Chapter 7
“What does your dream life look like?”
Sakura asked as she laid next to Sasuke on the couch, her head resting on his shoulder.
“Hm. My family still alive along with my clan, having you with me, and eventually our own family.”
“You want a family with me?”
“Yes, eventually.”
“You’re too sweet.”
Sakura wiped the happy tears out of her eyes. She was happy to be in Sasuke’s dream life with him and to eventually be parents with him. She knew that she wasn’t ready to be a mother yet along with Sasuke being a father, but they didn’t need to rush their relationship. Her train of thought ended with Sasuke asking her a question.
“What insecurity holds you back?”
“For a while it was not possible to be as good as you and Naruto along with my inferiority complex. I later learned that you and Naruto are on a different level. I shouldn't compare myself to you guys. I was a simple civilian clanless girl and then there’s you guys. I never got the training you guys got growing up and then the help until I went to Lady Tsunade to train me. I’m just happy I’m able to protect myself and do something that you guys can’t so you need me. I’m team 7’s support teammate along with being like a tank. I can take hits for you guys that you guys can’t. That’s why when I charged Madara and told you guys to follow me I got impaled. I can take that hit while you guys can’t to my exent. Sigh, I need to stop rambling. I still do have my inferiority complex from bullies and my parents being the worst of them all.”
“Sakura, please don’t compare yourself to us. I know you’re not weak, but like you said we have more of an advantage due to what’s inside us and our blood. You’re truly remarkable for what you can achieve in general when you came from nothing in terms of power and strength. You’re still the smartest on our team and you can get out of Genjutsu easily. Don’t forget about all the people that have complimented you through the war. I was listening.”
Sasuke wiped away any tears that were flowing out of her eyes. He poked her seal before kissing it. She took a minute to collect herself before she asked him another question.
“What’s the best life lesson you have learned?”
“Taking revenge was not the way to go. As my therapist said forgiving others not only makes you the ‘bigger person’, it also benefits your physical, emotional, and mental health. Once I took my revenge on it did not make me feel good.”
“I see. Do you want to explain more or just stop there.”
“I’ll continue a little bit more if I can.”
“Take your time.
“When I finally killed Itachi I felt good since I avenged my clan. It was until I was told the truth on why he did it in the first place.”
Sasuke stopped to catch his breath. Sakura squeezed his hand to give him reassurance. He then continued,
“I learned that it was a mission he was given. He turned himself into a villain in my life to save me and this village. Yes, he still made my life a living hell, but I’ve grown to be able to deal with it. I wish I didn’t have to go through it, but it made me stronger. He was a good brother and even with how our last years together I regret it. It was inevitable, his death.”
“I don’t have the right to comment and there’s nothing I can say to help. I’m here for you and all I can really say is I’m sorry. I wish there was more I could do for you.”
“Just being here with you is nice and comforting.”
“I’m glad you told me, you don’t deserve to hurt anymore by yourself. You can cry if you need, but knowing all the pain you’ve gone through there’s a possibility you can’t cry. Being unable to cry isn't necessarily a problem. Some people have honed healthy ways to feel and process emotions of sadness without crying. I’m a doctor so I know. We can stop with these questions for now since I don’t want you to push yourself too much. You’re not usually very emotional and open about things so when you do open up about them it’ll drain you. If you want you can lay on my lap and rest if you want. I could just play with your hair and whisper some encouragement.”
Sakura kissed the edge of his lower lip as she adjusted herself over to give Sasuke room to move. She felt his head in her lap moments later. She rested her hand on his head before she went to massage his head and play with his hair. She hummed a song that always calmed her down when she was little. Sakura wasn’t sure it would work with him, but it was worth a shot. She was also ready for it if it made him uneasy at all.
“Sasuke-kun, you’ve come a long way. Even with the bad choices you’ve made you realized what you did was wrong and that makes you a good person. It was the Sasuke-kun I fell in love with. I’m just glad that you’re better and not suffering like you used to. Everyone deserves happiness. You’re an amazing person for turning your life around and deciding to be a better person. You have people around you that care even if they don’t show it. People might still look at you with horror, but they don’t realize what you’ve done for the world and this village. They’ll come around eventually and if they don't you have Naruto and I to back you up. I would assume most of our friends too would stand up for you.”
