《♡Sasusaku/Team 7 Oneshots♡》

non solus ultra

Summary: something's wrong with Sakura, and Sasuke decides to do something before it's too late.

Age: both are around seventeen, early eighteen. Sasuke's on probation, so this is after he spent a bit in jail and before he went on his redemption journey.

Category: SasuSaku, mental health

Note: it's been a million years since I've updated this, so I decided to make this in honor of World Mental Health Day 2019, (AKA our beautiful baby Naruto's birthday, October 10th). This one shot is a whopping 11,520 words long, but is actually really easy to read if you have the time.

The subject really speaks to me because I have a lot of friends with depression and/or anxiety. I couldn't stop thinking, Sasuke and Naruto had it so bad that we overlook what Sakura must feel sometimes. So I made this one shot as a speculation of what Sakura must feel, and what Sasuke does about it.

For the plot, we'll pretend Sasuke got that prosthetic arm Tsunade offered him earlier on, and that Sasuke procrastinated leaving the village a little.

Also! Since it was recently the birthday of the beautiful sunshine boy Naruto, a oneshot shall be up soon for him.

Thanks for reading, and I literally love you all so much.

For those of you who were curious about the Latin title, in English that can be literally translated to: (they are) not alone anymore. This is a common theme in this one shot if you pay close attention to every small detail.
(non: not; solus [male/plural]/ solum [plural]: alone; ultra: anymore)

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Sasuke sighed in annoyance but broke the chopsticks in two as Naruto dug in noisily beside him. Shikamaru, on Naruto's other side, let out a matching sigh. Sasuke smirked slightly because at least one person understood the annoyance eating food with the blonde was. He was messy, and loud. But there was never an awkward silence around Naruto, so Sasuke supposed it was okay.

They were waiting for another guest, to discuss a mission that Kakashi- or, Lord Hokage now- was sending them on in a week's time, but the fourth member was missing. Shikamaru was captain on this mission, but he was laid back and open to ideas, so Sasuke wasn't worried about his compatibility with the spiky-haired genius. They'd worked well together before, they'd do it again.

Sasuke looked at the ramen before him and wondered how Naruto always hassled them into getting ramen. He remembered how sick his twelve-year-old self had been of ramen, and now understood why. But after a three-year absence, Sasuke was content to each as much Ichiraku as possible. Soon he would be sick of it, yes, but he preferred to be sick of it than to not be able to eat it At all due to an extended training session with a perverted snake sannin.

He ate a bit and tensed when he saw something enter the booth out of the corner of his eyes. He turned to face them and saw it was Sakura. She looked out of breath, and her skin was pale, but she gave them all a brilliant smile and sat in the empty seat between Naruto and Sasuke.

"Hey! Sorry I'm late- got caught up with work. I'm here now! Did I miss anything?" She asked, leaning behind Naruto to look at their lazy captain.

"Hi, Sakura-chan!" Naruto crowed, even though Sakura was beside him. He reached over and gave her a one-armed hug.