Chapter Text
“Someone you Like” - The Girl and the Dreamcatcher
I saw you, with that ribbon in your hair
Think I began to stare
Maybe I’ll begin to love you for a while
(Sasuke POV)
Sasuke stepped through Konohagakure’s front gates for the first time since he left on his journey of atonement, almost two years ago. It was mid-July, as the sun shone over his former home. Children ran around, playing with one another with joy and excitement. Townspeople were shopping at the new stores that recently opened. More buildings had been built and many of the older buildings had been remodeled.
He wasn’t sure how to feel about it at first. This place has changed quite a bit, he thought as he walked down the familiar roads. The village seems more lively. Perhaps due to the era of peace. Sasuke had been helping the village, as well as a few others, when he sought fit during his travels. Despite the summer heat, Sasuke wore a black shirt, black pants, a black cloak, and black shinobi sandals. The only pop of color in his outfit was the white belt that held his sword, and white wrappings that went from his lower calves to his ankles. His black hair had also grown out a bit, and he kept his bangs on the left side of his face long enough to cover his Rinnegan.
He stood in front of the Hokage tower, and looked at the rock monument. All the previous Hokage had their faces carved into the side of the village’s interior wall. Now it included Kakashi, the current and most recent head of Konoha. Sasuke figured he should see Kakashi first, to let him know of his return and give a report of his findings. Not only did Sasuke leave on a journey to find himself, he was also investigating possible connections to Otsutsuki Kaguya. The catalyst for the Fourth Shinobi War.
He opened the door to the Hokage’s office. “I thought I heard you were back,” Kakashi said as he entered. He was sitting at the desk in the back of the room.
Sasuke was a little confused about how word managed to travel that quickly. “Hm?”
“I have eyes all over this village, I am the Hokage after all,” he jested. “Actually Shikamaru saw you standing outside.”
“Ah I noticed your face was added to the monument. I came here first because I wanted to give you my report.”
Sasuke wasn’t able to find much in terms of Kaguya. He happened to find a few relics relating to the Otsutsuki clan. He also figured out that, using the Rinnegan, he could travel to various dimensions relating to Kaguya.
Kakashi made notes of Sasuke’s findings. “I’ll see what I can do, but I might have to send you out again in the future. You’re the one one who possesses the Rinnegan, so unfortunately-”
Sasuke interrupted, “I know.”
“Glad we’re on the same page. In the meantime, maybe you should go visit Sakura,” Kakashi suddenly brought up.
Sasuke stared at his former master in confusion. “Sakura? Why?”
“I just think she’d be happy to know you’ve returned, is all. Here,” Kakashi stood from his desk and handed him a piece of paper. “That’s her new address. I believe she has the day off from the hospital, so she should be home.”
Sasuke looked at the paper Kakashi had just given him. Would it really be ok for me to just show up to her place unannounced? For some reason, Sasuke felt that the Hokage was plotting something. Despite a mask covering Kakashi’s mouth, Sasuke could tell he was grinning.
“Sakura hardly has time off these days, so she can be difficult to get a hold of sometimes. I’ll tell Naruto about your return in the meantime. Why don’t the four of us go to Ichiraku for dinner tonight, and we can all catch up?”
“Sure,” Sasuke said. “I’ll be heading out then.” He left the Hokage’s office, heading to Sakura’s.
Sasuke hadn’t seen Sakura since he left, not really at least. He had caught glimpses of her here and there while helping the village, but had chosen to keep his distance. Before making the decision to return, Sasuke had gotten a note from Naruto. He mentioned that Sakura had compared his current job, helping the village from the shadows, to his former dream of wanting to become a member of the Military Police Force. Sasuke spoke briefly about wanting to join the Police Force when he was a child to Sakura, while he was recovering from his final battle with Naruto. He was surprised that she remembered.
Sakura had been the one to look after both of them after that fight at the Valley of the End. Naruto and Sasuke were in the hospital for weeks before they were finally discharged. During this time, Sasuke had gotten to know Sakura a little better, hearing of her reasons for becoming a medical shinobi, her grueling training under Tsunade; the former Hokage and renowned medical shinobi. He had finally begun to open up to Sakura as well, telling her bits of his childhood before the Uchiha massacre, his former dream of joining the Police Force, and wanting to be acknowledged by his late father.
