Yakiniku-Q is just how she remembers it. It's large, wide windows glow a little in the evening light, and Sakura can already smell something amazing wafting from the open door. She smiles a bit. Team Seven had fallen asleep for a couple of hours after arriving at their usual training ground, waking up around five and then splitting to get ready for their evening plans. It wasn't a surprise that they had all slipped unconscious. Kakashi was technically still recovering, and a full day of running from Wave all the way to Konoha was bound to tire out the genin. Sakura has never had great endurance anyway. She needs to work on that. Still, it's almost strange seeing the restaurant virtually unchanged. Except for a recent recoat of paint, Sakura can find nothing else different. It's odd because the last time she ate at Yakiniku-Q she was a different girl. Sakura takes in a deep breath and then strides in.
Her team is easy to spot. They're sitting at one of the more traditional-style tables, a brazier already glowing hot in the middle of it. Kakashi's gravity-defying hair and Naruto's sunshine blonde locks stick out against the dark greens and browns of the restaurant, and Sasuke naturally sticks out because of his clear Uchiha features. All three of them are on one side, while Kotetsu and Izumo are on the other. The two chūnin have left her usual spot in between them open. Sakura approaches easily, sitting down carefully in order to keep from knocking knees with anyone. Shortly after her arrival the food comes. Izumo always orders for her, and Sakura is honestly grateful for it. She can never remember what she's tried and liked versus what she's tried and hated. She may have a near eidetic memory, but that means nothing when her brain is purposefully locking down memories so that she'll never have to relive them again. The chicken-foot incident being one of many examples. They settle into quiet conversation, talking in between bites barbecue and rice. It's only as the meal is winding down does the talking pick up, along with Naruto and Sasuke's battle over the last pieces of meat.
"So, how long have you known Sakura-chan?" Kakashi asks, twisting his chopsticks in the air as he snatches one of Sakura's *gyudon slices. She huffs, pouting as she snatched a fried piece of eggplant in return. It's clear that Kakashi lets her do it. Kotetsu ruffles Sakura's hair as he replies.
"Practically her whole life! She was our first D rank mission, actually." Kotetsu laughs a little, and despite Sakura's warning glare, Izumo tags along the line of thought.
"Yup. Cutest pink-haired baby in Konoha. Yessiree." Izumo adds on, laughing as Sakura swipes at him with her chopsticks. She sticks her tongue out at him, jabbing the chūnin with her elbow.
"I was the only pink-haired baby in Konoha." Sakura points out, plopping more food into her mouth. Kotetsu takes advantage of her temporary silence, grinning cheekily.
"Lucky for everyone else then. They wouldn't have made good competition." Kotetsu asserts. In one swift movement the ravenet steals the last piece of meat on the brazier's cooking rack. It effectively ends Naruto and Sasuke's background argument as they watch Kotetsu eat the piece of meat guiltlessly. Sakura feels a little bad at their open mouths of horror. So she takes two pieces of meat from her plate and lays one down on each of the boys plates. Naruto smiles gratefully at her before digging in. Sasuke nods, a thankful look in his eyes. Sakura beams back. Then she jabs Kotetsu in the side just as she did Izumo, actually thanking her mother for her sharp elbows. Kotetsu coughs a bit, choking on his stolen prize. He chokes it down, quickly chasing it with swift gulps of water.
"What? It stopped them from arguing." Kotetsu protests, confused at her disappointed frown. She jabs her chopsticks in his direction, unhappy.
"Bonding." Sakura insists, then shoves more rice into her mouth. Man, had she missed Konoha food. Sakura had barely been gone a week, but she had grown up on a diverse array of foods due to Konohagakure's melting pot of cultures. Straight up eating islander food day in and day out had grown tiring, fast. Sakura hummed as she continued to eat. Kotetsu shrugs, ruffling her hair again before returning to the conversation between Kakashi and Izumo. Sakura doesn't contribute much to the talking after that. She prefers to sit back and observe, occasionally flagging down their waitress, Kuri, for a bit more meat for the boys.
