Zaman

Chapter 7

Sakura had helped at least two dozen villagers in the past hour and was definitely feeling the strain.

"I'll be back tomorrow once I get some rest and replenish my chakra." She announced, motioning for the crowd to disperse, "Do come back."

The villagers smiled at the young girl and quickly left the clearing. Soon, Sakura was left alone with Sasuke.

"Where'd Naruto get to?" Sakura asked, rolling her neck in relaxing circles.

"I sent him to get the groceries for Tsunami." Sasuke replied, using far more words than Sakura expected. "I figured he'd just get in the way here."

Sakura chuckled lightheartedly, "You might be right about that. Let's go get him."

Sasuke nodded and led Sakura to the small market stands.

"Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme!" Naruto exclaimed, hurrying over to his teammates with many bags in hand. "There you are! I got the groceries."

"I've noticed." Sakura smiled, grabbing a bag from Naruto's hands, easing his burden. "Let's head back to Tazuna's. Kakashi may have woken up."

"He better have!" Naruto nodded to himself, "He can't sleep forever."

"That's called death dobe." Sasuke replied, "Kakashi is certainly not dead."

"Why do you never call him Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura implored, realizing she never got the answer to that question. "You only call him Kakashi, it's weird."

Sasuke look taken off-guard. It was strange, he didn't really know himself. Devoid of a proper response, he merely shrugged his shoulders and kept walking.

"You're supposed to answer a girl's questions, teme!" Naruto reprimanded, "It hurts their feelings if you don't ya know."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not right next to you idiot!" Sakura chastised, knocking Naruto on the head, "And my feelings don't get hurt that easily. Not to say you should ignore my questions, but answer them 'cause you're a good person, not 'cause I'm a girl. Shannaro!"

"Sorry Sakura-chan." Naruto apologized, "Still teme, answer her question!"

Sasuke looked forward blankly, actively ignoring Naruto's whiny voice. He refused to answer any question he didn't want to answer; and his will would stay strong.

"Eh, whatever." Sakura capitulated, "I'll find out one day Sasuke Uchiha." She vowed, "Even if it's when we're both 100 years old! I swear I'll never leave you alone until you tell me."

The prospect of Sakura remaining by his side until he was old made Sasuke strangely happy. Maybe it was the remaining joy from helping those people, but Sasuke was in a suspiciously good mood; not that he'd let his teammates notice of course.

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Tsunami greeted the three warmly, placing hot tea and snacks on the table. Sakura accepted the food gratefully and devoured the cookies in minutes.

"Thank you Tsunami-san!" She smiled at the woman between ravenous bites, "This is really delicious."

"I agree!" Naruto exclaimed, shoving a full cookie into his mouth. "Best I've had in ages."

Sasuke nodded his head in agreement, taking small dainty bites of the cookies, followed by elegant sips of tea. Obviously the son of a clan head.

"You eat like a princess, teme." Naruto pointed out, grinning maliciously, "You act all tough and shit, but when you eat, you look like a hoity-toity royal lady!"