FicWad

(2.2)

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"/How long have you been in love with Sasuke-kun?"/

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura stopped just outside the gate. She looked back and saw Naruto running towards her.

"Naruto? Are you headed home too?"

"Yeah!", said Naruto as he caught up to her. "Uhm, Wanna... walk together until we reach... your bus stop?", he reluctantly asked.

"Sure." she smiled at him and started walking.

"R-Really?", Naruto walked alongside her. "Don't worry! I'll try not to be too loud around you." Naruto moved his hand along his mouth as if zipping it close.

...

They were already a few meters away from school when Sakura could no longer ignore how Naruto was pressing his lips hard together in an attempt to not speak.

She chuckled. "It's okay Naruto. You don't have to stay quiet."

"Great! I actually wanted to tell you something.", he immediately started.

"Oh?"

"Ah, I wanted to thank you... for what you've been doing for Sasuke."

"Huh? It's really not necessary for you to thank me. Sasuke-kun is my partner so..."

"Karin told me about the talk you had with him at the infirmary back then."

Sakura blushed. "That was..."

"Sasuke seems to open up to you... so, did he... tell you yet?"

"About what?"

"Anything."

"Like why he's living on his own? ... No. He tells me nothing really."

"Oh. Does he talk about us? Does he say anything about me?"

"He rarely starts a conversation but when your name is brought up, he doesn't seem to be upset or anything."

"Is that all?"

"Yeah."

"I... see..."

"Why? Are you still worried he's mad at you? He's not!"

"Yeah. I know."

The two of them heard a honk and they turned to look at the car slowly driving by.

Sakura and Naruto smiled at the driver.

Rin smiled back.

"Get home safe you two!" Kakashi, who was riding shotgun, got to tell them before the car accelerated.

Sasuke was watching them from the back seat.

Sakura waved at him as the car drove off.

"So Nurse Rin offered to drive Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun home?", Sakura noted.

"Yeah. It's not like Kakashi-sensei can take Sasuke home by bike.", Naruto deadpanned.

"Right."

...

"By the way Sakura-chan!"

"Hm?" Sakura gave Naruto her full attention.

"N-Never mind.", said Naruto after careful consideration.

"No. Go ahead."

"It's nothing really."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep!", Naruto grinned.

"If you say so... Oh. Well my bus stop is just ahead." Sakura pointed beyond the pedestrian overpass. "I'm fine right here. You have to cross right?"

"Yeah. I take that alley." Naruto pointed across the street, towards a small pathway between a convenience store and another establishment. "It's a shortcut that leads directly to this vacant lot adjacent to the old annex building of Uzumaki General Hospital."

Sakura looked above the roofs and beyond. She noticed the tall hospital building visible from where they stood.

"You know, that's actually where we first met.", shared Naruto.

"Really?!" Sakura seemed ambiguous "I- I… don't remember."

"Didn't you use to hang out by the park near the hospital when we were still kids? I see you often with Ino."

"Oh y-yeah. I… did. My uhm… dad used to be a security officer, but he's retired now. He used to work somewhere around the area at that time. I often had to bring to him some of the things he would forget back home. Ino invited me to play with her once and we became good friends. But... I'm sorry. Did we… use to play together too? Funny, I think I would've remembered if I played with someone as loud as you."

"Not really.", Naruto grinned. "You and Ino played with your friends... or more like 'her' friends... the way I remembered it."

Sakura nodded at that.

"We just watched you other kids from afar."

"You mean you and… Sasuke-kun?", she reluctantly asked.

"Yeah. I'm not someone anyone wanted to hang out with back then. And Sasuke was just there for his appointment with our psychiatrist."

"I see. So... " Sakura wasn't sure how to proceed. "H-How did you and I… meet?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at Sakura. "You seriously don't remember?"

"No." Sakura gave him an apologetic smile. "I really don't."

"It was at the..." Naruto suddenly had to pause.

The memory of her as a kid, near the pond, flashed through Sakura's mind.

"Sorry, I don't exactly remember the details myself.", he continued. "But… Sasuke was also there."

"Does he remember?", Sakura wondered.

"Huh? Oh. I-I'm… not sure. How about Ino? She was there too."

