FicWad

(7.2)

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"/He's single and... I'm available."/

"Here you go Sir.", Sakura told the customer as she served him his cocktail.

She then proceeded to wipe the bar top all the way to where Naruto was seated.

"And… Finish!", said Naruto as he fervently underlined his answer then handed his paper to Sakura.

Sakura inspected his solution carefully before giving her remark. "You got it right."

"Yes!", Naruto beamed. "Thanks for helping me out right now. This is due first period tomorrow and it's not like I can ask Hinata-chan out this late to help me. It's bad enough that I'm taking up her time every morning when she should be relaxing and enjoying the summer break."

"Okay. First of all; It's no big deal." She gave the paper back to Naruto. "And… I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you sooner. I… I'm really very sorry for how I treated you in the past."

"Oh well. That's over and-"

"Secondly; I don't think Hinata would really mind spending her afternoons to help you as well.", Sakura hinted.

"Y-You're right. Hinata-chan's really… nice after all. She'd be willing to help anyone, anytime, anyway she could."

"So~ Hinata comes to school every day to see you?", she implied.

"Yep! She brings me lunch since the cafeteria is close during the summer and helps me out with the lessons. She's been really helpful."

"She's very committed. Make sure you thank her properly okay."

"Yes. Off course.", Naruto nodded.

Karin comes by and laid down a trey on the bar top. "There I'm done.", she told Naruto. "Give me a minute to clock out and change."

Naruto nodded and started putting away his things.

Suigetsu walked in with a rolling tray table carrying clean glasswares and immediately got to work setting them in place.

Sakura noticed how he and Naruto stole mean glances at each other when the other wasn't looking.

The whole exchange caused Suigetsu to work slower than usual.

Karin returned after what seemed like the longest ten minutes Sakura experienced working at the bar. "I'm ready."

Naruto slowly got up – his eyes still on Suigetsu. "We'll go on ahead Sakura. You won't be getting off work until three a.m. right?"

"Yeah."

"I really wish I can do as much for Sasuke-kun but due to my circumstance, I can't", said Karin.

"It's not like I'm doing all this for Sasuke-kun. I just happened to have more free time now, because Sasori's gone back to Tokyo.", Sakura told her. "I'm just keeping myself busy through the summer."

Karin sighed. "Don't work too hard Sakura. You've been overexerting yourself lately. Make sure you get enough rest on your day off tomorrow."

"Don't worry. I will."

"Kay. I'll see you on Monday."

"Get home safe.", bid Sakura.

"Yeah. You too. When you leave work.", replied Naruto.

…

"Two weeks ago, it was that Sasori. This time it's that noisy blonde. He's not thinking of coming here every night, is he now?", whispered Suigetsu the moment Naruto and Karin left the bar.

Sakura and Suigetsu watched Naruto as he gestured to Sasuke who was waiting at one of the tables.

Sasuke nodded to them in response before they headed out the door.

"I never thought I'd say this but… I kinda prefer that Sasori guy hanging around here over that foxface. That guy has something against me I tell ya. When is Sasori coming back anyway?"

Sakura frozed.

"He's not planning on letting you keep getting off work at three a.m. and taking a cab home every day for the… rest of the… summer… now… is… he?" Suigetsu was studying her face. "Oh."

Sakura stared at Suigetsu who seemed to have figured out the situation from her pained facial expression alone.

"He's not coming back this time, is he?" Suigetsu concluded.

"Don't. Tell. Anyone.", Sakura pleaded.

Suigetsu's eyes followed Sasuke as he was walking towards the service hatch connected to the kitchen.

"Especially not Sasuke-kun.", added Sakura.

"Yep.", Suigetsu nodded before leaving Sakura alone in the bar again.

Sakura let out a sigh and found herself staring at Sasuke until a customer approached the bar and had her whip up a drink.

.

.

.

