Chapter Text
He finds her in a convenience store, she's buying eggs. Its two in the morning. Sasuke hesitates; he should approach her – obviously.
But he hesitates.
He nears her when she looks for milk. When he is within her peripheral view, she freezes – ever so slightly. Sasuke notes this and opens his mouth to speak, but stops when she sighs before him, and turns on her heel so that they face one another.
“Its two in the morning,” she says.
Sasuke nods, frowning slightly; he notices now that she is wearing what appears to be somewhat professional clothes. Has she come here straight after work?
“This is one of many convenience stores,” she continues, “one of many, in a civilian city, in a country outside the land of fire”. She smiles, softly, “I doubt bumping into you here is just a coincidence”.
This remark is enough to confirm his suspicions, “I'm not someone you'd have like to see here then?”
“I didn't say that,” replies Sakura, “but if you want to interpret my remarks that way, then sure”. Sakura takes a step back, “but I guess that's up to me, goodnight Sasuke-kun”. She turns to leave, but stops upon a hasty “wait,” uttered from Sasuke.
She doesn't turn, but she doesn't leave. She is willing to listen, so he begins, “I came to see you”.
She looks back, “yea...I...already assumed that”.
He pauses, “I want to understand”.
She smiles, “not interested”. She looks away, and begins walking towards the cashier counter.
Sasuke lets her leave this time. Instead he decides an ambush outside the convenience store would be better. He frowns – scratch that, a meeting, not an ambush, a meeting outside would be better.
Sasuke leans against the the brick wall of the convenience store. A short period of time passes before Sakura emerges from inside, holding a paper bag with her groceries.
She smiles upon catching his sight, “yea I...guessed you'd be more persistent”.
She begins walking, Sasuke falls in line and walks beside her. He notes, interestingly enough, that she doesn't object to this.
“So,” begins Sakura, “what brings you to Kibō no machi?”. She notes Sasuke's confused stare and giggles softly, “that's the name of the city”.
“Oh”.
“Didn't you know that?”
“No I just...” he pauses, “arrived here”.
“When?”
“A few hours ago”.
“And you just happened upon me in some random convenience store”.
“I don't know what to tell you,” says Sasuke, “just put it down as a coincidence”.
“hmmm, no. Its too unlikely”.
“Can't tell you anymore”.
“Can't or wont”.
“I don't...both”.
She rolls her eyes, “Sasuke-kun, why did you come find me?”
Sasuke replies, “I want to understand”.
She exhales softly, “you and your vagueness”.
There is something comforting, he considers, about the fact that Sakura is not overly formal with him. “The last time I saw you, it was...”
“In Konaha,” Sakura finishes, “when you were saying goodbye to me-”
“When I was telling you that I'd return”.
“Semantics,” she smirks, “and, so...what?”
“This time when I returned-”
“I know, I wasn't there”.
He shifts his shoulders uncomfortably, “I'm under the impression that its because of me”.
Sakura stops walking. Sasuke does as well. She knows, and says, “let me quell this for you then. My leaving has nothing to do with you, don't...worry?”
She ends her remark awkwardly, then pauses before adding, “anyway, I think its best we..uh, part here. I'm heading home. You should do the same”.
“Wait,” says Sasuke, abruptly stopping her once more, “I find it hard to accept that”.
“Well, you'll just have to find a way”.
“There's more to it than that”.
“Why does there have to be?”
“I spoke to Kakashi”.
“Ah...”
“You renounced your ties to Konoha...you quit as a shinobi of the village”.
“Really?” she smiles.
He frowns upon this remark, so she adds cheekily, “so did you”.
“Which is why I know there is more to the story”.
Sakura sighs, and shifts the grocery bag in her arms, “its two in the morning, Sasuke-kun. Could we do this another time?”
His demeanour softens, “yes, of course”.
She smiles softly, weakly, “I actually live here,” Sakura nods at the apartment complex they currently stand beside, “apartment 313, come by tomorrow afternoon. My shift finishes early”.
He nods, “okay, I'll come by then”.
.
.
.
There is a woman that lives at apartment 313 – but it isn't Sakura. The woman that lives in apartment 313 has at least twenty years on him. Attractive in some superficial way, the woman's eyes bulge upon seeing Sasuke stand upon her doorstep; a confused expression painted across his face.
“Uh...” he begins.
“Oh, yummy,” the woman replies, her lips curling.
Sasuke frowns, “is...Sakura here?”