“You always know how to make me feel better.”
“I know you inside and out, Sasuke-kun, from what you’ve shown me. There’s still things I need to learn, but I’m here for the journey. Don’t plan on leaving.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course.”
———-
“They’re going to be here any minute!”
Sakura shouted from the kitchen.
“Feeding Daku. Be right there.”
Sakura was preparing tea for the group that was coming over, which was technically team 7 plus Ino and Hinata. They thought of inviting Temari and Shikamaru, but they currently were not in the hidden leaf. She guessed they were in the hidden sand village with Temari’s brothers. They planned this last week during the team 7 hangout, but it wasn’t official until a few days ago. Her alcohol stash was stocked full again from their last hang out here and she just went to the grocery store. Hinata already insisted that she would bring lunch with her and Naruto when they arrived. She said it would most likely be chicken and pork fried rice with extra vegetables. Naruto insisted it was good and she was going to believe him.
Their time at the academy this week teaching went really well. They continued their taijutsu training from a few weeks ago. She showed them more advanced techniques to see if they were able to achieve them. Both of them didn’t want to push the kids too much. They were already very advanced compared to their academy class and they haven’t even graduated yet. She also wanted them to build strength, not to her exent unless they wanted to go down that path, so they can have good muscle mass, stamina, and endurance. She even had an academy student very interested in medical ninjutsu. She was very happy to show them a few things and she even promised to teach him more once he graduated then was on a genin team.
While Sakura was continuing to make tea there was a knock on the door. Her head turned to the sound before it turned to where Sasuke was, exiting the bathroom where they kept Daku’s things. She sent him a look telling him to get the door for her. He gave her a knob, approaching the door shortly after. Opening the door, Sasuke was greeted by Sai and Ino. Naruto and Hinata were not here yet, which didn’t bother him. They most likely got distracted knowing Naruto or they were finishing up the lunch Hinata made for them.
“Hello, traitor. I’m surprised ugly did not answer the door.”
“Hey, Sasuke!”
“Hn.”
“I’m in the kitchen making tea! Feel free to take anywhere on the couch or anywhere else!”
Sasuke moved away from the door to let the both of them in. He made his way over to Sakura offering help, but she insisted it was fine. She also insisted on getting Daku. Daku hasn’t been around any other humans since they have brought him in. They didn’t want him to feel scared so with just two more people in the house they needed to acclimate him. Once Naruto arrives it might be a bit hard since he’s very loud, but Sakura will probably give me a warning. Sasuke did what he was told. Daku was now in his arm, leaning against his chest.
“Ino and Sai I just want to warn you that he’s a special cat. We found him near death and have brought him into our family. He hasn’t been around any humans yet so we’re not sure how he’ll act. Just be careful with him and don’t scare him. He’s very skittish, but very affectionate when he is comfortable. He typically clings to Sasuke-kun. Same goes the other way around at times.”
Sakura stated, bringing the tea to the coffee table. She took a seat in one of the chairs close to the couch. Sasuke set Daku in front of Sai and Ino.
“From one of the books I’ve read it states that you should wait for an animal to smell you and make the interaction first when you first meet them.”
“Yes, that’s correct, Sai.”
Daku looked up at Sai before his attention turned to Sai’s leg. To familiarize himself he took in Sai’s scent. He took a few seconds before rubbing his head on Sai’s pant leg. A soft meow came out of his mouth before rubbing himself on Sai’s leg once again.
“I suppose that means the cat likes me. That is what the book says.”
“I would wait a little bit before trying to pick him up. I would suggest maybe just giving him some pets. He likes being scratched on his ears and under his chin.”
Sai nodded at Sakura’s statement, bending down to pet Daku. He let the cat smell his hands before giving him a nice scratching under his chin. He pulled himself away once he thought it was enough. He took the advice of not trying anything else until Daku approached him. It took a little bit longer for Daku to get situated with Ino for some reason, but she received the same treatment. Daku retreated back to Sasuke, jumping up onto his lap shortly after.