The good thing about their current uniform is that they don't necessarily need a change of clothes. All they had to do was remove the apron, change out of the clogs and wear a sweater over the button up top and they are ready to go.

"See ya Monday Sakura.", bid Tayuya.

"Bye~", said Kin Tsuchi.

"Yeah. See you." Sakura looked away from her phone and smiled at the two girls.

The two girls then walked out, leaving Sakura alone in the changing room.

She returned her gaze to her phone screen. Displayed was picture that Sasori had sent her earlier.

It was a picture of Sasori that he took himself while he was under a beach parasol. Behind him, were a couple of his friends who made an effort to pose and look good for the camera. Further in the back, his other friends look like they were having a fun time near the shore.

Sakura found herself gently smiling at Sasori's akanbe gesture.

And then she read his message.

Doing my best. Hope you're giving it your all at your end.

Sakura let out a heavy sigh.

She placed her phone back inside her tote bag and removed her pine green cardigan from the hanger. After putting the cardigan on, she took her bag out of her locker.

She then closed her locker and made a move to exit the room.

.

.

.

On her way out, she noticed that the light in Orochimaru's office was kept on. She did a double take and decided to check it out.

…

Through the open door, she saw Sasuke who seemed like he wasn't ready to go home yet. He was going over the records.

She had never seen Sasuke so absorbed in a task so she opted to just leave quietly but she accidentally walked into the rolling tray table left in the hallway just outside the office.

Thanks to her quick reaction, she managed to keep the dishes from falling but she made enough noise to get Sasuke to look up from the book.

"Sakura?"

"I got it! It's all good!", she yelled so he didn't have to get up from his seat. "Sorry! M-My bad. Did I interrupt you in the middle of a computation?"

"Not really."

"Y-You're uhm… really committed to this place aren't you?", she said as she straightened herself. "No wonder Orochimaru-san put you in charge before he and Kabuto-san left for the trip."

Sasuke put the book down and rested his elbows on the table. "So, how's the new schedule working for you?"

"Great! I'm doing great.", she answered. "It's uhm… keeping me productive with my … spare time."

"Are you sure you and Sasori didn't just have a fight because I won't ask you to quit working?"

"What?! No!" Sakura walked into the room, very eager to explain. "That's not the case at all. He just really went back to Tokyo."

['That's technically not a lie.']

"We talked about it and… he knows that I have to be here and he understood and… it really is okay for me to keep working here… just… as we… originally agreed on.", she added.

['That definitely wasn't a lie.']

Sasuke as usual took a moment to make sure she wasn't lying.

"Okay." He nodded. "And your parents?"

"Hm?"

"They're… okay with you going full time here at work?"

"Oh. Erm… They're actually being very supportive about it."

"Is that normal? Good? Bad?" Sasuke wasn't sure how to word it.

"It's not… /bad/."

['They're being considerate of my feelings after I told them that Sasori has left me for good.']

"I see." Sasuke cleared his throat. "You uhm… should go home and get some rest."

"R-Right. I… Good night."

"Good /mornnig/.", Sasuke smirked. "Get home safe."

Sakura had a three second lag before leaving the office.

Sasuke moistened his lips and considered for a moment before getting up from his seat. "I'll walk you out."

.

.

.

Outside the establishment;

Sasuke and Sakura stood by the road as they waited for her cab.

…

Sasuke felt his phone vibrate inside his pocket. He took it out and answered the call.

"…Aa. I'm just finishing up here at work… Aa… Hn… Aa."

As Sasuke put away his phone he noticed Sakura looking at him expectantly. "That was R-Rin."

"Oh." Sakura suddenly felt embarrassed. "I… still can't believe I thought you two were dating.", she mumbled.

"W-What?", Sasuke pardoned.

"What?! Nothing! ... Erm… She's checking up on you?"

"Aa. Making sure I get some rest."

"You should. You're working even harder than before. You're helping your uncle with his therapy in the morning and apart from your own waiting job, you've also taken over both Orochimaru-san and Kabuto-san's duties every night."

