Chapter 3
A week had gone by at a quick pace. Sakura was back at the hospital doing her usual long shifts. Daku officially was more comfortable around the apartment. He seemed to take a bit of a liking of Sasuke more than Sakura. From what Sakura told him, cats tend to favor one person over others even if they were well-socialized as kittens. Cats are expert communicators and gravitate towards people that they communicate well with. Sasuke being a more quiet person seemed to match the demeanor of Daku. He was a really quiet cat. He did meow when he wanted something or when Sasuke would pet him a few times.
Over the course of this week, Sasuke either spent his time at the apartment, training, or working on the coffee table he promised he would make Sakura. He didn’t officially start this process until two days ago and also because every time he would try something out come up. Kakashi had him do a few small missions around the village so he could get a feel of it and also so people could get used to him being around again. These missions made him think about his genin days. Being here in general always made him think of memories. Being back here did bring him some nightmares, but they were better than they used to be. He still had quite a lot of trauma to go through in this life that he needed to talk to Sakura about. Even with Sakura’s experience in the medical field she won’t be able to help him. He had this conversation with her after she came home the other night from a shift at the hospital. She agreed that she wouldn’t be able to help him at a professional standpoint so she was working on finding someone she found fit for him. It had been two days since that conversation.
Currently Sasuke was out in a training ground under a tree. He had a piece of wood between his legs to keep it steady as he used a knife to carve it out. He had all of the wood he needed for the coffee table he was making, but he needed to do quite a lot with it still. Sasuke was making the first leg to the table. He wanted the legs to have a rustic design so it could go well with the apartment since it gave off a rustic atmosphere. It did surprise him at first when he viewed the apartment for the first time. He expected a more bubbly apartment since Sakura was quite bubbly. Who knew she would prefer her apartment to look like that. The table was going to be a square since it would bring a better space for people to set things on it. He also wanted to include a section under it for storage. From observation he realized that she had little baskets in her living room that she used to store things. He didn’t look through any of them, but he believed that they could be important. He did spot a calendar in one of them and things revolving around the tv in another (remote, tv manual, etc).
He was enjoying the silence, the noise of him scraping at wood, and the sound of nature itself. It did not last long.
“There you are, teme! I was looking all around for you. I visited Sakura-chan and she told me that you would be either helping with missions around the village or at one of the training grounds. I also got her to eat something. Damn, that hospital really takes a toll on her sometimes dattebayo. Sooo.. what are you doing? I expected to see you training not craving into a piece of wood. Do you need help? If it’s important I can help! We don’t need to train. You probably already did.”
“It’s for Sakura to replace the coffee table you broke.”
“That’s a little unexpected. Wait, is this to replace the one I broke. Aww that’s so cute.”
Naruto sat next to him. He analyzed what Sasuke was doing before he grabbed a kunai from this pocket to help him out.
“I’ve been meaning to ask, but both of you have been very busy. What’s been going on between you and Sakura? I can tell that there’s something. Sakura is happier than she used to be.”
“I admitted something to her.”
“You have to give me more than that. I’m not like Sakura where she can read you perfectly. You don’t have to tell me everything and what you say can go only between us. I’m not the same person as I was. I need to mellow out and be mature if I want to be a Hokage. You have my trust with whatever it is. You don’t have to be very open about it.”
“I admitted that I had feelings. For her.”
“Oh! Well that’s great man. I’m happy for you that you’re finally realizing it yourself and for finally making her happy. I could tell she was getting lonely. I may be blind to a lot of things, but when it comes to friends I can see it. I hate to do this to you, but Sakura is like a big sister to me. I can’t put this in a nice way so I’ll try. You’ve hurt her a lot. Even with how strong she is it still affected her. I was mostly the one who would be there for her when she would break down over it. The other person was Ino. Sakura wouldn’t just give up on you. That’s what makes Sakura who she is. She has a heart of gold. Some of her ideas weren’t the best, but no one is perfect. You probably don’t even know this, but she confessed her love for me just so I could stop going after you because she wanted to handle things herself and she was ready to give up her happiness just so I could be happy. I was mad with her because of this, but I learned the truth I simply couldn’t be mad. Her trust in you was very scary sometimes, but I can’t be mad about that either since I trusted you too. Even if I want to be mad at you for it I can’t because you weren’t mentally stable and you needed help. Long story short, if you hurt her again I’ll take your other arm as punishment. She doesn’t deserve to hurt again because of you. Please be careful with her. As you know emotions can do anything to anyone.”