"If she did, she would've mentioned it by now."

"Right." Naruto considered. "Well, that was a very long time ago. Kids came and go to that park every day. It's not like the same group of kids would play together in that park all the time. We got together that one time only and we never really got the chance to introduce ourselves properly back then.

"Oh."

"But I immediately recognized you as soon as I saw you on the first day of freshman year. You kinda left an impression… /with your vibrant hair color and all/.

Sakura suddenly felt conscious of her hair. "Y-Yeah. I do stand out because of this."

"Oh. Well uhm~" Naruto grinned. "I won't keep you here long."

"O-Okay."

"T-Take care, Sakura-chan."

Naruto waved and stepped away from Sakura.

"Yeah. You too."

She waved back then walked on as he ascended the stairs to cross the overpass.

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.

When she reached the shed she sat down on the bench. From where she was sitting, she could see Naruto descend the overpass.

His attention was suddenly caught by a group of girls hanging around the concession stand beside the convenience store.

The girls seemed to be minding their own business until Naruto greeted them and they were suddenly swooning and fawning over him.

Sakura recognized them.

['Those girls are everywhere.']

She sighed as Ami and her friends started flirting with Naruto, who looked like he just wanted to buy something from inside the store.

Her view was then obstructed by the bus that arrived.

She stood up and made her way to the bus.

Before she got on, she looked back at the now empty bench.

['It feels sort of weird that he's not here all of a sudden.']

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-Next day-

Kakashi was checking attendance. When he got to Sasuke's name, he looked around the room and saw a number of worried faces. His eyes landed on Sakura.

"Uchiha will not make it today.", he announced. "He caught the flu so he won't be coming to school for the rest of the week."

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-Saturday; After School-

Sakura made her way to the literature club room. Just as she arrived at the door, Rin came out of the room.

"Oh." Rin closed the door behind her. "Hi Sakura. Were you a member of the Literature Club?"

"Not really. I was just looking for Kakashi-sensei."

"Sorry. I hope it's not urgent. Someone is in there right now, talking to Kakashi. I'm afraid it's a private matter so I must ask you to wait a while.", said Rin.

"I understand. I'll just come back later.", Sakura excused herself.

"Hold on!", Rin stopped her. "He won't take long. If you like, you can just wait here with me?", she said as she went to stand on the side of the hallway opposite the door.

Sakura nodded and walked towards Rin. She stood about a meter from her and leaned against the wall.

"So, you ended up being a great partner to Uchiha. What's he like?", Rin started a conversation.

"He's okay I guess. He's actually more tolerant of people as long as you know how to approach him.", she said.

"Hm~" Rin smiled at her. "You're also more tolerant of people nowadays. I noticed you've improved your relations with Uzumaki Naruto as well."

Sakura fought the urge to touch her hair accessory. "Eh?... Ehehehe~ When you can keep up with an Uchiha, you can tolerate any other type of people."

"That's sort of right, I supposed.", Rin chuckled.

"But he's not so bad really. If you look close enough you'll see his kind gestures and find a sweet side to him, hidden somewhere deep inside… all that hard and stoic surface. They're faint and so tiny that if you look away for even a second, you'll end up missing it. But if you do see it, you'll find it one heck of a sight to look at. Very beautiful and very captivating."

Sakura suddenly blushed as she realized how she just complimented Sasuke.

"Sounds like you think he's a truly wonderful person.", Rin noted. "I'm glad to hear that."

"Uhm. By the way, You... drove him home two nights ago, right?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Where... does he live?"

"Oh. Kakashi had me drop them off at a family restaurant that was supposed to be near his dorm. He said he'll have Sasuke eat some food first before walking him home. Seemed to me like; S- Uchiha didn't want me finding out his address."

The door of the literature club room suddenly opened and Kakashi walked out of the room with another man. "Haruno, you were there?"

Sakura straightened up. Rin smiled at Kakashi and at the man he was with. "I'll walk you out.", she offered.

"Aa.", he answered. "Until next time Kakashi."

After the two of them left, Kakashi turned to Sakura. "Did you want something from me Haruno?", he asked her and invited her inside the club room.

Sakura went inside but did not bother to sit down. "I have Sasuke-kun's homework.", she told him.