"You noticed." Sasuke realized. "By any chance, did that have a bit of an influence as to why you decided to work full time?"

Sakura flinched. Her free hand quickly shot over her mouth. "Uhm… Just… /a bit/.", she admitted, smiling through her hand.

Then she had a realization.

['Hold on! Is this… considered /flirting/?']

Sasuke smirked. "I figured."

She kept her hand over her grin.

['Subtle flirting?']

"On a serious note, I could say the same about you."

"What?"

"You're well aware that I can tell when you're running away from something right?"

"Uhn." Sakura sadly nodded in agreement.

The taxi arrived and stopped in front of them.

Sakura slowly walked towards the taxi.

"Sakura.", Sasuke called just as she was opening the car door.

"YES!" Sakura mentally slapped herself for turning around too quickly.

Sasuke placed his left hand inside his pocket and had his right hand on his nape.

['Totally flirting!']

"Sasori is in Tokyo so… I take it you don't have any plans tomorrow?", he asked sensibly. "I could just be assuming that you would be free but if you're not-"

"I'm free tomorrow…

['Wait! No! I can't do this!']

/NOT/! I-I do… have plans… actually.", she regrettably added.

"Oh. I… understand." Sasuke brought his right hand down. "Nevermind then. I'll see if I can ask someone else instead?"

"What?! I mean, uhm… okay. S-Sorry. Hope it goes well… /whatever it is/."

"A-Aa."

Sasuke move forward and held the door for Sakura.

"T-Thanks."

Sakura clumsily got inside the car.

Sasuke closed the car door as soon as Sakura was comfortably seated inside.

The driver set the car into gear after Sasuke had taken a few steps back.

As the car drove away, Sakura allowed herself to sink further into her seat, overwhelmed by uneasiness.

.

.

.

The sky was still dark when Ino raised the roller door of the flower shop.

She then hunched down and got out into the dimly lit street of the shopping district.

Ino had her platinum blonde hair up in a topknot bun and wore her tracksuit uniform.

"I'm gonna wait for that delivery van here outside!", she yelled back inside before moving towards the sidewalk.

"Ino.", Sakura spoke from behind her.

Startled, Ino squeaked and jumped away from her. She then turned around and regained her composure as soon as she recognized that it was Sakura all along who was for some reason, standing outside their flower shop during that early hour.

"Sheesh Sakura!", Ino burst out. "Why… What are you doi- How long have you been standing there in the dark? Did you come here straight from work?"

Sakura looked serious as she stared into Ino's eyes.

"Sakura?"

"I'm in love with Sasuke-kun." Sakura told her straight up.

Ino released a sarcastic breath. "You don't say."

"He's single and… /I'm available/."

Ino deadpanned. "You don't say."

"I'm not stupid!" Sakura exclaimed. "I may have been a coward. I may have been… 'In denial' about it for some time but… I'm not blind. I think it's safe to assume that Sasuke-kun-"

Ino looked at her expectantly.

"I think... Sasuke-kun might have feelings for me too."

"You…" Ino grinned "... don't /say/."

"Might is good but… it's not good enough anymore. I'm tired of trying to figure him out all in my head. I want to know the truth. I want to be sure. I want to know how he really feels about me. And… I want him to know how I feel about him."

"Now you're talking."

A delivery van pulled up a few feet behind Ino.

"And I'm really considering it but…"

"But what?", questioned Ino as two men got out of the car.

"Good morning Ino.", greeted the elder man. "We got-"

"Wait. Please give us a minute.", Ino politely gestured to the old man.

"Err… okay." The old man adjusted his cap as he and his companion shared a confused look at one another from each side of the van.

Ino turned back to Sakura and nodded, encouraging her to go on.

"I… I can't stop thinking about Karin."

"Why?! Because… She's been Sasuke's fangirl for a while now?"

"She genuinely loves him!"

