The past few nights have been extremely difficult for me to sleep, every time I almost drift off into the dream world I get jostled awake. My hands rub soothingly against the large area of my stomach trying to persuade the growing child to let me rest. Sasuke-kun thought it would be a good idea to stay at Karin’s hideout until I give birth, which could be any day now. At first she was skeptical but we quickly became close. It took my husband by surprise since he knew that she held feelings her him still and had expressed her dislike for me years ago. To me it’s all water under the bridge.
My mind has led me to her lab where she’s working on some new antibiotic pills for the sick children in the land of waves. I wish I could help but with my current state even my chakra doesn’t seem to last as long. Probably because our child’s chakra signature interferes with my own and throws me off balance.
I knock on the door frame before walking in. Her red hair is thrown up into a messy ponytail and she pays to the spot on the bench beside her.
“You should be sleeping.” She scolds absentmindedly, we all know that it’s impossible. I shrug my shoulders and take the microscope to watch the bacteria diminish from the anti bodies.
“So should you.” It’s well past midnight and normally Karin is already passed out in her room.
“He’s already up looking for you.” Of course he is. Every night we do this same game of hide and seek. Mentally I’m counting to a hundred before he walks in the room.
“Oh well. How has your research been going?” The other day she asked me how I broke down Sasori’s poison so fast. After a few hours of explaining she was able to come close to the antidote. As far as medics go Karin is one of the best, but not close enough to Shishou and I. She knows this and that’s why she doesn’t mind my late night interruptions.
“I’m just waiting for Lord Orochimaru to send me the herbs I requested.” I can’t hold back the shiver that runs through my spine. Even after all these years I can’t help but be scared of the snake sannin. Honestly I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to stand being around him after everything.
Both of our eyes redirect to the doorway, Sasuke-kun has his arm propped against his hip and his hair is slightly messy from sleeping. Looks like my game is over.
“Good night Karin.” My body takes longer to rise from the bench but thankfully both Karin and Sasuke-kun help me keep my balance. Exiting the lab, he leads me back towards our room and I can’t help but sigh.
“You should be resting Tsuma.” He’s not scolding me, the worry in his voice is evidence of that. He’s just worried.
“I’ll try, but sooner or later I’m going to be wandering around the halls again.” He guides me to the edge of the bed as I plop down on the soft mattress. His body falls behind mine and pulls me tightly against him, my back pressed firmly against his chest. A lone hand traces the curves of my stomach causing a smile to form on my face. It’s moments like these that make me thankful to have him as a husband.
“EXCUSE ME,” said a reporter for the daily Konoha news. “But, I’m asking you all some questions, and I would really appreciate it if you would answer them!”
“Uh, Sensei,” began Sakura beside him. She gave him a “told you so” kind of look.
“Do not engage and she’ll go away,” he answered in his smooth voice. Sakura could see how calm he was by his face, so she guessed he had things under control as usual.
“If you believe that,” said Sasuke beside her, he had his hands casually in his pockets and looked bored despite their current situation. “Then why do you look so nervous?”
Huh? Thought Sakura, peering at her sensei more closely. Kakashi sensei noticed her more direct stare, not saying anything. Well, Sakura smirked to herself, she thought he was in control.
“Sakura, I said don’t move!” he growled.
Kakashi sensei told his students to keep their heads turned when the old woman and her crew came around. The group of them caught the team just as they were rounding the corner to Ichakru’s. If Sakura was a blaming person, she’d blame Naruto for the mess they got into, he was the one who persisted they go eat ramen after a hard day of training, after all.
She peered over at him now on the other side of their sensei, he was trying his hardest to stand so still he was shaking. She almost chuckled. He could be a dimwit at times.
When the cameramen tried to stop them, Kakashi sensei had thought of something quick and told them all to stand next to a group of civilians near the shop. At first, Sakura felt silly and didn’t think ignoring the excited cameraman was gonna help them get away, but it seemed to be working?
As long as no one gave in the reporter and her people would become too restless to stay and chat and probably move on to find some other team to pester.
Yeah right.