“You were right. He really does like Sasuke. Maybe he’s an emotional support animal for him.”
Ino stated, picking the cup of tea up. Logically thinking it would make sense since Sasuke has gone through great trauma and having an emotional support animal would be the best for him along with therapy. Sakura always mentioned to her that he was a fan of animals. With his more introverted personality Ino could see that especially with the sight she was seeing now.
A loud knock was heard at the door surprising most people in the room. Daku went off running to the other side of the apartment. Sighing, Sakura got up from the seat she was sitting to open the door. She could tell it was Naruto and Hinata. She could hear Hinata softly saying to not bang on the door so loudly. Sakura opened the door and was greeted with Naruto pulling her into a hug.
“Sakura-Chan! I haven’t seen you in forever.”
“We saw each other at the academy this week.”
“Whatever you say!”
“Hello, Sakura.”
“Hey, Hinata. Let me help you with what you’re holding.”
Sakura took the containers of food from Hinata’s hands. She offered for her to go sit down shortly after. She wasn’t particularly hungry as of right now, but if anyone else was they were welcome to get a plate of food.
“Naruto and Hinata. Just wanted to let you know that Daku is around somewhere. If he comes out, be patient with him there’s a lot more people in this apartment that he’s used to. He’s friendly, but it'll take a bit for him to trust you completely. He’s only at most comfortable with Sasuke-kun and I. Sai and Ino are on their way to get to that level but they’ve only just met. As I told them we found him very injured and starved he was most likely going to die if we didn’t get there in time. He took an interest in Sasuke-kun and we decided to keep him the first night we had him. He looks a lot better than he did previously. Daku is also a bit small for his age, which is probably a little over a year.”
“Thank you for telling us. I’ll make sure to be careful with Daku and I’ll make sure Naruto-kun is too.”
It was a fact that Naruto was a very loud and energetic person. With Sakura’s description he understood what needed to be done, but it would be best to have someone to keep a look out just in case. He counted on Hinata for that and he knew he could trust her. Naruto walked past Sakura, pulling Hinata along with him. She told the same thing to them about taking a seat in the living room anywhere.
“Sakura-Chan! Do you like the coffee table? I see that it’s here and being used. I helped make it! I don’t think he told you that, but I did.”
“Don’t need to worry. He told me. It’s really nice and I’m glad you helped him. That’s the least you could do for breaking it over a month ago.”
“Hey! It was an accident and I was excited. Sasuke came home after being away for a while and I missed my best friend. At least it’s fixed now plus it’s a gift from your boyfriend and it’s better than the old one you had.”
Hinata looked shocked at Naruto stating Sasuke was Sakura’s boyfriend. Did he really not tell her about their relationship? Sakura honestly expected he would since this was a bit of a triple date.
“You didn’t tell her? I thought you were going to since this is you know a triple date.”
“I thought she already knew! You guys are close so I expected it.”
“I haven’t seen her in a while, how was I supposed to do that? We both have busy schedules.”
“It’s fine. I know now at least. Congratulations, Sakura.”
“Thank you, Hinata. We really appreciate it.”
Sasuke was his usual quiet self. He was watching everyone’s conversations. Sai and Ino were having a conversation currently to themselves. He couldn’t tell what they were saying. Naruto and Sakura’s conversation was louder so he was more drawn to that. This was going to be a long day if it was just going to be like this. Sasuke kept a straight face during all of the conversation. His head would move in the direction where he heard his name. He also heard Naruto announce Sakura and his relationship during their conversation. He also saw Hinata get surprised so this must be the first time she was hearing it.
“So, Sakura, since this was your idea, what are we going to do?”
Ino questioned the pink-haired female.
“That’s a good idea. I’ve been thinking and since we’re in the apartment we have less options, but we can just talk and have a lazy day. If that makes sense we could also play those stupid games kids play since we never really got the chance to. Of course we can always cook together, but knowing the boys they would find more interest in something else. You also know that I have a lot of alcohol. I restocked it yesterday. If you guys have any other ideas just throw them out.”
“How about we throw movies into the mix as background noise?”
“That could work with just no romance movies since not everyone likes them and I can’t stand watching so many at once.”