"And she made sure to tell him that since the very beginning! And as far as I'm concerned, he's done nothing about it up until this point!"

Sakura looked down as she tried to come up with a reasonable argument.

"Tsk! Sakura!" Ino made her look up. "Sasuke doesn't look at Karin the same way he looks at you! The same way he 'pays attention' to /you/! He doesn't make an effort to be with her as much as he does with you!"

"He doesn't make an effort to be with me at all.", argued Sakura. "Remember when he decided not to invite me at his birthday celebration?"

"That's because he equally makes an effort to distant himself out of consideration for you and Sasori and you /know it/? While we're on that subject, let's talk about that one time he asked you to study with him last minute before the finals? Who do you think he did that for?"

"…?!"

['You don't mean…']

…

/"Thank you Sasuke-kun. Thank you so much. It's because you got me the book and because you helped me relaxed that my mind got refreshed. And also, thanks again for taking this to Karin for me."/

/"Hold on… I don't want your thanks."/

/"Huh?"/

/"I want to ask for a favor in return."/

/"W-What favor?"/

/"Since you're done with Sasori's 'practice thesis', can you help me with my review? … Can you… study with me? Tomorrow? Even if it's just for a few hours. Or could I just- Do you mind if I call you tonight to ask whatever, about any of the lessons?"/

/"Oh. Of course! … I'm glad you're really taking your studies seriously. Sure you can call me anytime. And, yeah. Let's meat at the library tomorrow."/

…

"Did you think it was a coincidence that the one time you tied Hyuuga Neji in the academic ranking happens to be the same period when you had to go over our lessons more than usual because you were tutoring Sasuke even though he turned out to be somewhat smarter than we thought?", Ino implied.

"…"

"That's right He did it for you! He knew that you always gave it your all when it comes to helping Sasori but that resulted in you often neglecting your own studies."

…

/"…Can I also work on my own thing while you're doing that?"/

/"Is it homework for Sasori again?"/

/"Yes. But I actually want to try your suggestion. I might ask him to call me tonight so I want to start reading this module so I can be prepared to give him a lecture."/

/"Go ahead."/

"Thanks."/

/"Didn't you tell him that we have our finals soon? Don't you have your own studying to do?"/

/"I'm okay. I still have a lot of time and even if I don't, I can just go over my notes, five minutes before the test. Besides, I go over each lesson with you so that's just as good as studying."/

/"Is that how you've been reviewing all this time?"/

/"Yup! … Aren't I a genius? That's all the studying I need to do."/

/"You do realize that you could've done better if- Never mind... Suit yourself."/

…

"I supposed, I always knew but I pushed the thought at the back of my head because you were doing it all for Sasori." Ino admitted. "But… the thing is you've been overconfident and reckless with your own studies and I had allowed it. Maybe that's why your mom was always treating your achievements half-baked. /It was/!"

['It… was.']

"Now, I didn't realize this until the results of the finals were posted and even then… my initial reaction was not to credit Sasuke because I had thought that the extra effort was demanded by the pairing and the results would've been the same regardless of who you got paired with. But… the fact of the matter is that… it was Sasuke who you got paired with and… he was the one who did what he had to do. Fo/r you/."

['Was it really… all for me?']

"Ino. The flowers." The old man suddenly spoke again. "Maybe we could…"

Ino raised her index finger back at him. "J-Just a moment sir. Please."

The old man fell into silence once again, much to his companion's annoyance.

"Who exactly did you think he came to school for?" Ino turned back to Sakura. "He didn't do it for Kakashi-sensei. He didn't even do it for Naruto. He certainly didn't do it for Karin."

['For me? Not for them but… just for me?']

"But… To Karin… Sasuke-kun is…"

['She's her everything.']

"Sakura… Listen-"

"I'm sorry Ino.", the younger man interrupted her this time. "This sounds… err… serious but… we have a job to do and if you could just-"

"I said hold on!", Ino snarled at the man behind her.