Naruto’s speech did catch him off guard. He hung his head down with shame hearing everything coming from the blonde’s mouth.
“I’m not that person anymore, Naruto. I wanted to get better for her. She deserves better.”
“As long as you treat her like she needs to be treated then I can’t argue over if she deserves better or not. I just know that no one can dissipate her feelings for you. Hell, before you even showed up so many guys have tried to ask her out. Wait..Are you jealous? You are totally jealous. Pfft who expected the old and scary Uchiha Sasuke to be jealous.”
Naruto slapped Sasuke’s back with his hand in laughter. Sasuke just rolled his eyes at him.
“Did she tell you about Daku yet?”
“Daku? Ohh yeah the cat. If I’m going to be honest you guys seem to be taking your relationship very fast. You already live together and have a cat. What’s next she’s pregnant next month?”
Naruto was going to continue talking until he was given a death glare by Sasuke. He immediately shut his mouth and his posture stiffened.
“We haven’t kissed or gone on a date yet.”
“WHAT! Well are you going to take her on one? How long have guys been dating?”
“A little over a week.”
“Sasuke, come on! I already kissed Hinata before we even made it official. Man, I even told her I loved her too. Did you know she can eat more ramen than me! Did you also know Sakura was literally trying to set us up for such a long time. She told me that it’s been like that since our genin days. Anyways you need help with your relationship. Take her on a date. Take her to Ichiraku's, that's where I took and still take Hinata.”
“I’m not taking her there.”
“Then what are you going to do then?”
“I’m not ready for everyone to know about our relationship. Sakura wants to tell Tsunade.”
“Well yeah they’re super close and I understand why you want to keep it a secret. So uhhh maybe do a date where you don’t have to worry about people. Are you going to let her tell granny?”
“Yeah. Thank you.”
“Anytime man. Sometimes you gotta help a brother out.”
“Hn.”
“Stop with those ‘hns’ . I don't know what that means. I'm not Sakura.”
“Too bad.”
Sighing Naruto, went back to work on the piece of wood they were working on.
“Hope you realize that once you have this molded into what you want you have to sand it down too then probably spray some weird stuff on it.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
With how much time passed they finished 3 legs. They still needed to be coated with paint and then something protective over it. What took so much time was the detail on the legs. They were simple, but also took forever to do. Naruto made the comment already that this’ll look perfect in their apartment. Naruto continued to try to make conversation with him, but it didn’t really last due to Sasuke only replying with one-liners so he just shut up. The sun was close to setting.
“I’m sorry, but I gotta go home. Can’t make the wife unhappy. She’s really scary when mad.”
Naruto hopped off of the ground and took off in a sprint. He waved goodbye as he did so. Sasuke believed that it would be best to retire this work for the night. He set the three done table legs under his arm. He had the other pieces of wood back at the apartment so he didn’t need to worry about them. Sasuke also needed to hide this stuff for Daku. That cat seemed to enjoy scratching on anything.
He knew Sakura wouldn’t be home until later tonight. She typically got home late when she had her hospital shifts. She’s supposed to get off at 10pm each night, but sometimes she gets caught there later than usual. Using his key, Sasuke opened the door to their apartment. Daku was nowhere to be seen at the moment. He did see that Daku did knock over something. He pushed the door closed with his foot. Setting down the legs of the table, he picked up the papers that were on the floor. Sasuke didn’t think it was any of his business so he simply set them into the basket he assumed they belonged to. He picked back up the wooden legs and made his way to his room. He was expecting a normal night. Today took a toll on him. At least the person he talked to he could actually stand unlike when he has missions.
———-
Nothing so far at the hospital was interesting for the day. It was just a typical day. She did have two surgeries today. One being more major than another. It was two chunins that came back from a mission. Their third teammate was lucky enough to not get as hurt as the other. She didn’t know the mission, but all she knew was that the damage done to them was from swords and kunais. She could fix those easily and so could her staff. The surgeries needed to be done due to some of the rogue ninja (which she assumed attacked them) stabbed vital organs. The surgeries took up most of her shift. There was always a chance she could kill them on the table if she didn’t act fast enough. Today, Sakura saved two more lives. She wasn’t needed much on the floor since most patients were handled by the nurses. People did come into her office regularly to ask for medical advice and also to learn a thing or two from her. She always believed medics needed to always learn like she did. Even with her medical expertise she always found a way to learn new things in the medical field.
