooden center.
The next day, he tied with Haku on the number of bulls-eyes they each achieved.
It didn't seem to impress Sakura, who was muttering as she read a thick medical textbook. Sasuke scowled, first at Sakura then Haku. He turned to practice off in a corner of the grounds.
"Trouble in paradise." Kakashi muttered, practically smothering himself with his book. Though not noticeable to the four, Kakashi had been in a sour mood since the second encounter with the mystery person. He had been unable to find them. Haruhi had no doubts he had his guesses, but she herself was completely baffled as to who could possibly want her. What gods had she pissed off?
Sakura was still muttering to herself, brow furrowed. Haruhi decided to see what was going on out of sheer boredom- she could only take so much more of Kakashi's sulking. Sakura had noticeably changed lately, maybe Haruhi could also pick up on why.
She walked over, picking up a pebble the size of her head. The three boys were at the other side of the grounds with Kakashi who had remorsefully put his book down to help them with something.
"Hey Sakura."
"Hello Haruhi-sensei." She said distractedly.
"Whatcha reading?"
"A medical textbook." She looked up and smiled. "We're having a test soon."
"Ah. Mind If I read on your shoulder?"
Sakura didn't mind, so she sat happily and proceeded to understand nothing of it. The graphics were entertaining though. Haruhi wanted to figure out how to approach the topic of Sakura's behavior but with her so engrossed in the textbook she wasn't sure how. She tossed the pebble to the ground and watched it jump once before halting. It wasn't like Sakura was misbehaving...
"You're pretty into that, it seems like it's been taking up a lot of your energy." Haruhi commented.
Sakura paused, smiling.
"Yeah, you noticed!"
"Yeah, what's that all about?" Haruhi asked. She smirked, noticing Sakura picking up some of her language.
"Well..." Sakura folded and unfolded the corner of the textbook. "I need to get stronger."
"Yes..."
"And so I wanted to focus on my studies. I don't have time to care about Sasuke. He's a distraction." She said in an eerie imitation of Sasuke.
"...Sakura, you're a smart girl, but that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."
"B-but, I wanted to be tough, like you! You don't care about anyone like that!"
"What would you know about that? How do you know how I do and don't feel?" Haruhi snapped.
"..."
She sighed and closed her eyes.
"Sakura. The absence of emotion does not make you strong. Quite the opposite in fact. The ability to care for another as much as you care for yourself is proof of a strong heart. The ability to open up like that is very powerful. Never be ashamed for caring about someone."
"But..." Sakura bit her tongue. "I'm sorry Haruhi-sensei."
"You don't need to apologize to me." Haruhi said, grinning slightly. "I think it's a phase all of us go through at some point, not wanting to care. Besides, us girls gotta stick together."
Hey...
"What happened to me helping you get Sasuke to like you?" Haruhi whisper-shouted.
Sakura chewed her lip-a nervous habit of hers. It looked like something was paining her before she spoke.
"If Sasuke likes me, then he likes me. But if he doesn't there's no point to chase him and make him uncomfortable. Like you said." Sakura said insecurely.
"Ah. Very mature of you. You still shouldn't give up though, not if that's what you want." Haruhi said. Sasuke had activated his sharingan because of Sakura. She was more important than she thought.
"Alright." Sakura said back, then snapped her textbook closed."I think that's enough reading for now." She said. She stood up and offered her hand, and they both made their way over to the four guys- who were still arguing. Haruhi's eyes swept over the four of them, finally landing on Kakashi who was holding back an enraged Naruto who was clawing for Sasuke.
Why did Sakura think that about her? About Haruhi not caring for someone else like that? She meant, it was possible!
"Hey Sasuke!"
"...?"
"Thanks for showing me how to throw better. I know a cool technique for chakra control...If you want."
"Sure." Sasuke said blandly. But his flickering eyes betrayed his excitement. The cloud of depression that had been following him around for awhile now- ever since the ramen stand- dissipated a little bit.
Naruto crowded around to watch, Kakashi having let go when he realized Naruto wouldn't attack Sasuke. Sakura showed the boys minus Haku who had already learned the same one.
All in all, a good day.
They finished up with Sasuke lacing chakra through his kunai to the point it pierced through the target and embedded itself in a tree trunk behind it.