Kakashi sat down on his chair. "Okay. I'll hand them to Uchiha so he can work on it at home- Er. Where... are these homework?", he inquired as he noticed that Sakura had nothing with her.

"Oh, I didn't bring it here with me. I wasn't going to have you hand them to him."

"Then what did you come here for?"

Sakura grinned. "I came to ask for Sasuke-kun's address. I plan to go bring the homework to him myself tomorrow."

Kakashi just stared at her.

"What? I'm his partner. And I think his ready for a 'classmate visitation'. Especially since the finals are just two weeks from now. I also want to go over the lessons that he missed during his absence so he doesn't have a hard time when he comes back to school on Monday."

"If you're asking me for his address, it means he hasn't shared that information with you yet. So he's not aware of your plan to visit him."

"I'm going to surprise him."

"He's not going to be happy about that."

"He doesn't have to be happy about it. But that's okay. He's allowed to be upset with me. And I promised him, I won't break no matter how angry he gets. So~"

Kakashi needed a moment to take in what Sakura had just said. "N-No.", he eventually decided.

Sakura pouted. "But, Kakashi-sensei?! ... Why can't you just admit it?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"I'm helping him! It's working! ... Fine! If it makes you feel better, I'll be the one to apologize first. I'm sorry for disrespecting you and for thinking you were a dishonorable teacher. I doubted Sasuke-kun's abilities and I doubted you. In my defense, you didn't exactly try hard enough to clear up the misunderstanding."

"Uh-huh."

"And~"

Kakashi sighed.

"Very well, Haruno." he humored her. "I also apologized... for saying that you were not qualified to help Uchiha. I was wrong. You did help him. You did convince him to come to school more often. He's definitely doing a better job with his studies... And it's all... thanks to you."

"Exactly." Sakura smiled proudly.

"But..."

"Have you... heard of the story... of how I convinced Sasuke-kun to give me his contact number?"

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.

Sakura had just gotten off a bus. She looked around her and double checks a hand drawn map.

"Sakura!"

Sakura turned her head and saw Karin. She had just arrived as well. She moved away from the taxi and crossed the overpass to get to where Sakura was.

"Thanks for inviting me." said Karin.

"No problem. So, who's gonna call him; me or you?"

"You should do it. It was your idea."

"Okay." Sakura dialed Sasuke's number and held it to her ear. "It's ringing.", she told Karin who leaned in to listen closely.

"Hello.", she greeted as soon as Sasuke picked up.

"Sakura? Is there something wrong?"

Karin got so excited she covered her mouth with her left hand and squeezed Sakura's arm with the other.

Sakura grinned at her.

"No. Why would you think something's wrong?", she asked him.

"Because you're calling me on a Sunday. Isn't Sunday, Sasori day?"

"He already called me last night. He said he'd be out with his friends today."

"So, why are you calling me this early in the morning?"

"I, It's almost noon-" Sakura didn't get to finish her sentence as Karin started pulling her arm. "We were just worried about you. I haven't heard from you since Thursday."

"I'm coming back to school tomorrow."

"You know, they announced the schedule for the finals?"

"Hn."

"Two weeks from now."

"Hn."

"Are you prepared for it?"

"I don't think I'll fail."

"You sound confident. But, how do you feel about me coming over and going over the lessons with you?"

"..."

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Is that a trick question?"

"No."

"No."

"Huh?"

"Of course you can't come over-

"But what about the homework you've missed."

"Were there any? Kakashi didn't inform me."

"There's quite a few. I could bring them to you?"

"Nice try, but still NO. I'll call Kakashi after this and... That was a car. Are you outside?"

"Is Sasuke-kun always this talkative with you?", Karin whispered.

"Who's that? It sounds like... Is Karin there with you?"

"Oops.", said Karin.

Sakura started chuckling "Sasuke-kun, the thing is... We're on our way to visit you."

"You don't know where I live."

"Actually, I do."

"Kakashi gave you my address?! What did you do this time?"

"I simply asked him for it. In a very polite manner."

"Go home."

"But, we're already closed by."

"What?"

They heard some noises coming from Sasuke's end of the line. They could tell he suddenly moved from whatever position he was in.

