Completely On Purpose

Chapter 2

Sasuke knew that Naruto was set to leave the next Thursday. Somehow, it was already Monday, but at least he had finished his packing. Kakashi had let Sasuke know only where Naruto was going, nothing else. No matter; knowing that this was a mission to the Land of Iron at least let Sasuke know what sort of clothes to bring.

Naruto had not been back around since what Sasuke had dubbed The Thing . Since The Thing, Sasuke had been second guessing everything that had ever happened between them. Of course, his sorest point of insecurity was the fact that Naruto could just so suddenly say he loved him, do stuff with him, and then not talk to him for two days after. Sure, they'd spoken again, but again, Naruto had essentially tried to use Sasuke's inherent weakness for him, against him. It just didn't seem like Naruto to be that kind of guy, but Sasuke didn't have anything to base it off of. He'd never seen Naruto be involved with someone the way that they were getting involved

"Stupid, stupid," Sasuke mumbled to himself. In order to keep up appearances, Kakashi suggested Sasuke shop, something to make it look as though he was going about life as usual. So, Sasuke found himself in the market, picking listlessly at items that he already had in his house. He couldn't even see an upside to it, because by the time he got back, all of this might have turned. Still, he didn't want Naruto to hear anything about him being off or acting strange—especially not now.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke stopped in his tracks and barely had time to turn on his heel before he saw Sakura coming toward him. He took comfort in her presence, and whatever she was about to bring up to him was probably going to take his mind off of The Thing.

"Ah, Sakura," Sasuke greeted her, and she fell in step with him. "I haven't seen you in, like, a week," Sakura said. Her eyes were wandering across the various stands, as though she was looking for something but couldn't remember where to find it. Sasuke was grateful her eyes weren't on him, because his eyes were doing a terrible time of concealing his feelings.

"Just been a little busy," Sasuke replied. Sakura led the way to a stand selling skirts and such. "I need to buy Ino a birthday present," she said, distracted from their conversation. Sasuke was patient while she ran her fingers over and through the fabrics. The only real thing that he knew about Ino was that she wore purple and that she had blonde hair, so he didn't have much of an opinion to offer.

"I noticed that you've been going to see Kakashi-sensei more often," Sakura said offhandedly, catching Sasuke off guard. He shouldn't have been surprised, this was Sakura; he was more irritated that she always knew his business. "It's nothing serious," he said defensively.

Sakura cut her eyes at Sasuke before going back to shopping. "Sure it's not." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You should be lecturing Naruto. He's the one trying to go on missions again." There was an edge to his voice, but if Sakura heard it, she ignored it. Instead, she chuckled. "Oh, yes. Believe me, I told him straight up how stupid that is. I mean, is there any room for rest with that kid? It feels as though the war just ended. No one can tell Naruto no, though. He'll find some way to get into trouble, no matter what." At this she sighed.

Sasuke wondered what Sakura would think of him when it became obvious that he had followed Naruto in his journey. Surely she wouldn't approve, but she also should understand. She went with Naruto on his journey to bring Sasuke back, and everyone told them that would be useless. So, even if she didn't think he should, Sasuke didn't think she would judge him. Just be a little angry with him for being reckless, and for leaving her out. She was useful because of her healing, but her coming along wasn't a part of his plan, and at this point he didn't have time to change his plan.

"He'll be okay, Sasuke," Sakura said, drawing Sasuke out of his own mind. His face was probably distorted with concern. He cursed Naruto mentally for being able to cause him such strong emotions. Sasuke brushed off Sakura's concerned gaze with a small shrug. "I'm sure he will."