𝐻𝒾𝓈 𝒮𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒮𝓊𝓃𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑒 𝐼𝐼 | 𝗦𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗸𝗲 𝘅 𝗦𝗮𝗸𝘂𝗿𝗮

6

'Dear Forehead,
having a nice time with your boyfriend - no - fiancé, I see!

Thank you for your letter, Sakura, everyone is always really curious about what the two of you have seen!

Well, it's mostly Naruto who barges into our shop every day to ask if I heard from you, but it's sweet, really.

And when I told our friends about your engagement - you can imagine how they flipped out! They were balling, Forehead!

Everyone asked me to wish you two all the happiness in the world, and to quote Gai: 'Marriage is the true beginning of your youth.'

I'm really proud of you, and I want to be a part of your wedding even though I won't be there. Hopefully, you will like the small gift I picked out for you. Or for you to give to Sasuke-kun.

Please keep taking care of yourself and enjoy every second of your trip, you've always dreamt of this, Forehead!

I hope to hear from you again soon. I love you.
Lots and lots of love from everyone!

- Ino Yamanaka'

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Sasuke and Sakura were seated outside on their balcony at the Hidden Rock in the early morning. The pinkette had been really excited about the arrival of her best friend's letter, so she insisted on reading it as soon as possible.

The Haruno sighed contently, tilting her head to rest it on her fiancé's shoulder comfortably. She clutched the letter tightly and pressed it against her chest, her heart aching a bit. Even though she enjoyed her travels with Sasuke more than anything, she still missed her friends deeply.

"You miss them, huh?" the ravenhead uttered calmly, leaning his head against hers gently as he stroked his fawk. Garuda was seated comfortable on its owner's thigh, absentmindedly clicking with its beak as its feathers were caressed and smoothed out carefully.

Sakura hummed softly, placing the letter on their small table and focusing on watching the bird. She extended her hand towards it, and Garuda hopped towards it happily. Sasuke snorted in amusement at the sight, shaking his head.

"You miss them just as much, silly," the pinkette giggled, hearing Sasuke click his tongue. "No," he grumbled under his breath, embarrassed about admitting to missing his idiotic friends. Sakura poked his side playfully, her giggles turning into laughs as he eventually relented under her loving tickles, "just a tiny bit."

"Being with you makes it all better, Sasuke-kun," the pinkette mumbled sweetly, a small smile gracing her pink lips as the hawk's claws curled around her delicate wrist. "I'm glad," he replied almost immediately, genuinely relieved that Sakura was comfortable with him.

The morning sun was tickling their cheeks as it slowly woke up the village of the Hidden Rock, causing the various stones and mountain chains to shine and shimmer. There were barely any plants there, only carefully built and carved statues, but that didn't lessen the beauty of the famous village.

Sasuke's hand eventually left his bird's back and fell back to his side, his dark orbs fixated on the horizon in the far distance. "I... I need to do something today," he mumbled quietly, his eyebrows furrowing just a bit. He hated leaving her alone, but Sasuke knew that it was necessary.

Her pink head shot up at his words, her emerald eyes sparkling with excitement. "Yeah? Where are we going?" Sakura asked eagerly, causing the hawk to flinch at her sudden movement. But when she saw the cold look on Sasuke's face, her own face dropped a bit.