"..."

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Where exactly are the two of you right now?"

Sakura and Karin looked around for any significant landmark. Karin pointed at a playground. Sakura nodded. "We can see a playground nearby.", said Sakura

"Anyway, we're coming for you now. We just thought we should give you a heads up so you can put away anything you don't want us to see.", Karin implied.

"Wait! Hold on! Wait for me at the playground! I'm coming to pick you up! Don't you dare come here before I get there!"

-Sasuke eagerly instructed.

They heard the sound of a door opening.

"I almost forgot. What are the two of you wearing?"

"..."

"Tell me in full detail- No wait, you can skip the... undergarments."

"...Sasuke-kun you-" Karin was about to say something but-

"Whatever you're thinking, that's not it! Will you just tell me already?"

"Karin's wearing a red violet t-shirt under a... /cream/?... jumper skirt. And I'm wearing a light green sundress.", Sakura described.

"The colors were not necessary."

"You're the one who said 'in full detail'!", Sakura quoted but he probably didn't hear her as he was talking to someone else on his end.

"-Thanks."

They heard Sasuke closed the door behind him.

"Hello. Sakura. I'm on my way."

~Beep~

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.

Sakura and Karin did as Sasuke said. They waited for him at the playground. The two girls sat on each corner seat of a three seat swing set with their bags placed on the middle one.

"By the way Karin, how long have you been in love with Sasuke-kun?"

"Huh? Why are you suddenly asking about that?"

"Just starting a conversation."

"Since Junior High, I guess."

"Really? I can't imagine what Sasuke-kun was like back then."

"Not much of a difference now."

"So, you've love him for the snob jerk that he is ever since? No offense."

"None taken."

"I just thought he would've been... I don't know~"

"Friendlier? Like... Charming?"

"Somewhere along those... since I heard he used to be a heartthrob and all."

Karin snorted. "Nah! Not him. Well, maybe when his parents were still alive. … When I first met him he was already... distant. He didn't talk to anyone if he didn't need to. And when he did, he made it quick and he never bothered to look anyone in the eye. He sort of has this cold and harsh demeanor that made others feel like they don't exist, at least not in his world.

But maybe that was his charm. Sasuke-kun is like an unreachable entity. I supposed it made people think that; if you were acknowledged by him, you must be someone very special.

Of course he only warmed up to Naruto. And even then, they were at each other's throat every single day. But he was actually the first to admit and proclaim that he saw Naruto as his best friend.

There's a warm, gentle person inside of there somewhere." Karin started to sway back and forth weakly. "Sasuke-kun is really kind. People just didn't see it. But I did."

Sakura smiled.

['It's not just me.']

"When we were younger, Naruto was always trying to prove himself to someone, but he would often get in trouble or end up losing. Sasuke-kun always came to his rescue only for Naruto to get mad at him for stealing the spot light. Sasuke-kun stayed beside him regardless. He tried so hard to stay beside him until he just couldn't anymore.", Karin continued.

"I guess it's true, what people say. That you can only realize how important something is after it's already gone."

Sakura watched Karin shot herself off the swing. Her eyes stayed on Karin's black high cut converse as she landed.

"You know Sakura, Sasuke-kun had a really beautiful smile." Karin turned to look at Sakura. "I really, really want to see Sasuke-kun smile again."

Sakura smiled at her. "Sasuke-kun is... so lucky to have you."

"It's not just me now.", Karin told her. "He has you now too. Also because of you, he and Naruto started talking to each other again."

"No. I just happened to be there. I didn't really do anything to-"

Karin shook her head. "You're wrong Sakura." She had a serious expression on her face. "It's because you approached Sasuke-kun. You called him and he looked your way."

"Karin..."

"It gave Naruto the courage to speak to Sasuke-kun again. Naruto thought Sasuke didn't see and hear him anymore. But when he saw the two of you, he knew Sasuke-kun was ready to open up to people again."

/"But he sees you Sakura-chan."/

Sakura remembered Naruto's words.

"That's... Still, everything I did was for my own selfish reason. And Sasuke-kun knows that."

"But you still did something. And that matters to me." Karin approached Sakura and held her hand. "I thank you for that."