They're just about finished when it happens. Sakura should have expected it, really. Not one person held a monopoly on Yakiniku-Q. Plus, the restaurant was quite popular amongst shinobi. Ranging from genin to jōnin. Even dipping down into the Academy students. And in her Academy days, three specific ones. Sakura feel the chakra signature before she ever hears the voice.
"Hey forehead! Finally back from your mission?" Ino's voice rings out from the restaurant entrance. Sakura turns to see Shikamaru and Chōji at the blonde's sides. Remembering her decision from Wave, Sakura plants a genjutsu that only Ino can see. She imagines white orchids and alstroemerias blooming across her hair. Exactly where her red ribbon used to be. Ino's demeanour immediately softens. The Yamanaka breaks Sakura's genjutsu easily and quietly. The flowers disappear in a fleurie of petals.
"Yeah. We made it back safe and sound," Sakura replies, her voice soft. And more than just the flowers, it's clear that Sakura herself has changed. She isn't obnoxiously fawning over Sasuke, neither is her expression irritable from Naruto's constant chatter. If not for her pink hair and green eyes, even Sakura would think herself to be a completely different person.
"But you couldn't bother to come find me? Gee, some rival you are," Ino sighs, plopping down next to Sakura. Kotetsu had inched a bit to the side after seeing Ino's friendly disposition. It was odd, but Sakura loved the antagonistic atmosphere that she could share with the platinum blonde once again. It had been too long. Sakura smiles cheekily, poking Ino as the girl casually picks up a pair of extra chopsticks and steals from Sakura's gyudon. Shikamaru and Chōji have taken up places at the end of the table; Shikamaru next to Izumo and Chōji at the very end.
"Well when a shinobi works hard they have to rest for a bit, Ino-pig. Are you saying you don't?" Sakura replies with a taunting lilt, her question clearly rhetorical. Ino grins and takes the comment for what it is.
"Hah? Think you can be a better shinobi than me, Sakura-chan?" There is no mistaking the way Ino phrases the question, and Sakura is glad they are able to fall back into their old relationship. No. Not quite. More like they are forming a new one out of the ashes of two little girls' foolish decisions. Sakura snatches another stolen piece of her meal straight from Ino's chopsticks, popping into her mouth. She chews quickly, swallowing her prize with a grin.
"Oh I know I can." Sakura declares, her eyes following Ino as her rival in skill, not love, stands up smoothly from the table.
"We'll see, we'll see." Ino says, turning towards her teammates. They're about to leave when Kakashi clears his throat, a closed-eye smile stretched across the jōnin's masked face. Ino, along with the rest of the table, turn their heads towards him.
"No offense little Yamanaka, but I'll be helping Sakura-chan out." Kakashi confides to Ino, leaning over the table a little bit in the platinum blonde's direction. Ino laughs, sharp and short.
"None taken, jiji-sensei. See you later Sakura!" Ino waves cheerily, disappearing with her team just as a chopstick goes hurtling through the air in her direction. The piece of wood pierces the door frame, wedging in between the border plank and the actual wall. Everyone looks from the damage back to Kakashi, who throws his arms up, leaning back. Sakura blinks. Once, and then again. Finally, Kakashi sighs.
"I'm not old," the jōnin complains. Everyone is silent for a minute more, staring at Kakashi. Sakura's sensei looks at her pleadingly, "Am I?" Sakura looks away, covering her nose and mouth as she tries not to laugh. A soft little snrrk gets out anyways.
The entire table bursts into laughter.
*gyudon; beef bowl (Gyūdon, literally "beef bowl", is a Japanese dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with beef and onion simmered in a mildly sweet sauce flavored with dashi, soy sauce and mirin. It sometimes also includes shirataki noodles, and is sometimes topped with a raw egg or a soft poached egg.)
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Fanfiction"A hundred stones sink beneath the waves, imperfect and uneven kanji chipped into them by an unpracticed hand. The owners only recently buried as ash and dust beneath coarse dirt and sand. And Sakura, the one behind it all." A Different Wave: Book O...
