therapist, or tween in trenchcoat?
Sakura gently slid the hospital room door shut, finally been glared out by Sasuke after pestering him for too long.
She whipped out her little notebook, immediately noting down Sasuke's space out time for today. It wasn't creepy, okay! She was just concerned for her fellow teammate.
And it wasn't for Sasuke alone! She kept tabs on all her teammates! Like how fast Kakashi-sensei can inhale a dish before anyone could see his face (an incredible 2.3 seconds highscore), or how many times Naruto could say y'know in one day (73 times apparently). And a lot more!
At first, she was just journaling. Just about her day, what she ate, when she saw Sasuke, her training for the day, last time she talked to Sasuke -
Okay, maybe it was a bit creepy.
But after an imposter took Naruto's place in the Forest of Death, and Sakura was the last to catch on to the fact her teammate was an entirely different person, she realized she needed to up her game. What kind of ninja can't recognize her teammate's been replaced? A terrible one.
Speaking of Naruto, Sakura did feel kinda bad leaving him in the Hokage Tower alone. But she couldn't help it! Sasuke looked like he always did before he spaced out, and she was afraid he wouldn't make it back to the hospital.
It wasn't too late, Sakura thought as she looked at the bright sun. They barely spent an hour, so Naruto should still be at the Tower, right?
Sakura promised to herself she'd treat Naruto better after the Chuunin Exams, she can't go back on her word!
Alright! Sakura pumped her fist in the air, speed walking out of the hospital and leaping onto the electrical poles.
Konoha always looked beautiful to Sakura, and it shines golden under the summer sun. The rays of light caught on the leaves and painted them a radiant yellow, and the streets seemed to shine.
What a lovely day, she thought. Then she had to reroute when she almost slammed straight into a building.
Sakura made intimate eye contact with the cement walls of a building that was way too close, swerving last second to start running up the wall instead of hurtling straight into it. She almost slipped, what with redirecting chakra at such a sudden notice, but her pride outweighed her fear of falling right now.
AAAAH, Sakura slammed her hands on her red face, SO EMBARRASSING.
It's fine, no one saw her.
Right?
Sakura chanced a glance behind her, immediately relieved to see no one on the street had been looking up. Civilians are used to ninja running over their heads, so they probably didn't pay much attention.
It's a shame Sakura didn't stay to watch for a little longer, she would've seen a shinobi chewing on a senbon, incredulously tracing over the pristine wall she had almost collided with at breakneck speed.
"Naruto!"
Sakura waved, masking the slight worry that bubbled up when she saw her teammate. Naruto is usually- so much. Loud, obnoxious.
He was sitting quietly, now. Less like her daredevil teammate and more like a lost child.
He was dwarfed in one of the chairs that were just outside the Hokage office, had he been waiting here all the time?
Sakura walked over to Naruto, pretending to not see him rub furiously at his eyes.
"Hey Sakura-chan! Did Sasuke make it back to the hospital? Not that I care!"
Sakura rolled her eyes, familiar with Sasuke and Naruto's brand of emotional constipation. They were teammates, of course they cared about each other. Boys are so weird.
Naruto sounded more subdued than usual, though. Usually, he'd ask why she doesn't walk him to the hospital, or ask her out, or talk about training; just immediately going into a tangent.
He just sat there, grinning at her so widely his eyes squeezed shut.
Sakura shuffled awkwardly, not knowing what to do. If it was Ino-pig, she'd make fun of her and take her to eat her feelings at the greasy restaurant close to the red light district that her mom technically doesn't let her go to.
Naruto was obviously upset, since his dad basically kicked him out like a little kid to talk to the adults. Sakura gets pissed off too when her parents do the same.
She opened her mouth to say as much -
WAIT. Naruto didn't know his dad was alive til today! She can't be insensitive and whine about her little fights with her parents!
Yes, yes, she needed to approach this with class.
"Your dad is like, everyone's first crush,"
Silence. You could practically hear the Hashirama tree's photosynthesizing. Or maybe they were shaking too hard from laughing at Sakura.
The secretary that was trying not to look like she was eavesdropping choked on her cigarette, and the guards in front of the Hokage Office were shaking hard enough to make their spears clink against each other.
And Sakura? Well, she had turned her flaming red face towards one of the windows, half a leg already out in an attempt to escape.
"Does that mean you had a crush on me?!"
Naruto's question was so stupid it stopped Sakura right in her tracks. The secretary was now coughing up plumes of smoke with tears running down her face.
"What - what does that have to do with anything? No!! Obviously!" Sakura was so offended by the implication, sticking her leg back inside and marching back into Naruto's personal space.
"Well, you said everyone had a first crush on m dad, and I look like him, y'know, so you had a crush on me!"
Sakura gaped, sputtering incomprehensibly at Naruto's smug face.
"I said everyone, I'm not everyone," Sakura turned her nose up.
Sure, the Yondaime was cute, but the Nidaime was obviously cuter. She just never said it out loud because she didn't want Sasuke to overhear. After all, the Nidaime was infamous for his dislike of the Uchiha.
"You don't even look like the Yondaime!" Sakura realized happily, pointing at Naruto, "you just have his colors,"
"Ah, dammit," Naruto sulked, "dad did say I look more like my mom,"
Still, even if he didn't share his looks, Naruto was the son of a Hokage, Sakura realized with a jolt. Should she treat Naruto a bit more respectfully now?