Sasuke was nervous to see her again after so long. She had written to him a handful of times on his travels, but he never responded. He thought it was best to keep contact from anyone as minimal as possible, and this included her too. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to write back, but Sasuke knew people would try to come after him, he used to be a rogue shinobi and is the last of the Uchiha clan. Wanting to protect those he cared about, he didn’t write to anyone unless he absolutely needed to. Despite his efforts, Sakura had been kidnapped by Kido. When he heard the news, Sasuke rushed over as fast as he could, but she had already taken care of everything. He finished off the remaining bodyguards, and left without a word. Sometimes he wonders if he had returned to the village back then or at the very least responded to those letters, maybe she wouldn’t have gotten hurt.
Deep in thought, he finally arrived at her apartment. He noted that it wasn’t far from the hospital. Sakura lived on the third floor of a newer looking building, in Konoha. Hesitating for a moment, Sasuke knocked on her door. He stood there for a moment, but there was no response. He knocked again.
“Sasuke-kun?” a soft voice floated through him, causing his heart to skip a beat.
Sasuke turned to look, and saw Sakura, wearing her signature sleeveless red qipao dress, black shorts, wrappings around her thighs, a dark colored obi, lilac elbow and knee protectors, and purple open-toed boots. She was holding a bag Sasuke suspected was filled with groceries.
“I’m home, Sakura.” He stated. The palm of his hand suddenly became sweaty.
“Welcome back Sasuke-kun,” she said looking a little relieved. “When did you return?”
“Just a little while ago. Kakashi told me I should come by, saying it’s your day off.
“Yeah it is. Here, why don’t you come inside.” Sakura offered, moving in front of him to unlock the door. He didn’t take his eyes off her.
Her apartment wasn’t big, but it felt cozy. It had an open concept living room attached to a full sized kitchen, a hallway with two doors on either side that Sasuke suspected led to her room, and the bathroom. A small dinner table with a bouquet of daffodils was nestled closely by four seats, and a large couch facing a coffee table directly opposite.
“You can sit on the couch while I put the groceries away,” she pointed before going into the kitchen. “Do you want anything to drink? Have you had lunch yet?”
“Just water is fine,” he said, removing his cloak and sword, before taking a seat. Sasuke noticed that her place had some photos on the walls, one of which was their team 7 group photo. But, otherwise it wasn't very decorated.
Once she was finished, Sakura handed him a tall glass of water and sat on the opposite end of the sofa. “Sorry, I don’t have a lot of time to go shopping, so I try to get out whenever I have a day or two off.”
“Kakashi said you’re busy these days,” Sasuke said. He took a sip and set the glass down on the coffee table.
Sakura nodded “Yeah, I mostly work at the hospital but sometimes I’ll get sent on missions. Ino and I opened a mental health clinic to help children who lost their families during the war, and I’ve been helping other villages do the same.”
Sakura brushed some of her pink hair behind her ear. Her hair was shorter than when he left on his journey. He noted that it went maybe an inch or two past her shoulders. Was she always this beautiful?
“How long are you here for?” She asked.
“A while I guess you could say.” To be honest, he wasn’t sure how long he planned to stick around. The two chatted for a bit as the sun slowly began to set. “Kakashi said we should meet him and Naruto at Ichiraku tonight”
“That sounds great! I’m sure Naruto will be so happy you’re back,” she laughed.
For some reason, Sakura seemed different. The way she was smiling at him, felt warm and comforting. In a way, she had always reminded him of his late mother. They shared a similar caring and gentle nature.
“We should get going,” Sakura said looking out the window behind them. “We don’t wanna keep Naruto waiting.”
They both got up and left the apartment, making their way to Ichiraku. He noticed many of the villagers greeted Sakura as they walked.
“Where are you staying?” Sakura asked, turning her attention to him.
“Kakashi offered to let me stay with him, but…” He trailed off.
“You don’t want to?”
“I don’t want to bother him.” Sasuke hadn’t had a place to live in Konoha since he left for Orochimaru’s. After his fight with Naruto at the end of the war, he had been hospitalized, then put in confinement, and stayed with Kakashi for a bit before going on his journey.
Sakura broke the silence between them, “Well...you could stay with me, if you want?” She turned her head to look away from him. “I’m at the hospital a lot, so you probably won’t see too much of me anyway.”