Sakura had been eating the food Naruto had brought her hours before. It was currently almost 7pm. She took a few bites of it earlier to satisfy Naruto so he would go away. That was about 5 hours ago. She also told him where he would find Sasuke.
Hinata had cooked her a simple meal of chicken and rice with some vegetables. Naruto had the audacity to throw in ramen from Ichiraku’s. She finished the food Hinata cooked for her and she was now onto the bowl of ramen. It was room temperature, but it didn’t really bother her. She sipped the broth and enjoyed the flavor that poured into her mouth. It had been a while since she’s been at Ichiraku’s. It honestly felt nice to have ramen every once in a while.
The rest of the night typically ended with her doing research, paperwork, or if she was needed on the floor to do anything there. Sometimes she just went to the floor to give herself a break from paperwork. She didn’t mind paperwork, but it could be a lot after a while. She set the bowl of ramen down next to her. Sakura had a few bites and broth left until she was done with it.
She wasn’t doing research at the moment. She finished taking notes on the brain and hearing research paper yesterday. Currently she was looking at therapists that would be best fit for Sasuke. She had been looking at dozens of people until she could wire it down. She needed to find someone comfortable with talking with Sasuke, someone she trusted, and had the appropriate training for how serious the traumas were. She knew Sasuke had a lot of trauma to unfold.
Sakura wired down her choices the first one was one she hired for her children’s mental health clinic. She showed to be very passionate with her job, was young, and Sakura knew she could trust her. For the second option, who was also another girl, she had an idea of the life before the Uchiha Massacre and was trusted by Lady Tsunade, which already made her trust her. She was a little bit older than Kakashi. Sakura was going to have Sasuke choose between these two. She’ll bring it up to him if he wasn’t asleep when she got home and if not she’ll tell him in the morning while they have breakfast. They had breakfast with each other everyday unless one of them was needed.
Sakura finished the noodles and vegetables in the plastic ramen bowl after putting away the file regarding Sasuke’s therapist. She was going to bring this home with her. When she started to drink the broth in the bowl her door was slammed open and she swore she heard it crack. A squeak came out of her mouth and she dropped the bowl onto the table. The remaining broth in the bowl spilled all over the table and onto her lap. It certainly did get all over her papers.
“What the fuck were you thinking about storming into my damn office like that. Have some respect.”
She slammed her hands down onto the table in frustration as she got up. Looking up her eyes widened and her mouth hung open. Standing before her was Lady Tsunade with her arms crossed.
“Oh! Uhhh Shishou! What are you doing here? I thought you retired? Wait, did I do something?”
“Like hell you do and don’t yell at me like that! Get out of your office now, we're going out to drink with Shizune. You need to learn to actually take breaks or you’ll end up like me. Now don’t look at me like that the hospital will be fine if you leave early. It’s not like we’re in a war or anything. I don’t need Naruto to continue knocking on my damn door to tell me to stop you from working.”
“Sigh, I supposed nothing could hurt. We do have a lot to catch up on.”
“That’s my girl.”
Sakura stood up from her desk. At least her outfit will dry soon and no one will see the ramen broth stain. She took off her lab coat and she followed Tsunade out the door.
“You keep this place running well. I’m proud of you, kid. You’ve come a long way.”
“I appreciate your kind words.”
“Anything new you’re working on that might interest me?”
“Besides working on funding for new hospitals and mental health clinics for other villages I have been working on getting therapy for Sasuke-kun.”
“Oh, the Uchiha brat. Is he causing you trouble?”
“No, quite the opposite actually.”
“Are you going to tell me more or not?”
“Let’s get to the bar first before we get to that.”
“Ugh fine.”
They walked in silence to the bar they were meeting Shuzine at. Their heels clicked with each step. There weren't many out at this time; they were either at a bar or in any shops that were open, which weren’t a lot. The bar was on the other side of the village near the gate. This was the bar they always went to. She started to drink with the two of them after the war, even though she wasn’t technically of drinking age yet. They always went out at least once a month, maybe even two due to Shizune and Sakura’s busy schedules. Due to being the former Hokage’s apprentice it made it easier for her to get into bars with Lady Tsunade.
