Sakura Shippuden (#2 Sakura Trilogy)

Sakura Shippuden: [Chapter 2]

Sakura sighed, then clapped her hands together, getting all the invisible dirt and dust from her. She stared at the few boxes that held all her belongings, all of them sealed but one. That one would hold her bedding after tonight's sleep. But for now... Sakura burrowed into the thick comforter of her bed. She glanced outside through her window, staring at the moon. Sakura would tell no one this, but she hated nighttime. It seems something that negatively impacts me will always happen at night. I believe that is called a superstition. Dismissing such an irrational thought, she turned on her side and looked through the crack of her curtains to watch the moon that stood there night after night relentlessly, staring down at her.

Her mind diverted to Sasuke. It happened often, and once again, she found herself breaking down every sentence they had ever traded with one another. If she had been more attentive, would Sakura have been able to prevent him from leaving? He and I were not as close as we had once been. When Sasuke left, our relationship was not in a positive light. Perhaps he felt threatened, and therefore, he turned to Ramen-boy as an opponent. I was not aware enough of the hatred and anger built up in him because of my own, and let him down, she concluded after a pause. Another short pause. It was meaningless to blame herself for another person's actions, especially when hers were not wrong. What Sasuke chose to do was his own decision. She moved around before settling down in a comfortable spot again. Despite her sound reasoning, she felt no more pacified on the subject matter than when she had initially began thinking on it. Sakura shut her eyes tightly, and willed herself to sleep.

✿ ✿ ✿

Sakura sighed, carrying the slip of paper with the written address of her new home. All around her were food vendors; civilian families walking together in large packs that made it impossible for her to pass by them. Not impossible, merely highly improbable. She could always take the roofs, but whenever she chose to, she was at the butt of many complaints. (There was also the chance of the roofs being covered with ice this time of year, and even with chakra, she did not want to make a fool of herself by slipping off.) The pinkette scrunched her nose, then looked up from the paper towards a simple-looking apartment complex with a set of stairs winding upwards to accommodate multiple rooms. There was a fire escape, too, she noted with a hint of satisfaction. She looked down to the slip once more before confirming that, yes, this was where Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno lived. Shouldering her backpack, Sakura quickly climbed up the stairs and knocked on the door, eager to leave the cold weather behind her.

Sakura heard the pounding of feet and almost immediately after knocking, the door opened. A blonde woman in a thick white cable-knit sweater smiled politely, nodding her head. Her left arm seemed to be occupied, and as Sakura craned her neck, she understood why. A man with dull pink hair with five points was trying to get through the doorway. "Kizashi," the woman scolded, opening the door further for Sakura to step in, "don't be annoying. Help set the table for lunch." Mebuki, Sakura assumed, scowled, rolling her green eyes exasperatedly before sharing a look with her.

The blonde closed the door and guided Sakura forward, a gentle hand on her back. She smiled, the lines made from years of frowning and furrowing her eyebrows melting away. "Know that everything here is yours, Sakura. Don't hesitate to ask for anything, okay?"

Slipping off her boots, Sakura nodded slightly, before nearly tripping from how quickly she was ushered to the dining room. There was a table large enough for the three of them to eat, but the chairs were mismatched. Two of them were the same color as the table, and the last was a fold up. "Sakura, why don't you help Kizashi carry the dishes over?" Sakura looked around quickly before being pointed to a source of clattering. She earnestly stepped forward, wanting to begin her rehabilitation when Mebuki called out again, "Oh, and Kizashi? We'll need to order another chair. Do you remember where we purchased it?"

"From the old carpenter, Kenji. At least, I think." Sakura, now in the kitchen, watched Kizashi balance three plates with his two arms. She reached out tentatively, then recoiled. Kizashi didn't seem to notice her inner struggle but instead jerked his head towards the other small stack of plates with chopsticks. "You can carry those to the table, Sakura. Then we'll sit down and go over stuff!"

She nodded, then hurried over, taking up the ceramic plates. Sakura nearly knocked into Kizashi, who had stopped in his tracks, and walked around him, placing the plates down and taking a seat in the foldable chair. Mebuki gave a disapproving look that she didn't understand, and then gestured Kizashi to switch seats with Sakura. However, the pink-haired girl shook her head, then bowed it lowly. "I do not need to sit in another's chair."

Slowly, the older couple nodded, then gave a big itadakimasu before digging into the food. "Be careful of the mackerel," Mebuki cautioned, "there are some small bones in there. Although I'm not worried, since we have Lady Hokage's apprentice to save us." The blonde gave a wry smile to her husband, who lit up at the chance of a conversation. 

"How has training been, Sakura?" Kizashi leaned forward eagerly.

Sakura set her chopsticks down and looked upward in thought. "Tsunade is very impatient, and likes to throw things at me. I am not sure as to what I do in order for her to act this way, but she tells me it has something to do with what she calls 'sassing'."

The two chūnin chuckled uneasily, unwilling to poke fun at their Hokage. Mebuki shot Kizashi a look before clearing her throat, watching Sakura pick up her chopsticks again. "Is that so? I'm sure Tsunade-sama is very talented, too. What have you learned so far? Is there something you've taken a particular interest in?"

The couple watched the pink-haired girl give a contemplative look at her mackerel before answering. "I have learned little to nothing. Because I am on probation, I am still not allowed entire access to my chakra. Tsunade tells me that this is an ideal time to build up my body, however." Sakura shrugged minutely. "I have much to improve on despite already having been training for months without chakra."

Kizashi sighed loudly, only to be nudged not-so-gently by Mebuki, who once again shot him a warning glance. It may take a while for her to warm up to us.

✿ ✿ ✿

Sakura shifted in her temporary bed, whose mattress squeaked with the slightest movement. Her ears perked when a strong gust of wind hit the side of the house, causing a whistling noise to be emitted from the window. Even with all the things most people would consider annoying or troublesome, Sakura only burrowed deeper into her thick blankets, taking in the squeaking and howling that eventually lulled her to sleep. There was much to improve on.

[A/N]: Do you have any good sasusaku/itasaku/shisuisaku fics? I love me a good uchihaxsakura, yafeelme?