“Who?”
“Sakura”.
“Hmmm,” the woman purrs, “why don't you come in, honey. Let me help you with this-”
“I think I have the wrong apartment,” Sasuke interjects, turning and leaving far too quickly for the woman's retort of, “baby, come back,” to be noted with any clarity by the shinobi.
He rushes down the stairs, and emerges from the complex. Outside, he finds Sakura; leaning against the wall akin to how he was found yesterday in front of the convenience store. She is laughing, Sasuke approaches her.
“I hope Ms. Saito treated you well”.
He frowns, “what is...why?”
Sakura shrugs, “I'm not really going to let you know where I live,” she leans off the wall, and nods for him to follow, “I know a place we can talk”.
.
.
.
He expects that Sakura will take him to a bar, or a small coffee shop.
She doesn't however - “What would you like for today?” their server asks them; dressed head to toe in a clown outfit.
Sakura looks up to address the man. A sweet smile across her lips, and the complimentary bunny ears bobbing around as she moves her head, “uh...I'll have the triple-decker strawberry and chocolate sundae, please”.
Their server smiles, “excellence choice, madam,” he turns to Sasuke, and notes that he hasn't put on his complimentary cat ears, he frowns slightly at this, “and you, sir?”
Sasuke replies through grit teeth, “water?”
“Is that all sir?”
“Yes”.
Their server nods, takes their menu's, and leaves. Sakura turns to him, and smiles, “you haven't put on your cat ears”.
“Hell hasn't frozen over yet”.
Sakura sighs, “you should get into the spirit, Sasuke-kun. No one else in the restaurant is throwing a fuss”.
Sasuke frowns, and glances around to note the median age for most of the other customers in the restaurant lie between five to ten years old, barring the accompanying parents of course. He turns back to Sakura, “your tactic isn't going to work”.
Sakura giggles, “Sasuke-kun, there is no ulterior motive here. This is just one of my preferred spots to visit after work”.
Its a likely story, considers Sasuke. “You said we could talk”.
“We're talking”.
“About, your decision to leave...Konoha,” he pauses, “to denounce your ties to it”.
Sakura shrugs, “what of it?”
“I want the backstory”.
“There isn't one”.
“Why are you being difficult?”
“I'm...not, not really,” Sakura shifts on her bar-stool, “why do you care?”
Sasuke frowns softly, “several reasons”.
“Such as?”
“For one, I need to know if I should follow suit or not”.
Her lip twitches, “are you...joking?”
“No”.
“Its a bit played out for you, isn't it? Leaving Konoha, again”. Her attempt at levity is lost, or rather, ignored by Sasuke.
His expressions remains unchanged, “Sakura-”
“Ah,” she interjects, “you're...wait, you're serious”.
A child in the background laughs loudly as a large ice cream cake is placed before him. The child's parents begin snapping as many photos as their fingers can manage whilst their child's friend's begin singing a birthday tune for him. Sakura eyes briefly flicker to the scene, frowns when looking back to Sasuke, and mutters quietly, “you're real, aren't you?”
This isn't caught by Sasuke, “pardon?”
Sakura smiles, “they're taking a while to get you a glass of water, aren't they”.
“Don't change the subject”.
She feigns a look of innocence, “I'm just saying”.
Their orders arrive not long after; Sakura's sundae and Sasuke's glass of water. He doesn't touch the beverage, instead finds himself grow increasingly frustrated by her rather successful manoeuvres at steering the conversation away from the topics of 'why did you leave Konoha, like really, why?' and 'is there something you're not telling me?'
“You know, Sasuke-kun, sometimes people like to have a bit of a change in scenery”.
“That doesn't explain renouncing your citizenship”.
At this point in time, Sakura's sundae is finished, and Sasuke's glass of water still full to the brim. “I'll pay,” she announces, once again attempting to deflect. With an exasperated 'no,' from Sasuke, Sakura grins and adds, “I'm not dining and dashing – I'm rather fond of this place”.
“You're not going to give me anything, are you?” Sasuke remarks, visibly annoyed.
Sakura's demeanour softens, “give me time,” she says, her statement genuine – Sasuke is sure of it. Then, she adds quietly, “I guess, if you want my opinion, I would say that if you want to follow suit, it would be...good, for you to do so but, I don't think I have the same power over you that they have”.
She stands up, heading to the front counter to pay. Sasuke, somewhat slightly less annoyed, takes a sip of his glass of water.