"I..."

...

"You didn't tell me Karin's dress was short!"

The two girls turned and saw Sasuke. He had just arrived at the playground. He was wearing a black hoodie zipper jacket over a violet long-sleeved shirt with a wide boat collar, jeans and black sandals. He was also holding a long white cardigan.

"I only brought one sweater.", he said as he walked towards them.

"Eh? Sasuke-kun you were worried about something like that?", Karin giggled.

"Most of my dorm mates are males. They all have one or two quirks so they don't get to talk to girls that often.", he explained.

"They can't be that bad.", Karin considered.

"I'm not taking any chances. If you insist on coming with me back there, I'll have you wear this." Sasuke handed her the white cardigan.

"Aw~ Sasuke-kun's so sweet!" Karin accepted the cardigan and took her time fawning over it.

Sasuke turned to Sakura just as she was standing up from the swing.

Sakura noticed that Sasuke was staring at her. More specifically her exposed shoulders and visible collar bone. She suddenly felt very conscious about her upper body features.

"I had originally intended for you to wear that one.", he shared and then he took off his hoddie.

Sakura then learned that he had a mitsudomoe inspired tattoo a little to the left of his nape.

"You can use this one instead." Sasuke held out the hoodie to her.

"Eh? Why can't I use that one instead?!" Karin questioned him. "I want to wear something you just took off!" she said sounding very disappointed.

"... Because that one is longer.", he reasoned, ignoring the hidden innuendo of her previous statement. "One of my dorm mates has a huge thigh fetish."

"Kyaa~ Sasuke-kun's being over protective of me!", she giggled again.

When Karin did not demand for Sasuke's hoodie anymore, Sakura finally took it off Sasuke's hands. She felt its warm fabric. She could also smell Sasuke's cologne from it.

['Sasuke-kun's scent.']

She knows it too well by now. She could perfectly remember the exact moments she had smelled it before.

…

The first time was when she had jumped in to pull him away from Naruto...

The second was when a furious Sasuke held her by her shoulder when they were in the infirmary...

The third was at the library. They had both reached out for the same book...

Then, that one time Sasuke suddenly came up from behind her. That moment she felt that time had stopped...

Finally, when Sasuke collapsed on top of her. She had him to her chest and help Naruto drag him across the hallway...

…

"I'm ready.", announced Karin. She was now wearing the white cardigan.

"Ah. Hold on.", Sakura told them as she put on Sasuke's hoodie. It was too big for her of course. Her hands couldn't make it out of the sleeves.

The two girls looked at each other.

"Ehehe~ Don't we look sort of funny wearing oversized sweaters during the summer?', Sakura remarked.

"Nah! Boyfriend blazers are trendy nowadays so~', Karin blushed. "Will people who see me think I'm wearing my boyfriend's cardigan? KYAA~" she started fawning over the sweater again.

Sasuke carried their bags for them. "Let's go.", he said as he led them towards his dorm.

Karin ran after him and wrapped her hands around his free arm.

She observed them as she slowly walked behind them.

['He's obviously very uncomfortable.]

Sakura noticed how Sasuke is complaining about Karin's sudden proximity.

['He seems rude but... when you look closely, despite his annoyance... he doesn't push her or yell at her.']

Sakura smiled weakly.

/"There's a warm, gentle person inside of there somewhere... Sasuke-kun is really kind. People just didn't see it. But I did."/

/"If you look close enough you'll see his kind gestures and find a sweet side to him, hidden somewhere deep inside all that hard and stoic surface. They're faint and so tiny that if you look away for even a second, you'll end up missing it. But if you do see it, you'll find it one heck of a sight to look at. Very beautiful and very captivating."/

['Compared to me...']

Sakura lowered her gaze and stared her own shadow. She remembered how she snapped at Lee...

She recalled how she talked back to Kakashi...

And she thought of how she acted when she noticed Tenten and Temari were getting really close to Ino...

Then she casted her gaze at Sasuke's back. She remembered how Sasuke held the handkerchief to her nose...

She remembered how he came into the infirmary panting, knowing he had hurt her and then he apologized, just like that...

And she remembered how he helped her with the incident with Ami and how he made an effort to hand her the book and return her hairclip...