“But what about when we watch them all at once?”
“That’s a different story plus there’s more people here and they don’t like romance movies like you.”
“I watch romance movies with beautiful.”
“Good to know, Sai.”
“I don’t know about you guys, but an action movie is a safe bet dattebayo.”
“I suppose you are right, Naruto. Due to our fields of work it does make sense. Didn’t like this new set of movies come out recently that are about a group of superheroes that protect earth? I’ve been too busy with the hospital to read up or watch anything on it so maybe we can watch those?”
“Oh yeah! I’ve heard of those I’ve wanted to watch them too! Let’s do it, but I want to eat first I’m starving!”
“You can watch and eat at the same time, dobe.”
“I think he knows that, Sasuke-kun. Hopefully.”
“Hey! I heard that. I’m not the smartest, but I’m not dumb! Well not that dumb.”
“Whatever you say. Sasuke-kun, can you find the movies? It’ll probably be really easy. I’m going to make you a plate of food along with me.”
Sakura tossed him the remote and he grabbed it with ease. He turned on the tv and flipped through the list of new movies that had come out recently. Meanwhile Hinata, Sakura, and Ino were in the kitchen making their plates along with Sasuke, Naruto, and Sai’s plates. They all took a seat next to their respective partners. Sakura handed Sasuke his plate, making sure there were tomatoes. Sasuke was able to find the movie they were looking for after a while of scrolling and it made it obvious when Naruto shouted out that it was the movie.
“Alright before we start what was the worst injury you’ve gotten.”
Ino questioned, trying to make conversation since she didn’t know what to talk about. Sakura was the first one to speak up.
“Depends there was my training with Tsunade-sama where she almost broke all my bones in my body. The most recent one would be when I tanked that tailed beast bomb against Kido. That hurt so fucking much. I’m not sure since I was so full of adrenaline, but I think I lost a good part of my arm along with my side during that fight.”
“Yikes, Sakura-Chan. I'm so glad granny didn’t train me. Also I know how much damage those tailed beast bombs do. I'm surprised you even tanked it. Sooo worst injury…”
Naruto looked down at his right arm. He did have a prosthetic now at least. He simply gestured at the arm, which everyone understood.
“Honestly either that or that time when you had to heal me for three days to give me enough chakra to live. I still feel bad since you were out cold for a while.”
“If I’m going to be honest I think I have something worse than that for you Naruto. You died during the war and I had to pump your heart and give you cpr to keep you alive until we were able to save you.”
Naruto had no idea about this. His mouth hung open, processing the information. Hinata remembered that moment since she was running to save him too, but Sakura was there first. She was thankful for Sakura for saving Naruto’s life.
Sasuke did the same thing as Naruto. He didn’t have his cloak on right now so everyone could see his stump even if it was covered with the long sleeved sweater he was wearing. He didn’t feel like mentioning anything else since any other injury wasn’t as dire as losing a limb. Hinata replied with her worst injury being during the pain attack. Everyone did agree with it, especially Naruto and Sakura. Sakura had to save her life along with Naruto watching what happened.
“Hm. That is a good question. I suppose during my time in Root I had a terrible injury. There was a time where my guts were almost falling out of me, but the medical staff was able to save my life.”
“Yikes, I feel like I haven’t had a terrible injury compared to you guys.”
“Well, in my defense I can’t have scars due to my seal. I had that scar from Sasori, but once I activated my seal it disappeared. Naruto has regeneration, but he can’t regenerate like I do. While the rest of you can’t, at least I believe so. I know I can heal scars away due to my experience with the medical field, but people tend to keep their scars to show a mistake or a battle they won. Depends on the person.”
The movie had started playing in the background. Naruto and Sakura typically enjoyed talking while watching a movie. Ino couldn’t stand it at times, but seemed to always say something back to her about what Sakura was talking about. She wasn’t sure how Sasuke or Hinata would deal with it. She enjoyed talking about the movie and creating theories to discuss with Naruto. If Sakura remembered correctly, the last time they actually watched a movie together was almost half a year ago due to their busy schedules. She couldn’t remember what the movie was about, but she knew it had to be an action movie.