"But-", he tried to speak.

"Can't you see that we are in the middle of a very sensitive conversation?! My friend here had been miserable for a while now!", Ino snapped at him.

"Sshhhh! Keep it down Ino!" Sakura implored.

Despite her pleading, Ino went on ranting; "The most gorgeous boy on the face of the planet had swept her off her feet while his childhood sweetheart was away! She struggled to keep her emotions at bay and her priorities straight! She endured heartbreak… after heartbreak… after heartbreak/. She… fought to keep her childhood sweetheart but /he ended up accepting the fact that she's already in love with someone else and just opted to move on and be happy for her. But she's far from happy! She's hurt and torn and guilt-ridden for breaking someone's heart! She had kept to herself ever since, feeling undeserving of ever being love back."

Sympathy transformed the faces of the two men. They looked at Sakura with great concern as Ino took a moment to catch her breath.

"I-Is that true?"

Sakura ended up feeling very uncomfortable in that situation.

"Hey Ino.", Shikamaru called her from one of the windows on the second floor of the toy store across the flower shop. "Who's this who's 'feeling undeserving of ever being love back' now that got you screaming so loud this early in the morning?!", he questioned her while lazily rubbing his eyes. "Sakura?"

"Yep.". Sakura tried to keep it casual. "Good morning."

"Is this about Uchiha?", inquired Shikamaru.

"Y…You know-" Sakura paused. "Of course you did."

"Ahah! I knew it!"

Shikamaru and everyone else down on the street turned to the boy peeking out from one of the windows on the second floor of the food store on the left side of the flower shop.

"I just knew something was going on between the two of you. Just so you know, I shipped the both of you before it was a thing!", declared Choji. "Take that Shikamaru! Take that Ino. Who's the genius now?!"

Shikamaru sighed while Ino stuck her tongue out to Choji.

"Great. Good for you!", Sakura congratulated him sarcastically.

"Sorry about the… other guy leaving you by the way.", asked Choji. "Must've been hard after you went through all that trouble choosing him?"

Sakura fell silent.

"You can shut up now Choji!", said Shikamaru.

"/Both of you/… can shut up now!", joined Ino. "I was just about to say something very important to her!"

Sakura felt discouraged. "Maybe… we should talk about this another time."

"No!" Ino furrowed her eyebrows and widened her eyes at Sakura. "You haven't talked to me in a while! You've obviously been struggling with your emotions all this time and yet… you haven't come to a resolve at all! If I let you walk away from me now, who knows when you'll have a reason to see me again?! More so… the courage to hear me out?!"

"I said keep you voice down!", demanded Sakura.

"I know what you're thinking. I know what you're considering. I know you treat Karin as a friend but…"

Ino's father suddenly appeared behind the roller door.

"Ino?", he called as he completely raised the roller door. "What's with all the commotion? I can hear you shrieking all the way from my study."

Ino threw her hands in the air, exasperatedly. "Seriously?!"

"And your mother's asking if the van had arrived ye- Oh. You're here."

At this point, the men weren't sure what to do next.

Ino's father then noticed Sakura. "Is that Sakura? You're the one with the love problem Ino was getting all distressed about?"

"YES! Yes dad. Yes it's her! She's the miserable girl who fell in love with someone else!", Ino sassed.

"Ino!", Sakura grumbled.

Ino's father stared at Sakura unbelievably. "You did?! I certainly hope it's not with Uchiha Sasuke?!"

"Is there anyone at all who didn't see this coming?!", Sakura burst out.

"Oh. Oh my… Erm…"

Ino glared at her father as Sakura brought her palms up to her face.

"That's indeed very… inconvenient. And with… Uzumaki and all… What a disaste-"

Ino moved her hand horizontally across her neck, gesturing her father to stop.

Sakura brought her hands away from her face and had them crossed over her chest. She then looked down while shifting her weight back and forth between both feet.

