The Forgotten Fiance

Chapter 19

Sasuke was at it again.

They had decided to go home for the time being, treat Sakura with her pain relief medicine (and hopefully have Tsunade examine it to see if it was safe and then produce more of it, the amount Kabuto gave Sakura was really small), and have Sasuke practice in the big courtyard that Sakura had somehow never seen before.

"He won't be able to destroy much," Kakashi had reassured Sakura when she was taken aback at the fact that Sasuke would train such a great power in his backyard. "The courtyard is, needless to say, huge. It's almost twice the size of the manor- you'd need a bomb to destroy even a fourth of the space."

Even though that was the plan...

"Sasuke, stop it!"

Sakura glowered at her husband as Sasuke concentrated at another random object- it was a scroll this time. "What are you even trying to do?" she said, exasperated. "The Mangekyo won't activate that easily, you know!" Sasuke shook his head, still concentrated. "I need to practice. The faster I learn, the faster you'll get better."

She threw her hands up in the air. "But all you're doing is breaking our things! Stop it," she said, as she snatched the slowly warping scroll away from his vision. "Sakura," said Sasuke, also exasperated. "Let me train!"

"No," she said, reprimanding him. "We need these things. When we arrive at home, then you can start breaking whatever- we can always replace it. But we need these things right here, right now- I said stop!" she snatched another object from him- this time it was a dagger.

Sighing, she turned to a very amused Rin. "What," she glowered. Rin put her hands up in the air. "I didn't say anything." Sakura stuck her tongue out at the older girl. "Then stop acting like this is funny. This isn't funny."

"It kind of is, though," commented Kakashi in the background as Sakura tossed the half-gone dagger at him. Rin gave him a thumbs-up before letting out a yelp. Sakura stood over her with a slipper in her hand. "Stop it."

A few hours later, they all sat around another blazing fire. "How I miss the manor," sighed Kakashi as he sharpened his knife. "I miss the beds," agreed Rin. "What, so you can toss around with Kakas- ah, ah, ah, sorry, sorry," cackled Sakura as she ducked Rin's flying spoon. "We'll have to look out after that, I see," chuckled Kakashi, seemingly unbeknownst to what Sakura was about to say.

"You said that you miss home? Ha!" said Guy, slapping Kakashi's and Rin's backs. "A youth wouldn't say as much. Children, we need to go out and adventure! That's what youth's all about, isn't it?" he grinned. "Staying at home with your comfortable beds won't do squat for any of you--"

Guy was laying on the ground, a victim to Rin's new spoon. "Shut it," she glowered, "I'm still fairly young and I miss the beds."

Sakura let out a snort as Sasuke stared at the fire, the embers dancing. She frowned at him. "You're not trying to warp the flames, are you?" Sasuke blinked, then let out a short laugh. "No. Of course not."

He wrapped an arm around Sakura's bare shoulders. She stiffened for a second, then relaxed. "The fire's really warm," she murmured.

"Oh, the fire's really warm," Rin mimicked. "What else would it be, cold?" Sakura threw her own spoon at her, the wooden utensil landing on her forehead with a satisfying smack!.

She settled once more on Sasuke's shoulder, watching the flames leap and shrink, grow red as blood and then recede into the bright, warm tones of yellow and orange.

I wonder how Naruto's doing...

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Naruto wasn't doing so hot.