navigating a residence among a sleuth of teenagers is an impossible task when mixed with alcohol and other substances and the insistence of everyone to bump against each other, even if these are the same people that helped coordinate the end of a war six months ago. the lack of space and loudness of the music almost made him want to walk back out the door he came in from and right back into the cool april air.
but parties like this hardly ever happened in konoha, and according to his teammates, it was better to indulge when it occurred. and that it was a good way to normalize being in konoha for him especially since everyone was drunk out of their minds and wouldn’t really bat an eye to him being there.
it would’ve been more bearable if he went with naruto and sakura, but naruto was busy that day with paperwork and village tasks, an ever increasing occurrence as the hokage gave him more responsibility, and sakura had to finish up at the hospital for today, leaving them each to come at different times. sasuke wasn’t one to be late, but considering the circumstances, he didn’t put much effort into being on time. months of practice with kakashi taught him that. but maybe it would’ve been easier to get around the place if he didn’t get come at the peak of the party when the place was packed.
sasuke moved through the crowds and through the house towards the kitchen to find something to drink. he wasn’t particularly fond of alcohol, or any drugs, but he might as well find something to do while he looks around for his teammates and old classmates. he’d already spotted a couple of them, but they were busy with other people so he didn’t bother approaching. like that choji guy with the gyuki jinchuriki’s apprentice, the one with red hair. the fact that ninja from other villages were in attendance explained the overcrowdedness of the residence. he kinda felt bad for whoever’s house this was (it was kiba’s.)
just as he was finished opening a bottle of soda, an arm latched around his shoulders out of nowhere. he turned around to look at the dobe—
it wasn’t the dobe.
it was fucking kousei, one of the kids from their academy class. why the fuck did this dude put his arm around him?
“SASUKE! how are you—?”
being pulled into a group of his old classmates, he came to realize the bizarreness of talking to drunk people while sober. how they could seem to not want anything to do with you, but while drunk, would talk about how they love you and you’re the coolest person in the world. in a way, it was gratifying to hear that his old classmates didn’t a negative opinion of him after everything that happened in the last 5 years, but it doesn't make talking to people he hasn’t spoken to in literal years any less weird.
thankfully, the conversation wasn’t focused around him, leaving him content to just drink his stupid soda. they were telling him about their lives, the shit that happened to them after the rookie 9 graduated but they didn’t, when they got promoted over the last couple years, eventually remembering how the rookies entered the chunin exams their first year of being genin, but how sasuke had never actually made chunin— in turn he rolled his eyes at their snickering. like that shit mattered when he was one of the strongest shinobi in the world and had his name in several bingo books. to which someone yacked out “that’s exactly fucking why it’s hilarious, uchiha!”
as the conversation returned to normal, his eyes went to wander over the crowds, trying to recognize anyone else. a couple more of his old classmates, some older genin he’d come across during his first year—
...a pair of lime green eyes, looking directly at his own. reaching out to his own, and beckoning him closer.
it seems sakura had finally arrived.
from his peripheral he could see the pink strands of her hair, somewhat wavy like they dried in the air. she didn’t seem to have much makeup on besides the mascara and lipgloss she always wore. her spring green fingernails were wrapped around some canned beverage, probably thirsty from her long day running around the hospital.
she was standing beside a group of six, who he assumed were the other medic-nin her age she was in regular contact with at the hospital. they probably decided to come to the party together after they were done for the day. a taller girl with burgundy hair beside sakura was looking at him and speaking, probably the one to alert her to the fact that he was here. sakura glances away from him, shifting her eyes towards the engawa with less people around, then turning back to talk to her medic friends again.
after the war she hadn’t really cut her hair besides to tame the set of bangs in front of her face. now, it had reached her a couple centimeters past her shoulders. like usual, she was wearing a skirt, but embracing the warming weather, she was wearing a simple camisole tucked into her skirt. she had a sweatshirt wrapped around her waist, probably in case the night air became too cold.
he excuses himself from the group of childhood acquaintances and makes his way towards the back hallway, padding across the wooden floor as the music fades into the background. sliding open the door, he steps out into the open air and hops down onto the grass. across from this yard was one of konoha’s many forests, along with a nearby pond. sasuke could make out a the distance night lights of one of the commercial districts, some finally rebuilt and up and running months after the toll of the war. he walks across the large patch of grass towards the water, when something small and yellow catches his eye from the light illuminating off the water.
the inner bulb of a couple of daffodils.
“―sasuke.”
looking back towards the engawa, he saw sakura close the sliding door. she held a tiny smile, as a gust of wind blew past her, lifting her hair into the air.
hopping down the engawa herself, she asked, “how were you enjoying the party?” as he turned himself to face her fully.
shrugging a shoulder, he replies, “it was interesting enough.” to that, she giggles.
“yeah, i bet. you were talking to a couple of our old classmates from the academy, right? how’d you get into that?”
she knew exactly how with the impish smile she had on her face.
“i was just standing there before they just pulled in to talk to them.”
“and i wonder how they managed to do just that to someone so stoic and standoffish..?”
he sighed. “sakura.”
she giggled again at awkwardness. he wasn’t anticipating for someone to approach him like that so casually.
“still, it’s nice to see you talk to people besides just naruto and i, and kakashi-sensei, or anyone to do with missions...or that fruit vendor lady―“
“what’s wrong with akako-san?”
“nothing. it’s just good to see you talking to more people about regular things, people you haven’t talked to in years...you’ve hardly done so since you’ve been back in konoha.”
“i haven’t exactly had the chance,” he raised an eyebrow. since the end of the war, he spent a significant amount of time recovering and getting used to daily life without a left arm, not to mention negotiating his place in the village with the elders, whether he had to stand punishment for his crimes and what, if any, missions he was allowed to take, while he wondered if he wanted to be reinstated as a konoha-nin. sakura herself had helped him with all that too. “besides, i’m comfortable with the way things are.”
“yeah, well―hey is that―?” she poked her head around him to look at the daffodils. her face lit up like a lantern.
“oh wow, i haven’t seen any narcissus bloom since the hospital and clinic stuff has been so hectic. even when i went to the flower shop to check in with ino, i was so preoccupied i hadn’t noticed any,” she said as she crouched down to look at the flowers.
“...they’re your favorite?”
“huh?”
“back when i was in the hospital...after the chunin exams...and that day with itachi...you’d brought me some. because you like them right?
her face was slightly pink, surprised he was bringing up something so inconsequential from years ago. “y-yeah, they are my favorite. but that’s not why i brought them. narcissus bloom in the late winter or early spring while it’s still cold out, but still stand strong despite that. so they present the hope of spring, of warmer days after the harsh winter...it’s a good flower to bring to a friend in the hospital so they recover quickly, isn’t it?”
he thinks. “anything else they teach you in hanakotoba class?”
she looked at him shocked. he feels like there’s more to that she isn’t telling him. or maybe she doesn’t know as much as he thought. that was her worst class in the academy as a child.
she looks away from him. “well...it also symbolizes…respect. and...unrequited love.”
well that’s awkward.
i mean, it’s not like he doesn’t―
don’t think about it.
“...i see.” god he’s cringing. why did he say that?
at the same time, all the lights in the house went out. actually, all the lights in the block went out.