"I mean…" Ino's father cleared his throat. "Sorry to hear about your situation. G-Goodluck with… that."

Sakura tried her best to smile at him while her lips were pressed tightly together.

…

Ino tilted her head slightly, offering her father an out.

The man then nodded at her daughter before leading the other men towards the back of their van.

Sakura and Ino were left on their own.

Ino picked up from where she left. "Sakura as I was saying~ I know you treat Karin as a friend but I'm not letting you do this /AGAIN/! Not after everything you've been through! Not after what Sasori did for you!"

"I… uhm…

['What does she mean...']

…/Again/?" Sakura looked puzzled.

"I'm not letting you bottle up your feelings for Sasuke again just because a friend called dibs on him first."

"Eh? I'm not sure-"

"Don't even think about denying it now! I finally figured out why you were extremely cold to Naruto in the past. You're guard around him only diminished when he and Sasuke became distant. You were the only one who wasn't curious about why they were growing apart /or rather/… you purposely avoided topics that concerned them. And then, I realized that you only exhibited that very same dodgy attitude again, after the first time I pointed out your attraction for Sasuke. Also, these past few weeks, it became very evident that you're more uneasy around Sasuke than you are around Naruto."

"Hah! I however, noticed the attraction between them since the first week!", noted Choji.

"Zip it!" Ino yelled at Choji before turning back to Sakura. "My conclusion is… It wasn't Naruto you've been avoiding the whole time. It was the person he was always with who I just happened to like back then."

"Ino… I… I'm sorry. I never meant to…"

"Sshhh! No point in being upset over it now. If anything, I'm moved to know that you were willing to give up on him because I declared my feelings for him first. I'm happy but also extremely guilty."

"Ino."

"Don't fret. I understand that the overall circumstance back then, including your developing intimacy with Sasori, really did call for the matter to be considered better off left untouched. It's too late to dwell on that matter now anyway."

"…"

"Going back on topic…" Ino reached for Sakura's hands. "You have as much right to express your feelings for Sasuke as does Karin. You have as much right to want to be with him. And you have as much right to want him to love you back. Remember what I told Ami that one time?"

…

/"Any guy who likes Sakura is entitled to his own feelings! And Sakura can like whoever she likes! And if that guy just happens to like her back, then that's that!"/

…

"Yes. I remember." Sakura nodded.

Ino held Sakura's hands tighter. "I'm sorry I used to tell you not to love Sasuke. It was never my decision to make in the first place. No one has the right to tell you who to love. If you love Sasuke then go for it! Tell him. And if he happens to feel the same way about you… then that's that."

"…"

Sakura surveyed her surroundings as she let Ino's words sink in. It was definitely less quiet than earlier since more shops have already started getting ready to open. She then took a quick glanced at Choji and at Shikamaru before looking back at Ino.

All three had expectant looks on their faces.

…

…

…

"Forehead? Talk to me."

"Ino."

"Yeah?!"

Sakura finally smiled. "You're going to become a great psychotherapist in the future."

"Y-You…" Ino smiled back at her, radiantly. "You bet I am."

"Thank you for your wonderful counselling."

"Speaking of counselling, your time is up." Ino let go of her hand and took a step back. "I have flowers that are in need of my attention so… I'm gonna let you go and do whatever it is you need to do."

Sakura bowed to the three men behind Ino who were now individually carrying a crate of flowers.

Ino's father smiled at her in return before making his way back inside the shop.

Sakura then slowly moved back and turned on her heel.

Ino eyes trailed at her back as she moves further away.

"So… does this mean she's going for it?", wondered Choji.

"Yes. She's going for it.", said Shikamaru. "Is she?"

"She's going for it alright!", proclaimed Ino.

Behind her, the old man put down his own crate, took of his hat and waved them up in the air. "Go get him young miss!"

"Best of luck!", the other man peeked out from the back of the van.

With happy and hopeful expressions, they all looked on at Sakura's distant form. Ino seemed really proud of her.

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