“So, are you enjoying retirement? I haven’t really asked you this.”
“Hell ya I am. Not having to deal with all the stress being Hokage brought me and the latest war did a toll on me. At least I didn’t have to deal with being Hokage when the world was ending almost a year back.”
“It was also an interesting mission to say the least. Good things came from it. Like how I was finally able to see Hinata and Naruto get together. He just needed to get his head out of his ass. I’m just happy with peace as of right now.”
“Not sure how long it’ll last. Enjoy it for now. Next thing you know you’ll be Hokage in the 5th great ninja war.”
“I’m not going to be Hokage. I don’t want that. I would rather focus on health care. Unless something happens to Naruto then I’ll do it. That’s if they ask me of course.”
“I hope you realize since you surpassed me you could very well be Hokage.”
“Let’s just end this conversation here. We’re at the bar anyway.”
Tsunade entered the bar with Sakura right behind her. She was lucky that the wind was able to dry her outfit quickly. She wasn’t going to look like a sob now. She then realized that she never cleaned up the mess. Great, she’ll have to deal with that later when it’s a sticky mess. They always had the round table booth at the back of the bar. At this point it was reserved for them. Sakura took her seat on the right of Shizune while Tsunade took the other side. She acknowledged both of them separately.
“I already ordered our usual for us.”
“Thank you, Shizune.”
“So, you're going to tell me now.”
“What is she going to tell you, Tsunade-sama?”
“I don’t know that’s why I’m asking.”
“I’m seeing someone.”
That was the last thing the other two females would have expected from her. Tsunade’s expression was more relaxed than she thought it would be as Shizune was surprised.
“That was the last thing I would have expected from you, kid. Now who is it so they can get a nice talking to with my fist.”
“Let’s not go there Tsunade-sama.”
“You might want to start drinking once I tell you.”
“Well why is that?”
“I’m sure whoever it is that they are a nice man and that I can trust him completely. I’m glad to hear you’ve moved on fully from your old crush.”
The drinks arrived shortly after Shizune’s comment. They each took their drinks. Sakura took a few sips while Tsunade almost downed hers in a sip. Shizune only took a small sip.
“It’s Sasuke-kun. I’m dating Sasuke-kun.”
Tsunade spit whatever remaining sake was in her mouth before she took a huge sip so she could take down the news. Shizune took it better than Tsunade, which was expected.
“Really the Uchiha brat. You couldn’t do any better? Well guess it’s time to have a talk with him. I don’t want no shit from him.”
“Tsunade-sama, let’s worry about talking for another time. I’m happy for you Sakura. I wish you well and you can talk to me about your relationship if you need.”
“Thank you, Shizune-san. Shishou, you can come by tomorrow or the day after if you’re so fixated on talking to Sasuke-kun. Just please don’t almost break down the door like you did with my office. Plus you’ll scare the living shit out of our cat, Daku. Before you say anything I wasn’t expecting to be adopting a cat so early in our relationship. He needed our help plus he helps Sasuke-kun with emotional support.”
“Eh, whatever. I won’t scare the damn cat away. If he does anything to hurt you again I won’t hesitate to break his remaining arm into pieces in which you can’t fix it.”
“I know he won’t hurt me. He’s different. This trip made him a better person. I noticed the change automatically and he wants to be better for me. I can just see it in his eyes. He’s already told me that he didn’t deserve me.”
“Well, what do you expect? The brat doesn’t deserve you, Sakura. You had so many boys chasing after you, but you chose him. Why?”
“At first when I was younger in the academy it was to fit in. I was bullied a lot in the academy. When Sasuke-kun was on my team it slowly developed into an actual crush. He had gone through a lot so he always pushed people away, which is understandable since it’s a natural trauma response. I could tell that I naturally cared for him; it was something holding him back. He was practically manipulated by someone who he loved the most. Yes, he did hurt me, but I also tried to hurt him. Him trying to kill me was a response to me trying to kill him. He was practically having a manic episode then. Being a person who I am, I wanted to save him, but I wasn’t strong enough. Naruto was the one to beat him in that fight and that’s what knocked sense into them. When he left the village he promised his return and that he would take me with him next time. That’s when I knew I should wait for him for however long that takes. Why would I give up? Plus it wouldn’t be fair in this world there’s a lot of people against him. Someone needs to be there for him and love him unconditionally. I wanted to be that person and now since he’s ready for that I am now.”