So far the heroes they were introduced to were the leader of the group that had super strength along with superhuman endurance and durability. Their fighting style made up for lack of abilities. The next member of the superhero group was someone who was super fast with the same durability if not better than the leader. The next person on the team was just a simple human, but had great technology to make up for it. The second to last member of the team could shift into animals. Finally the last was the most powerful and was considered a god with everything they could do. So far they were all brought together to deal with the world ending and their job was to save it. Turned out one of their sister’s was behind it.
“The villain of this movie was really good. Being a doctor while watching this makes me sad because you can tell she never got the mental help she needed and that caused her to end up this way. It’s also depressing to hear just how powerful and manic she is when she is simply just a 15 year old girl. Maybe in the upcoming movie she’ll get the help she needs and join the heroes to save the world again? It would make sense unless they just waste her character completely, but that would be stupid. She’s a complex character and she deserves some love.”
“You’re very invested, forehead.”
“I have the right, it was an actual good movie even if the villains happen to be aliens that are following a mentally unstable teenager.”
“Always looking at everything from a doctor's standpoint.”
“Is that a problem?”
The movie ended up lasting over two hours for the first one and they ultimately decided to not watch the next one for the day. If they continued these triple dates they would watch the next one or they individually would watch them themselves. Daku came out a few times during the movie. He was able to get used to the amount of people, but he still hid in Sasuke’s room.
The tea cups along with the lunch they had were cleaned away by Sakura and Hinata after the movie. Ino already yelled at her to get the alcohol out and already stated they would play those stupid games they never got to play when they were younger. Sakura brought some wine, sake, and simple beer with her while Hinata brought the glasses with her. Sakura set the items of alcohol on the coffee table while Hinata set the glasses in front of each person. Since Ino suggested the game she was going to go first. Pouring herself a glass of wine, her head turned over to Sai to ask him a question. One would just know she would make it dirty as possible since Ino basically had no filter. Ino might surprise them however.
“Sai, would you rather empty a swimming pool using just a fork or get in a swimming pool for half an hour with a jellyfish?”
“It’s not possible to empty a swimming pool with just a fork, beautiful. I would choose the jellyfish since I can avoid them plus if I were to get stung I know a wonderful medical ninja who happens to be my teammate and if she isn’t available beautiful can do it.”
Not that bad of a start. It would probably pick up eventually. Where they were right now was a good starting point.
“Ugly, would you rather be stuck on an island for eternity all on your own or with someone you hate?”
“That’s a good question. I would do it with someone I hate. We would eventually get over ourselves and become good friends. We would also end up finding a way off of the island together.”
Sakura took a sip of wine she poured herself. She believed she gave a good reasoning. Sai never said they couldn’t find a way off of the island, but it’s heavily implied. She could find a loophole.
“Hinata, would you rather not be able to smell or taste.”
“Smell because I like my sense of taste plus it makes it easier to make sure my food is cooked.”
“Makes sense. Carry on.”
“Naruto-kun, would you rather travel somewhere to eat ramen or stay in the village without ramen.”
“Awww man, I would like to travel. I love your food, but I can’t live without ramen. You can come with me!”
“Okay..”
“Hey, teme! Would you rather have a cupboard full of sex toys or kinky outfits?”
Sasuke spit out his drink at Naruto’s question, sending him an angered look while Sakura sent him a horrified look. Everyone looked at Sasuke for an answer, but he just stayed silent. It stayed silent for a while until Sakura spoke upZ
“How about we add a rule. If you don’t choose anything you take a shot. Does that sound okay?”
Sasuke didn’t answer, he simply poured himself a shot and he quickly chugged it down. He needed to think of a question to ask Ino.
“Famous or rich?”
“Really Sasuke is that all you can come up with? I’ll be rich because I can be famous by being rich.”
“Hn.”
“I guess since we’re already getting into sexual questions I might as well as Sai this even though I know the answer. Would you rather dominate or be dominated?”
“Whatever you are in the mood in. I do not mind.”
That necessarily didn’t answer the question, but it wasn’t going to be pushed much further. Sai shortly after went to ask Sakura the question he thought of.