Living with Sakura, Sasuke thought to himself, wouldn’t be the end of the world. At least she’d probably keep more to herself than Kakashi would. “Ok,” he agreed.
Sakura looked back at him almost in disbelief. She gave him a small smile. The two continued to walk to Ichiraku in a comfortable silence. Sasuke typically kept to himself, and Sakura knew that, which he was grateful for.
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“There you are!” a loud voice said to Sasuke. Naruto and Kakashi had already gotten a table at Ichiraku, waiting for Sasuke and Sakura. “I was beginning to think Kakashi-sensei was lying about your return.”
“Relax Naruto, the sun is just beginning to set.” Sakura said, taking a seat across from them. Sasuke took the last spot, next to her.
“I know, but I haven’t seen Sasuke in forever! I just can’t believe your back,” Naruto yelled. “You jerk, you missed my wedding.”
“Congratulations,” Sasuke said. He had considered going, but thought it would be better if he didn’t. Although he did send a note to Sakura to give to Naruto on his behalf, he knew he got it based on a letter Sakura had sent afterwards.
They ordered their food and began catching up. Sasuke talked a bit about his travels, the things he saw and people he met. He wanted to see the world with eyes not clouded by revenge. Naruto and Sakura caught him up to speed on what had been happening around the village. Eventually the conversation had led to relationships. Shikamaru and Temari were seeing each other long distance, and Ino and Sai were in a serious relationship. Apparently Choji was seeing someone from Kumogakure, who had once beaten Naruto to a pulp.
“Sakura-chan, I don’t think I’ve seen you with anyone since Sasuke left,” Naruto said in her direction.
“That’s because unlike some people,” Kakashi said at Naruto, “Sakura stays busy rather than goofing around.”
“Hey, I go on missions and stuff. I don’t just goof around,” Naruto retorted. “But seriously Sakura-chan, why aren’t you going out with anyone?” Sasuke had to admit, he too, was interested in why Sakura had stayed single. Does she still have feelings for me?
Sakura was silent for a moment. “I guess I just haven’t been interested in dating anyone,” she said, peering into her empty ramen bowl. It’s a simple enough answer, Sasuke thought. It’s not like he had any interest in dating during his travels either.
“But, Ino told me that one of your patients asked you out the other day-” Naruto began to say before being cut off by Kakashi.
“Alright, that’s enough of that,” the Hokage declared. “It’s getting late and I have a stack of paperwork waiting for me in the morning, so I’m going to head out for the night.” Kakashi had gotten up from his seat.
“Ah Sakura offered to let me stay at her place,” Sasuke told him.
“I had a feeling she would,” Kakashi said before waving goodbye. Sasuke’s earlier suspicions had been confirmed.
“Actually...I should probably get going too. I have to be at the hospital at 8 am.” Sakura said.
“Then I’ll go too,” Sasuke told her.
“Aw leaving already?” Naruto gave them a little pout. “Sasuke, if you’re not doing anything tomorrow, let’s hang out!”
They made plans for the next day and said their goodbyes.
Sasuke and Sakura walked in silence on the way back. Sasuke’s mind thinking about their earlier conversation. Does Sakura still have feelings for me? In the past, people had tried to use their bond to draw him out, people like Kido. But he didn’t know if she still felt that way about him.
They made it back to the apartment and Sakura unlocked the door for them.
“I’ll grab a pillow and blanket for you,” she said as she went into her room. She came out a moment later and handed them to Sasuke. “Help yourself to anything you need. The bathroom is down the hallway on the right. Let me know if you can’t find something.” Sakura had turned around to head into her room.
“Sakura.” Sasuke said without thinking. She turned to look at him, her jade eyes meeting him. “Thank you.”
Sakura gave him a soft smile. “Goodnight Sasuke-kun.” She retired into her room for the night.
He took a shower and changed into a black long sleeve shirt and a dark gray pair of pajama pants. He hadn’t had a nice shower in a long time. Occasionally he’d stop at an inn or bathhouse during his journey, but those were few and far between. Heading back into the living room, Sasuke put the pillow on the side of the couch closest to the hallway, and laid down under the blanket. It smells like her. He felt his cheeks become warm at that thought, and drifted to sleep.