"Wow Sasuke!" Sakura shouted.
"Hn." Sasuke said smugly, shooting a glance at Haku.
In celebration Kakashi made the surprise announcement to go get ramen. With him paying. They waited for Naruto to collect himself as he had broke into tears, before taking the back way out.
They arrived at the stand, surprised to see the worn stools from before had been replaced with newer comfier ones. The bar looked better too. Ichiraku must have hit a lucky patch then.
"Welcome back! Please have a seat!" Said Ichiraku.
The all sat down and ordered. Haruhi was cracking a joke about a super-powered kunai when a shout interrupted her punchline.
"Haruhi, Kakashi!" They shouted.
Haruhi looked up only to see a familiar face approaching. A joyful grin lightened their face like the sun and they were waving their arms.
"Kasumi, hey!" Haruhi yelled back.
The old woman never looked younger, lines disappearing under her grin.
"Haruhi. You have single-handedly given me the best business month of my entire life!"
What.
Her confused expression must have shown because Kasumi laughed again.
"It's you! The dolls are flying off the shelves! Everyone's heard of you and they stopped at my shop. I'm here to deliver your money." She pulled out a thick envelope and placed it at her feet on the counter.
"Bye!" Said Kasumi, who waved and hurried off.
"..."
"Kakashi, I'm paying." Haruhi said.
"Alright." Said Kakashi, sounding a bit stupefied.
The four were confused before shrugging and eating their ramen.
"Hey Billboard brow!"
What now?
"Ino." Said Sakura, more invested in her ramen. Haruhi perked up at this. Sakura's rival. If Haruhi played her cards right she could bounce the girls off each other to help them improve.
"Huh, and you call me a pi-OH!" Screamed Ino, pointing at Haruhi. "So cute!"
Haruhi paused her chewing, shooting a bread filled grin at Ino that had Naruto cackling and Kakashi rolling his eyes fondly.
"She's just like Choji!"
"Somebody call?" Said a thick voice.
A round kid walked in munching on a bag of chips. Two others followed behind him, both with hands in their pockets. Cheeks bulging, Haruhi waved and hid behind the napkin dispenser. This was too many people for her tastes.
"She was just there!"
Somebody lifted the napkins revealing Haruhi in all her glory, crouched and working on a piece of bread the size of her head. She swallowed thickly and waved.
Shikamaru's jaw dropped and the normally relaxed boy looked like he couldn't believe it. She just wanted to eat her bread.
"So the rumors are true." Mused Asuma. "Who's this?" He said, gesturing to Haku.
"I'm Haku. It's a pleasure to meet you." He said charmingly. The side of his face that was facing them had no burn scars on it, so none of them reacted strongly. Sasuke didn't greet anyone, looking down into his barely eaten ramen. Choji blushed and rapidly shoveled chips in his mouth.
"Well, we have to go. We're not done with our mission yet." Asuma said around his cigarette.
"Aw." Pouted Ino.
"See you later!" Said Haruhi. They looked surprised she actually spoke, but waved nonetheless as they left. Kakashi pulled money from the envelope and paid for their meals-but not before Haruhi strong armed him into it.
Everyone went home.
They ran into Team Asuma again around Konoha and even trained together a few times. Shikamaru asked many questions and Haruhi answered as best as she could. It was only fitting as she had piqued a Nara's interest. Ino and Sakura glared at each other, and were constantly competing. Though not as bad as before. In a talk inspired by Haruhi's clothes, they managed to get through a conversation without any hostility.
Haku was unsure around these new people. When they saw the burned side of his face one day when it was particularly windy, the gasps were audible. She didn't know why she noticed, but Sasuke turned away and went to throw kunai. In an effort to comfort Haku, Ino struck up a conversation about his hair care routine, Sakura and Haruhi joining in.
Seriously, she needed to know.
And while everyone from both teams grew closer...Sasuke grew more distant. He barely even 'hn'ed' anymore, and preferred to train on his own. She wasn't the only one to notice, if the side looks from everyone but Naruto were anything to go by.
Haruhi was getting worried-if only because Sasuke could turn violent, like he did in canon. That was a bit of a stretch, considering he was still a genin, but still...
Was this even canon?