Sakura’s statement put Shizune into tears with how much alcohol she already ingested. As for Tsunade she just shook her head in approval with a smirk on her face. That made Sakura happy since she had approval on her end from someone who she saw as her mom, but she knew that Tsunade still needed to talk to Sasuke. She would be going into work later tomorrow so she wouldn’t be surprised if she woke up to Tsunade yelling at Sasuke.
“Let’s stop with this lighthearted shit and just drink. Sakura I’m expecting you to at least try to get drunk. Just don’t get alcohol poisoning, it's not a good feeling.”
“Yes, Shishou.”
As the night unfolded the three of them just kept tearing into drinks. Sakura mixed up her choices of alcoholic beverages going from sake to more fruity tastes. If she was going to be drinking a lot she at least wanted it to taste good. She still couldn’t get over how nasty sake could be. Sakura had to get used to it because she would find herself sometimes finishing Tsunade’s bottles for her when she was Hokage. At least Tsunade let her. When she tasted sake for the first time she wanted to vomit, but she kept it all in for the sake of everyone around her. She enjoyed more fruity flavors like strawberry, cherry, and lemonade. When she would go out to drink with Ino she would be more picky about her drinks. Ino also pulled Sakura off just drinking sake and brought her into the drinks she grew to love. They always went to this bar too. At this point she wasn’t surprised if she was getting discounts.
Tsunade was ranting about how her neighbors were very annoying and always made so much noise when she was home. Sakura chose not to question it since Tsunade was known for getting annoyed very easily. She remembered once that she adjusted something on her desk so sake didn’t spill on it, but that ended up with the desk being destroyed and her being yelled at not to move her stuff. Shizune was just going on at the same time about how working for Kakashi felt so weird, but gave her a breath of fresh air at the same time. Then started to cry over how much Sakura had grown as a person. Sakura just had to deal with all of this. This was always typical when it came to drinking with both of them. At least they got in a pretty decent conversation before the two of them got drunk so quickly. Sakura had to pace herself when it came to the both of them. She also knew she would be dropping them off at Tsunade’s place for the night. There was no way Shizune would be returning to work that night.
That’s exactly what ended up happening. Sakura had to carry Tsunade back while Shizune used her as support. The place Tsunade now called home for her retirement was at least nearby. Convenient how she was able to find a place near her favorite bar in the village. Sakura was a little tipsy herself, but nothing she couldn’t solve. She has never been as drunk as the other two in a long time. The last time was when she went out drinking with Tsunade for the first time.
The door was already unlocked and that caused her to roll her eyes. For being the former Hokage one would think she would lock her doors, but apparently not. Maybe she didn’t since she already scared the shit out of her neighbors. Sakura wouldn’t be surprised, but Tsunade also said she wanted a quiet retirement. The sight of the inside of the apartment didn’t surprise her. She was definitely going to have to visit to clean this place up unless Shizune beats her to it.
The three of them had a weird family-like dynamic. Tsunade was like a mother to both of them. Shizune was like Sakura’s older sister who takes care of her and also Tsunade. Then she was the youngest that Tsunade and Shizune cherished. Sakura guided Shizune to the couch. She kicked off any bottles that were on it. She located Tsunade’s room and laid her on her bed. Tsunade was always like this after hardcore drinking so she knew she would be fine later. Sakura took her leave from Tsunade’s apartment and she took the usual way home to her apartment. She was a little uneasy on her feet, but she was going to be fine.
Sakura arrived home a little bit after 12:30am. She kicked off her heels at the entrance of the apartment.
“Seems like you’re finally home.”
Sakura’s eyes diverted to the kitchen where she saw Sasuke getting himself some water.
“Sasuke-kun? You’re still up? Sorry, I worried you if I did. Tsunade dragged me out to go to a bar with her and Shizune.”
“I can smell the alcohol all over you.”
“I did drink a lot, but not as much as you think. Well, probably as much as you think since it’s hard for me to get drunk. I’m probably just tipsy right now since I’m talking so much. Also I told Tsunade so good luck with her tomorrow unless she forgets, but this is too important for her. So I’m going to bed good night.”