“Why are your ninjas so strong, sir? What are your training methods for them?” Don’t they care that we’re beat up and smell bad!? We just came from training for Pete’s sake and some of us wanna go lie down in a bed! Thought Sakura, not feeling amused anymore as the seconds began to drag on and the group didn’t show any signs of leaving.
“How about anything romantic in your team? Does either of your boys have a crush on the girl? How about these two beside each other? I’ve always said pink and blue go together, am I right?” she laughed. Sakura definitely agreed with her, but she felt dread all the same when she peered over at Sasuke to see his reaction to the obnoxious, but oh so correct, lady. His face was neutral, as always, maybe even slightly annoyed. Even though the reporter was waving her microphone at their backs, Sakura wanted to turn around and punch the living gods out of that woman.
Stay cool, Sakura and we can get home safely.
“Naruto, hold steady…” She heard Kakashi breathe under his breath, and Sakura shifted her eyes to him. She nearly choked. Naruto was eyeing the reporter with indecision in his blue eyes, looking sweaty and uncomfortable just by standing for so long.
Oh gods, no.
“Naruto, I swear if you screw this up for us…” Sasuke’s harsh whisper beside Sakura reached Naruto, and that did it.
Naruto snapped.
“I’M STANDING STILL, IDIOT!”
“Naruto!” Sakura cried out in surprise and anger as the reporter literally hopped in front of them with a bright smile of success on her face and the cameramen followed suit.
She felt and heard Sasuke slap his forehead in aggravation.
Kakashi just sighed real long.
“Kakashi sensei! I’m Emi, and this is my crew-”
“I know who you are-”
“-I would like to continue asking more questions for the paper tomorrow if you don’t mind.”
Again, Kakashi sighed. He looked so broken. “Uh, how long will this take exactly?”
“Five hours,” she responded immediately, an innocent smile on her face.
SasuSaku Month Day 03 Title: Polaris Prompt: Restless Rating: K+ Disclaimer Day’s Notes: Genin SS because I adore those kids; a night under the stars━sometime after the chunin exams
The nightmares were so constant that Sasuke no longer jolted with heavy panting and screams. His eyes no longer widened as he stared into the void and waited for the visions of his past to blur away to darkness of his room.
Now he woke with a sigh and rolled on his back, blinking up at the starry night sky.
He felt stupid the first overnight with Team Seven. He had childishly hoped that being as far as possible from Konoha would give him respite from the dreams of mangled bodies and blood seeping into floorboards.
There was no running from his ghosts.
Sasuke turned his head to his right and saw Naruto with his mouth wide open and his body twisted so that he was snuggling his blanket and bed roll instead of lying on top of it. He didn’t need to look to know that Kakashi wasn’t sleeping in his bed roll. Their instructor was never in his bed roll though he liked to continue to create the illusion that he were sleeping soundly across from his trio of genin.
Turning to his right, Sakura was awake, eyes on the starry canopy above their head and her lips moving slightly as she spoke to herself.
In the dark her chin length hair seemed more dusty rose than the wata-ame pink of fluffy festival treats it looked in the midday sun.
Sakura’s hair looked like the orange of glass molding in flames when the sun was falling and the color of candelabra amaranths during the false dawn━but he wasn’t going to look into why the shades of Sakura were so pronounced in his mind that he could find her in the world and the world in her.
But for now the fire pit was dead and the only sounds were that of chirping cicadas and the rustling of wind through leaves. Yet Sakura was awake.
The room smells of must, her wrists raw and hands bleeding as her eyes open and she realizes this isn’t my home. Her head throbs with a pain unlike anything she’s felt, and as she tries to push herself away from whatever wall she leans on, it hits her that all the strength in her body is gone.
Chakra vibrates in her core, only she can’t concentrate it to whatever part she focuses on and just when she feels like she may be able to apply some to her arms, her body fails to comply.
Please don’t forget to tag your works for sasusaku month with #ssm18 and its respective day (ex. #ssm18d1, #ssm18d2 etc.), this is so we can find your works and reblog them.
SasuSaku Month 