She looked up from her musings to see Naruto picking wax out of his ears.
Yeah right, she thought as she grabbed the scruff of his hideous jacket, no special treatment for this loser.
"Wha- Sakura-chan! I gotta wait for my dad!"
Sakura almost bonked him on the head, barely restraining herself. Naruto is still shocked from finding out his dad is alive, she reminded herself.
"We're going to that ramen stand you like so much -
"Ichiraku's!!"
- yeah, yeah, that one. Hokage meetings take hours, you're gonna starve waiting on them to finish,"
Like clockwork, Naruto's tummy rumbled.
Naruto's face went beet red, mumbling something about not having breakfast, and Sakura shoved him forward to swing her arm around his shoulder.
If anyone saw Sakura and Naruto like this, she might have to kill them both, then the witness, out of embarrassment.
But no matter how embarrassing it was to willingly invite Naruto to ramen, Sakura couldn't get the image on Naruto sitting in that big guest seat outside the office, on his own.
Alright, idiot, she thought while Naruto rambled about Ichiraku's best toppings, just a little special treatment.
"Did you find out who your mom is?"
Sakura interrupted Naruto's heated, one sided debate on menma as a ramen topping. If Naruto's dad wasn't Uzumaki, that meant -
"Yeah!! She's an Uzumaki, and a really good sealer, and my dad's rival, and I look like her, y'know -"
Naruto sounded really, really happy to know things about his mom, it made Sakura's annoyance at being subjected to an inhumane exposure to ramen toppings recede.
They made it to the stall, waving at old man Ichiraku and placing in their orders. Naruto ate way more than what was ethically recommended while Sakura got first seats to that gross display.
It felt like a typical team 7 lunch, even if they were missing half the team.
"I can't believe my dad was Kaka-sensei's sensei," Naruto lamented, elbow deep into his fifth bowl.
Sakura almost nodded her head, then whipped it around so fast her hair slapped Naruto in the eye.
"What do you mean by that, Naruto," Sakura asked in a sickeningly sweet voice, ignoring Naruto's cries of pain.
"Kakashi-sensei was my dad's student! I'm so pissed at him y'know, cuz that means he knew everything already, and didn't tell me!"
Sakura gasped, and Naruto furiously nodded, clearly pleased by her reaction.
"Maybe he couldn't say anything?" Sakura attempted to defend whatever scraps of respect Naruto had for Kakashi-sensei before they were completely crushed.
"Kakashi-sensei is super strong," Naruto swiveled his head left and right. That's true, Kakashi-sensei was so strong, he was a runner up for Hokage when the Sandaime died.
"And jiji would never do that! He wouldn't,"
The last part was delivered weakly, as if Naruto was already doubting it. Sakura watched Naruto pick mulishly at his ramen, a small vortex forming in her stomach and threatening to swallow her up.
Sakura bit her lip, casting her gaze towards the Hokage Tower. Ramen didn't help much, but how was she supposed to distract Naruto any longer...
Wait. There was one thing.
Sakura rushed to finish her noodles, almost choking on the broth as she downed it. Naruto, given his genetic predisposition to view everything and anything as a competition, immediately did the same without any prompting.
Sakura slammed money on the table, thanking old man Ichiraku and pulling Naruto away when he tried to pay.
"My treat!," Sakura slapped her hand over his mouth when Naruto attempted to argue.
"You're still bad at water-walking, right?"
Naruto spluttered, crossing his arms and grumbling about working on it.
"Well, I happen to be free for the evening," Sakura rubbed under her nose, peeking at Naruto.
Ha! It worked! It looked like he was gonna jump straight out of his sandals.
"Sakura-channn, you're the best!" Naruto cheered, attempting to tackle her into a hug which she fashionably sidestepped.
Naruto turned around, undeterred. He grabbed Sakura's hand and started marching towards the training fields, chattering all the while.
Which is why it was incredibly jarring when he just stopped talking midway, looking at the ground as they walked.
"What's up, Naruto?" Sakura carefully hedged.
Naruto glanced at her, before his eyes darted away. He let go of her hand before he spoke again. They had stopped walking, Sakura realized suddenly.
"Sakura-chan, you heard about me being a - a Jinchuuriki, right?"
Naruto shuffled on his feet, keeping his head down. Sakura blinked at him, unnerved by how small he felt. Usually, Naruto was louder than life. Sometimes too loud.
"Eh? Yeah, I heard it when we were in the office,"
Naruto stiffened at that, but Sakura carried on.
"But don't worry, I'll keep it a secret for you," Sakura flashed a peace sign at him, grinning.
"You don't care?" Naruto asked hopefully.
"I mean, it's still you, right?"
Sakura answered without thinking. Truthfully, the Jinchuuriki part wasn't as nearly as surprising compared to Naruto's dad being the literal Yondaime. It actually made sense, Naruto did get a little animalistic every now and then in some fights, but Sakura just thought one of his parents might've been part Inazuka.
"Maybe that's why you eat so much, cause it's for two!"
Naruto gawked, "I eat a normal amount y'know! I need it for training! C'mon, we'll miss all the good training spots!"
Sakura knows she doesn't have the chakra stores to keep up with Naruto for more than maybe 2 hours, so hopefully that would be enough for the meeting to end.
With a final peak at the Hokage Tower, Sakura let herself get dragged to the training fields.