Sakura waved him goodbye and she made way to her room. Sasuke just watched and he couldn’t even say a word.
“I’m just going to go to bed. Come on, Daku.”
Daku jumped onto Sasuke’s shoulder. He, just like Sakura, made his way to his own room.
————
The next day Sakura woke to a pounding headache and someone yelling outside her room. Sighing, she pulled herself out of bed. She didn’t bother changing or taking a shower yet since she wanted to see what was going on. With passing the clock she did notice it was about 12pm. She certainly did sleep quite a lot last night. She doesn’t really remember what time, but it didn’t really matter since she felt well rested. Sakura took away her headache just a few minutes before with medical ninjutsu.
“Sasuke-kun, is everything alright? I didn’t expect to be woken up to yelling.”
She rubbed her eyes. Blurriness clouded her vision for a few seconds and what she saw next made her gasp. Tsunade had Sasuke by the neck and she practically looked like she wanted to murder him.
“So, tell me now, brat, what do you want from my Sakura.”
Sasuke tried to respond, but due to the force from Tsunade it wasn’t coming out clearly. Yes, he could break out of this easily, but as a former Hokage that Tsunade was, it would not be good for him plus this was someone Sakura was close with. He couldn’t do anything too drastic.
“Shishou, let go of him! He can’t speak if you hold him by his throat!”
Tsunade dropped him onto the ground. He caught himself, shortly stabilizing his balance and catching his breath as he thought out his words carefully.
“I care for her and I want to make her happy even if I don’t deserve her.”
“Eh, is that all you have to say?”
“Shinsou, he’s not very talkative. That’s really all you’re going to get from him. Also, you’re very sweet, Sasuke-kun.”
“Ugh, fine. All I’m saying is if you hurt her at all expect you to lose your other arm. I’ll make sure to break it in multiple areas making it unusable which leads to amputation. Well, at least you’ll have access to my grandfather’s cells that was formed for your other arm that you won’t take. Take that as a warning. Treat her well, brat. You make her happy and I like seeing her happy.”
Tsunade still had a stern look on her face when she looked at Sasuke. When her eyes turned to meet Sakura’s her mood changed quickly. She sent Sakura a quick smile.
“You look like shit, Sakura. I hope you’re not going into work like that. …..I’m kidding! I know you wouldn’t but seriously you do look like shit. Also your cat. I saw him earlier. He seems cute. Cats can make terrific emotional support animals. You have good intentions and also a good heart for rescuing that cat. Anyways I should leave so you can deal with however you start your day.”
Tsunade wrapped Sakura into a tight bear hug. She felt her back popping. She sent the same force back to Tsunade, getting the same reaction from her body. They let go of one another seconds later. She ruffled Sakura’s hair before she took off to the door. Tsunade sent one last death glare to Sasuke before slamming the door behind her.
“She’ll warm up to you one day. You’ll just have to prove yourself. You got her permission to be in a relationship with me so you should be happy. I’m surprised you won her over that quickly, but to be fair she is very lazy. That’s why she sucks at gambling.”
“Hn. You woke up later than usual.”
“Yeah, I was surprised too. I guess from going out and having fun for the first time in a while really does it for you.”
“I already ate and I have to leave now.”
“Oh, okay. That’s fine. I have work anyways.”
“The leftovers from what I made are in the fridge.”
“Okay! Thank you! I wish you well with what you have to do today.”
“Yeah.”
Sasuke clipped his cloak over his body. He had his sword on him as well. He always carried it with him just in case. He was always paranoid that something or someone would attack him. He shortly went out the door leaving Sakura to start her day.
Sasuke wasn’t sure how he was going to handle what he was about to do. Currently he was right outside the Yamanaka’s flower shop. He could see Ino in there along with Sai. He needed advice on what to do for Sakura for a date and this was his best bet. He took a deep breath before he pushed the door open. His scent was engulfed with the aroma of flowers. Ino was the one to recognize his presence first.
“Sasuke-kun! What brings you here? Are you buying flowers for a certain someone?”
“Ah, it’s the traitor. How’s ugly doing?”
Ugly? Who the hell was ugly. That question left a questionable look on his face. He wasn’t going to say anything about the nickname traitor since was in fact a traitor for a good time.