Haruhi didn't know. To Sakura's credit, she didn't give him the cold shoulder anymore and instead chatted with him. Sasuke had been in a bad mood all week so Sakura was brave to try and strike up a conversation. At first he made an effort to listen, then he just tolerated her. And then a muscle twitched in his jaw. Sakura was getting flustered and kept on chatting until Sasuke snapped at her.
"Will you shut up?"
"Don't talk to Sakura like that Teme!" Naruto growled.
"Honestly Sasuke?!" said an exasperated Haruhi.
Sakura stood up without saying another word and left with Haku. Sasuke growled in frustration, leaving Naruto, her and Kakashi alone in the field. He took his storm cloud with him and the mood noticeably brightened.
"What was that all about?" Haruhi asked.
Naruto shrugged and Kakashi stayed silent.
They left soon after. The mission of the day and training was over so they had nothing else to do. Haruhi frowned, trying to figure out what was wrong. Sasuke wasn't like Sakura. You couldn't just go up to him and ask and expect to get an answer. He was emotionally constipated and that was about as nice as Haruhi could frame it.
A sweet smell tickled her nose and she looked up from her place on the counter. Kakashi was stooped over the open oven, bringing a tray of cookies and it's sweet smell into the kitchen. He was humming under his breath-a tune she recognized as she had been humming it before.
"Are those sugar cookies?" She gasped.
"Mh-hmm."
He placed them to the left of her then picked one up and gave it to her. She was able to hold it easily enough seeing as she had regained most of her strength, and nibbled on the part closest to her face.
"Thanks, but why did you bake them?"
Kakashi rubbed the back of his head.
"Maa, you were frowning." He said. Then curiously added "Why?"
She swallowed her cookie bite thoughtfully.
"Sasuke."
"Hmm?"
"Sasuke. I was thinking about him."
"Ah." He said in understanding.
"Kakashi, what's up with him? He's been snapping at everyone more than usual. He's been moody lately too."
Kakashi didn't respond. She looked up to see his cheeks bulging under the mask, having shoved five sugar cookies in at once. She smirked and took a bite of her own cookie.
"I agree. He has been acting up lately."
"I figured it was because of Haku. Maybe he's jealous of him?"
"Possible." He hummed. He seemed to be turning over something before gulping down his mouthful of cookies "I hope it won't be a problem." He added abruptly.
"What?"
"I need to go to a meeting now, and you'll be staying the night at Sasuke's."
"WHAT? Right now?!"
"Right now." He said determinedly.
Kakashi picked her up like she was going to bite him and honestly she was tempted.
They were out the window before she could blink. With hair in her face she wiped it away, to see them bounding over rooftops towards the better apartments in Konoha. She gritted her teeth and clutched on to the edge of the pocket. In what seemed like seconds they were sliding in through a window into an empty hallway. It was obviously an upper class apartment complex, with paintings hung in the hallways and a polished wooden floor. Door's with numbers on them lined the wall.
Haruhi felt immediately out of place.
Kakashi quietly approached and knocked on a door tucked behind a fancy small table. They waited in silence and Haruhi could feel the person behind the door standing there in suspicion. It slid open.
"Here watch her." Kakashi almost slurred because he spoke so fast, shoving a disoriented Haruhi into Sasuke's hands. He was gone quicker than either of them could blink.
"What?" Sasuke said tonelessly. Stunned, Haruhi couldn't respond.
The hallway was dark as they looked on and the apartment, if possible, was even darker. He stared blankly at her and Haruhi shivered in the cool hallway, rubbing her arms. She tried for a weak smile but it faltered as she caught sight of him. He looked the worst he had in weeks, smudges under his eyes and sallow pale skin. He seemed to be looking right through her and just before Haruhi spoke up, he turned around and into his apartment, closing the door behind him.
His apartment was stale and tasteless in the way that was completely uninspiring. There were very few objects and the furniture looked to be mostly unused. The apartment reminded her of something...
It was big but empty, with no personal items and what seemed to be greasy takeout in the trash.
She really didn't know how to act around Sasuke and he didn't seem to either. He was showing signs of life by glancing around his dull living space and then at her. His previously glazed over eyes seemed to be thawing and was he...chewing his tongue?
The fact that she could empathize with him affected her more then it should have.