“Would you rather have your hair pulled or your back scratched?”
“Pfft this one is going to be good, you better answer, forehead.”
Ino poured herself another glass of wine while she waited.
“Sigh, I’ll go with hair pulling.”
“You heard it here folks. Sasuke, you better be ready. I knew you just had to be kinky.”
Ino shouted. Sakura was hiding her embarrassed face while Sasuke masked his reaction the best he could. He’ll have to remember that for some time later. Sakura didn’t feel like asking Hinata a dirty question so she went for a pretty normal one.
“Hinata, would you rather know the date you will die in the future or the cause of your death?”
“Date of my death so I have an idea of how much I can live my life. I would also not have to live with fear for the rest of my life if I knew my cause of death.”
“Valid reasoning. Continue on.”
“Naruto-kun, would you rather always say what’s on your mind or never speak again?”
“I practically always say what’s on my mind, dattebayo!”
“I can agree with that since we’re on the same team.”
“Why do you have to tease me, Sakura-chan.”
“Hey, Sasuke, would you rather not have to pay for travel expenses or not have to pay for food.”
“Not pay for food. I slept in the woods.”
“Makes sense. You probably smelled so bad when you came back. Poor Sakura-Chan.”
“He didn’t smell that bad, at least I don’t believe so. It was just a woodsy smell mixed with sweat, but I couldn’t really smell the body odor. It didn’t bother me. I’ve smelled worse at the hospital.”
Sasuke went to ask Ino his question of choice.
“Buried alive or eaten alive?”
“Jesus, umm. Buried alive? At least by that I can escape being eaten alive doesn’t sound fun. Anyways, Sai, would you rather have a lot of children or no children at all.”
“If my only option is a lot of children I would do it because I want to have a family with you one day.”
Sai kissed Ino’s cheek. With his usual smile he stared down Sakura.
“Would you rather be constantly alone or constantly surrounded by people for a week?”
“Surrounded by people for a week I work at a hospital so I’m used to it. Plus I have a good social battery. Hinata, would you rather give bad advice or listen to bad advice?”
“Listen to bad advice. I would feel bad giving bad advice. Would you rather have to do paperwork and never fight again like you usually do or fight for the rest of your life when danger is here but you can’t achieve your goal.”
“The first one! I can do paperwork, but it’s so boring. I also want to become Hokage. I’ll never fight the same since it won’t be as needed since we’re at peace. Better than having to be in war constantly and not achieving my dream.”
Sasuke was bored out of his mind and his social battery was draining quickly. He didn’t bother to answer Naruto’s last question for him, instead he just took a shot. Sakura could sense that Sasuke was already done with hanging out. They’ve been here for most of the day and it was already dark outside. They didn’t continue anymore rounds instead they drank. Sasuke didn’t feel the need to drink anymore since he already felt so shitty. Sakura was drinking a lot, but didn’t look very phased. Ino was so close to blacking out with how much she drank. Sai was fine along with Hinata. It took about an hour before everyone was gone. Sakura had cleaned up after everyone. Sai ended up dragging Ino out of here along with Hinata doing the same as Naruto. Sakura joined Sasuke on the couch after that.
“I know you’re feeling very tipsy right now and same for me. I was wondering if you wanted to sleep together. Not like that I just mean in the same bed so we can get used to it. I also kinda want you with me tonight since I have to deal with something soon.”
Sasuke nodded, slinging Sakura across his shoulder. A squeak escaped her lips. He dropped her on her bed before he left. She assumed that he was getting ready for bed. Sakura decided the same. She changed into bicycle shorts and a big shirt. Sasuke entered back into the room without a shirt, but he was wearing pajama pants.
It was awkward at first, but once they got comfortable in her bed they both fell asleep in peace. Sasuke had an arm around Sakura and he held her close. He was a bit uncomfortable at first, but he is got used to it. He hasn’t done this with someone before. Sasuke wasn’t also sure if this was going to be a new thing between them or if it was only if you needed it. He remembered his mother and father sleeping in the same bed. Was it okay to sleep on the same bed as your partner if you aren’t married? His parents were very traditional. Would that mean he would have to be too?