“He means Sakura when he means ugly. He gives people nicknames.”
Sasuke found this newfound fact about Sai weird, but he had no reason to confront it.
“She’s not ugly.”
Was all Sasuke could spit out. He didn’t even realize he said what he said until he saw the look Ino gave him. It was mixed with shock and he swore he could see a smirk. This made him tense up a little bit. Before Ino or Sai could comment anything he just got right to the point.
“I need your help.”
“With what?”
Sasuke took a deep breath as he figured out how to phrase what he wanted to say. Things always were easier with Sakura so why was he hesitating now?
“I want to..take Sakura on a….date.”
It didn’t even take a second for Ino to start squealing. Sasuke was already mentally face-palming himself over this. He should have not asked.
“Omg! It’s finally happening. Sai! Did you hear that!”
“Yes, I did, beautiful.”
“Naruto gave bad advice. I want your help.”
“I can do that! We’ll plan an amazing date. Sai, you take care of the shop. I have to deal with this. This is more urgent.”
Ino went to grab Sasuke’s hand. He immediately pulled it away. He did follow Ino into the back of the store to where the office was. He took a seat across from Ino.
“I’m so happy that you came to me for this. Sakura is going to be so in love with you even more than she is now. Good to know you won’t listen to Naruto about dating advice. He was lucky Hinata was head over heels for him. So, what do you have in mind?”
“Somewhere nice and quiet.”
“We don’t want something basic either since that’s boring. You might as well get out of the house too. For Sai and I’s first date he taught me how to paint. It was really cute and he won me over even more. We also-“
“I don’t care about you and him.”
“Got it. Still blunt as ever. Well Sakura loves food. Her favorite foods are syrup-coated anko dumplings, umeboshi, and anmitsu, while her least favorite are anything spicy. As you know she basically spends her free time playing trivia games and anything medical related. I would suggest taking her out of her comfort zone a little bit. I have an idea! How about a picnic for the first date. I can help you make her favorite foods and yours too if you tell me what they are. Do you have a spot in mind at all? If you want it to be quiet and out of sight you might want to leave the village for the date. There are eyes everywhere.”
Sasuke thought for a minute or so before responding.
“I have a spot in mind.”
“That’s great, do you want to show me? That could help me also figure out the decorations. Don’t give me that look. The basket and blanket are going to have to fit the theme. Omg you also should watch the stars with her. She likes stargazing when she gets the chance, which she barely does now. You know what’s also perfect? She has her day off tomorrow.”
Sakura did have her day off tomorrow. That would be the perfect opportunity. He was also going to have to mentally prepare himself for it and how he would ask her. Would she say no? No, she wouldn’t. He can’t sike himself out now.
“I’ll show you the spot.”
Sasuke got up from the office chair he was sitting in. He turned around in one quick motion and walked out of the room. Ino got up right after him and jogged to catch up with his pace. She sent Sai a quick smile and said that she would be back shortly to him. She then got a thumbs up from him.
“How far is this place from the village?”
“15 minutes.”
“Eh, it could be worse.”
Sasuke had multiple places he wanted to take Sakura. He wasn’t sure when the next of his travels was going to take place, but he knew they would be with Sakura. He did promise her it and it would be a shame if he broke that promise. This spot was one of the closer ones to the village. It was on a higher up hill, but once you reached the top it leveled out. It gave an amazing view of the village and it also gave a good view of mountains in the distance. Plus it would be an amazing spot for stargazing.
When they arrived at the spot he glanced over at Ino for approval. He could see she was thinking about it really hard. So he just kept quiet and admired the view. He thinks Sakura would like it. To be fair Sakura would like anything he would do for her. He wanted to make their first date memorable and not boring. They were already dating, but they were still in the awkward part of their relationship. Sakura wasn’t as awkward as Sasuke was. He wanted to open up more to her with this date and if he was finally ready to kiss her. Sasuke felt like it was long overdue for them to kiss, but he also didn’t want to rush things to freak himself out. He told himself he would be fine. His internal monologue was stopped when Ino finally said something.
“Sasuke, she will love this. Who knew you were a secret romantic. We have a lot of planning to do and you better show up very early to help. I’ll also set it all up for you to make sure it looks great for her. Once I see you and her on your way I’ll leave the area. Please give my best friend a date she will cherish.”
“I will.”