"You can stay in here." He said in a faint voice, tinged with unsureness.
Okay, she was a bit freaked out now.
Sasuke looked terrible and was acting differently than normal. Seeing the the cold boy showing so much doubt and the vaguely lost expression on his face spooked her. He placed her on the unused couch, before retreating to another room-glancing at the clock as he left. 9:27.
Haruhi tossed and turned, playing over their short interaction. She punched her thigh, wishing she had at least said thank you for letting her sleep here. His troubled expression played over in her mind and she buried her face into the cushion. She wanted to know what was bothering him and not just because she was curious. She wanted to help.
Time passed like molasses. Slowly and thickly. Hair stuck to her neck. Her thigh itched. Her elbow fell asleep.
Sasuke had been in a depressive state all week and Haruhi figured it was because of Haku. Because he had better aim than him or because he seemed to have captured Sakura's attention. Or maybe even because of Sasuke's lack of personal progress when everyone else on his team was improving- even Sakura.
Now, she wasn't so sure.
She flung herself onto her back. Kakashi's sudden departure was now the furthest thing from her mind. She kept replaying the image of Sasuke training by himself in the corner of the grounds over and over again. His unease had been going on for weeks now. Possibly even longer. How she hadn't noticed this baffled her, made her feel like a jerk.
She grunted and rolled herself onto her back.
And despite whatever was bothering him, despite for how long it has been bothering him, he took the time to show them the Uchiha's official training grounds because he knew it would give them privacy and a place to train.
She sat up and hugged her knees.
A gasp came from the other room, loud as thunder in the silence and she snapped to attention. His door swing open as he staggered to the kitchen sink. At first Haruhi thought he was thirsty for a glass of water, but instead he took his trembling hands and placed them on either side of the digital clock, the numbers glowing in the dark. He looked as if he was trying to alter it by staring hard enough. His glassy pupil-less eyes glowed green with how wide open they were.
He whispered something to himself.
Sasuke should not be alone tonight.
"Sasuke." She said as loud as she could without shouting.
He jumped and his hand twitched to his side like he was reaching for a weapon.
"Haruhi-sensei." He said tersely. He looked like a deer in the headlights, unsure of going back to his room, maybe not wanting to.
"Come over here." She said.
He reluctantly walked over and sat as far away from her as possible. Haruhi searched for a way to begin a conversation.
"Sasuke, how's your progress with the Sharingan?"
He started, as if not expecting her to ask. "...Good."
"That's good. What do you think about everyone else's progress?"
He took a few moments to respond.
"They're all doing well."
Haruhi bit her lip in frustration.
"What about Haku? How do you think he's adjusting?...What do you think about him?"
Haruhi waited with baited breath.
"..."
"Haku…" Sasuke began, "in the woods when he was talking about his precious people...I thought about two things." He murmured. "My family, and team seven. The reason I got the Sharingan was because Sakura is prec-means something to me. You really do become stronger when you have something to protect." Near the end it seemed as if he was talking more to himself then her.
She thought, if this was any other time, any other place, Sasuke would not have opened up like this. But he was unstable and vulnerable and needed someone to talk too.
"But when I realized who Haku was with, I got really angry-like he betrayed me. And that was nothing compared to when I thought he killed Sakura. I burned him and scarred him, but all along he was the good guy, he didn't kill Sakura and he taught me a lesson. I was...wrong." He seemed to wrestle the last word out of his mouth.
He was feeling guilty. He wasn't jealous. Haruhi knew she needed to say something. It was about to burst from her lips.
"It just shows you shouldn't judge people without knowing their motives or having a good reason too. It was an easy mistake to make, Sasuke. One I made too. I judged you before I really knew you and didn't bother to try and get to know you. I made that mistake but I have no excuse. I'm sorry."
His bangs shadowed his eyes.
"You were always like that." He muttered. "You always said and did little things. I knew you liked me the least."
She flinched.
"At Tazuna's, you said you expected better of Naruto when we were...behaving badly. But you said it like you expected me to be that way. "
She did do that, didn't she.
"I'm sorry."
"It's alright." Then so lowly she could have imagined it, he said " I did the same thing to Sakura."
"What do you mean?" Haruhi said.
