𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘 || sasusaku

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Barbecues and Tomatoes

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Sasuke and Sakura almost forgot about the barbecue dinner they promised Ino they would attend. Until a knock came from the door and Ino announcing herself as she entered the apartment.

"Let's go? Everyone's waiting," she said cheerfully as she linked her arm around Sakura's arm and half dragged the pinkette out of her apartment, Sasuke following closely behind.

When they arrived at the barbecue house, Sakura remembered it was the same barbecue house she and Sasuke ate at about two weeks ago and the familiar smell of grilled barbecue in black tea flavour wafted in her nostrils.

Ino looked around as her eyes caught a waving hand in the far corner. The blonde saw Ten Ten waving her hand and she dragged Sakura towards their table.

"We saved you guys a seat," Ten Ten said gesturing for them to sit on an empty spot on the left.

Sakura looked around at the familiar faces of her former classmates and friends. Starting from her right side of the sit was Ino, beside her sat Sai, then Ten Ten and Lee, Kiba and Shino sat at the other end of the table. Sakura's eyes turn to the other side of the table and saw Shikamaru and sitting beside him was Temari.

"Temari?" Sakura asked, a bit confused as to why the Suna shinobi was here.

"Sakura, nice to see you again," the woman nodded in acknowledgement towards Sasuke who nodded in return.

"I had to escort the Kazekage. We arrived here last night. Since I don't have anything else to do, Ino invited me here. I had to drag this lazy ass in here as well." Temari slapped Shikamaru's hand as he attempted to light a cigar.

Sakura remembered the incident before, when they had to rescue Shikamaru, he was manipulated and almost killed Temari. After the incident, Sakura could've sworn something was going on between them. The pinkette dismissed it as a mere fact that they are friends. But then came Naruto and Hinata's wedding and Sakura saw Shikamaru and Temari together. By then, she was convinced something was indeed going on between them.

Sakura's eyes turned to the woman sitting beside Temari. The pinkette frowned, racking her brain to remember her name.

"Karui?" She asked, looking at the black redhead beauty from Kumo.

"Like Temari here, I came to escort the Raikage. And this man over here asked me to come, so here I am."

Choji on the other hand, seem more busy with the menu than to explain why he brought the Kumo shinobi here. Wasn't she the one who beat the crap out of Naruto's face beyond recognition before? It seems everything about that has been bygone as Sakura doubt Naruto still remembered it.

Speaking of whom, Sakura looked around. Come to think of it, two individuals were still missing in action.

"Ino, where are Naruto and Hinata?" Sakura asked. But before Ino could answer, the Uzumaki came barging in the barbecue house as he instantly notice the group of his former classmates and made his way to them.

Sasuke looked beside him and saw the empty sit and sighed. Naruto, noticing it, sat beside Sasuke while Hinata sat beside him.