['...He's far, far kinder.']

"Sakura!", Karin called. "Hurry up."

Sakura snapped back to reality. She just noticed that Karin and Sasuke had stopped to wait for her.

"Coming!", she yelled as she quickened her pace to catch up to them.

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'Otogakure'

-The sign said.

Sakura, Sasuke and Karin were in front of a four-story building. The first floor seemed like it was used as a music learning facility.

"The back of this shop is a residential area with a basement. That's where my landlord lives.", said Sasuke. He then pointed upwards. "The second floor onwards is the dormitory. But before we go upstairs, I have to let my landlord know that you're here."

The two girls nodded.

"He's out here in the back." Sasuke led them around the building.

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.

.

As they were approaching the back yard, they heard a buzzing noise.

Sakura found herself walking into the patio. There she saw two people sitting close to each other. One of them was a big guy. His facial features seemed small with how fat his cheeks were.

['He's even bigger than Chouji.']

The other person was working on the sleeve tattoo of the enormous man.

"Good day to you.", said the big guy.

Sakura and Karin bowed their heads to him. "Pardon our intrusion.", they said in unison.

"He's not my landlord.", Sasuke told them.

"Then..." Sakura and Karin moved their gaze towards-

"All done Jirobo-kun.", said the person in the black komon. He stepped off the pedal and placed the tattoo gun kit on the wheeled table.

He stood up and turned around, showing his face to the two guests for the first time. "You can call me Orochimaru.", he introduced himself as he removed his gloves.

['Is that a man or a woman?']

His skin was pale and he wore make-up. His long black hair was tied in a low side swept ponytail. Whether he was beautiful or not was debatable but for some reason he was pulling off that look.

"I am Sasuke-kun's landlord. Welcome to my humble abode..."

Sakura bowed again. "Uhm, Sakura. My name is Sakura."

"Karin." the other girl followed suit.

"No need to be so formal.", Orochimaru told them. "This is Jirobo-kun.", he introduced the other man.

"I am also but a tenant here." Jirobo excused himself then. "Thank you Orochimaru-san. Sasuke." He nodded at Sasuke before disappearing into the house.

"When Sasuke told me he was going out for a while and return with some guest, I hadn't expected it to be two lovely ladies." Orochimaru smiled at Sasuke.

Sasuke looked away - a light blush hinting on his embarrassment.

"So, Sakura-chan and Karin-chan, which one of you is Sasuke-kun's girlfriend?"

Both girls were caught off guard by his question. Karin's hands touched her own cheeks. She was blushing heavily and smiling when she said, "No! I mean, we're not there yet."

Sakura shook her head and waved her hand. "It's not like that. I- We're here to give Sasuke-kun his homework.", she explained.

"Ah, that's right. Sasuke-kun was sick until only yesterday."

Sakura tilted her head a little and scratched her left cheek. She smiled weakly. "That's probably my fault. I pushed him hard at school even though I was aware he lacked sleep.", she admitted.

Orochimaru turned to Sasuke. "So you really have been attending school regularly?"

They shared a meaningful look with each other before Sasuke looked away again. "Hn."

"I believe I am also at fault.", Orochimaru told Sakura. "For I am the one who employs Sasuke-kun during the night."

"Eh?!" Sakura and Karin looked at each other.

"See, aside from this dormitory and my little studio up front, I also own another establishment of the same name not far from here; an open mic bar. Sasuke-kun works there during the evening although sometimes we open in the morning for some exclusive customers.

"Open /mic bar/?", said Sakura.

"What's his job description?", Karin asked eagerly.

"Waiting Tables.", answered Orochimaru.

Karin found herself lost within her own thoughts. "Sasuke-kun as a waiter~", she said dreamily.

"Uhm..." Sakura raised a hand to Orochimaru. "Is it mandatory for your tenants to work for you?", she inquired, genuinely curious.

"No. I offer the job to those who need it and only if they want to work for me. Most of them do it to earn extra money. Some of them do it to offset their rent.", he explained. "Sasuke-kun… works… for both reasons."

"Then Orochimaru-san, may I suggest something?"

Sasuke and Karin gave her quizzical looks.

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