"I thought she was a dumb girl. I disregarded her higher writing score. I thought she was worthless. But she took that hit for me on the bridge when I had my back turned. Figured things out before me or Naruto. And now..."
"Yeah, she sure is something." Haruhi whispered.
"I feel like I'm being left in the dust." He clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on his knees. He unconsciously copied her position.
"Sasuke, others improving doesn't mean you aren't. You've changed since I first met you. You smile more, you enjoy yourself even. You work with your team. Improvement isn't just strength or who has the coolest jutsu. You, are a better person then you were two months ago. So am I. Be proud, Sasuke."
He sat still, obviously chewing on something.
"I need to get stronger though." He whispered.
"...Why?"
"That man. I need to avenge my clan and I need to be stronger than everyone else."
"Avenge?"
"I need to kill a man, and for that I need to leave everyone else in the dust."
Hearing a twelve year old talk so matter of factly about death was very off-putting but she didn't let it get in the way of listening to him.
"Sasuke, you have enormous potential and I believe you can do anything you set your mind too. But we're a team. You shouldn't be afraid to ask for help."
"..."
Sensing the need for a change of subject, she licked her lips.
"Remember what I said before about trying to find out motives, who they actually are? Why did he?" She said carefully.
"...Because he was testing himself. Because he could. I thought I knew him." Sasuke mumbled, hands spasming.
That was a load of shit.
"Before you kill this man-hear me out-try to find out why. That just seems...suspicious. What was Kakashi's quote again?"
"...See underneath the underneath." He blinked. Then glanced at the clock. 11:57. He had stopped trembling, the haunted look in his eyes was replaced by a thoughtful one. He removed his hands from his knees and placed them at his side.
"You know Sasuke, I thought you were avoiding Haku for different reasons." She said.
"Hn?"
"I thought you were mad because he was taking up Sakura's attention." She grinned.
Color returned to his pale sallow cheeks for the first time in weeks in the form of a blush. He bowed his head before looking at the clock. 12:00. Tension leaked from his frame and his legs relaxed and fell sideways, his knee landing close to her.
"You wish." He scoffed turning up his nose.
"Well...it's pretty late. Do you have anything else to say?"
"No-"
"Hello all!"
"KAKASHI!?" They both shouted in surprise.
"What are you doing here?" Haruhi choked.
"Me?" He asked, pointing at himself. "Well, the meetings over of course!" He laughed, rubbing his hair. "Time to go."
"Okay then." She said, blinking her heavy eyes. She and Sasuke looked at each other and she gave him a small smile. They had just had a big moment. She was gratified to see his lips twitch into what might have been a smile. Grinning she stood up on Kakashi's hand.
Good night! Or should I say...good morning." She wiggled her eyebrows.
Sasuke snorted then bit his lip as Kakashi jumped, and Sasuke was out of sight in a matter seconds. They traveled thoughtfully for a few moments. Haruhi wondered why Sasuke kept on staring at the clock. What was he waiting for?
"You know," Kakashi began, "I have met very few people as gifted with words as you are. The only other I can name right now would be Naruto."
Good with words? But she hadn-
"You were listening in the whole time! The meeting was a farce! You just wanted me to talk to Sasuke!" Of course Kakashi wouldn't leave her alone with Sasuke with a kidnapper on the loose!
"That was good of you, Haruhi to stay with him. Especially today. Or should I say yesterday." He mused, imitating her earlier joke and ignoring her outburst.
"What do you mean?"
"Last night was the anniversary of his clan's death."
"..."
"That meant a lot to him. Even if he didn't show it." Kakashi said.
Haruhi finally realized what Sasuke's apartment reminded her of. Kakashi's house when she first saw it. Cold, empty, mechanical, lifeless.
They would just have to fix that.
Extra~
"Hey Haku." Said Sasuke evenly, kicking dirt from the training ground. "Could you show me some tips for throwing senbon?"
Haku blinked once, then twice, before a slightly crooked smile graced his face.
"Of course."
I did say I would be developing Sasuke's character. In a few chapters the chunin exams are coming up and don't forget to vote on the poll!
How did you feel about Haruhi's speech to Sasuke? What was the best quote of this chapter? And how do you think team seven will improve because of it?
Many thanks to my beta reader reebajee