B r o t h e r

•19•

Naruto was surprised to say the least, when he and Hinata went downstairs just to see Sasuke standing in the lobby. The dark-haired boy had left about ten minutes ago; they expected he'd be long gone by now. Curious, Naruto tugged his girlfriend along as he walked towards his gloomy friend.

"Oi, Sasuke!" The blonde yelled, causing more people than just his friend to look at him.

"What, idiot?" Sasuke asked, crossing his arms.

"The hell are you still doing here, we have some broken hearts to fix you know?!" Naruto exclaimed, causing Hinata to sigh at her boyfriend's loudness.

As Sasuke was about to reply, until someone spoke up behind them. "Sorry! Gaara gave me a list of things to get him, he said it's compensation for abandoning him.."

Naruto turned around to face his sister, who was all dressed in her winter attire and held a folded piece of paper in her hand.

"Sakura? You're going with Sasuke?" Naruto questioned, finding it odd. Naruto knew his sister had developed feelings for Sasuke, so why would she accompany him to buy snacks for a girl who was more or less, her rival?

"He said he wanted to buy something from the supermarket and asked me to come with!" Sakura explained.

"Ah... well have fun then!" Naruto smiled, and allowed himself to be pulled away by Hinata.

Sakura thought her brother's attitude was a bit strange, but decided he was probably just worried about Ino and Shikamaru. Naruto on the other hand, watched as his sister left with Sasuke and narrowed his eyes. He knew that Sakura, whether she admitted it or not, would get upset once she found out Sasuke was out to buy something for Ino. If not upset, then at least jealous. He felt an uneasy feeling in his stomach; Naruto didn't want to see his sister heartbroken.

Hinata watched them leave as well, slightly confused. The way Sasuke was treating Ino was off; sure he was her friend and all, but to go out of his way and leave the resort just to buy Ino a snack that even Hinata didn't remember she liked? All while he has a girlfriend? And why was Sakura so okay with this? It just didn't add up.

"Naruto, do you think Sasuke likes Ino? As more than a friend?" She asked, as innocently as possible. She already knew the answer though, but she was hoping it wasn't true. She didn't want to see Sakura get hurt.

Naruto looked down at Hinata, knowing fully well that he couldn't lie to her about this anymore. "Yeah, he does."

___________________________

Sasuke genuinely had no idea why he asked Sakura to tag along, he was perfectly fine with going on his own. However, part of him also just wanted to take her away from Gaara. He would never admit that though, not for a while at least.

"What are you buying?" Sakura asked, looking over at Sasuke. He was more silent than usual, which she assumed was due to his friends breaking up.

"Just some snacks.." Sasuke mumbled. Sakura decided not the press any further.

They stood in the chilly air, waiting for the bus that would take them to the variety of stores just outside of the large resort. Sakura wasn't sure if it was just her, but the silence was suffocatingly awkward.

"How's Ino?" She asked, trying to strike up a conversation again.

Sasuke sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Not good, and I doubt Shikamaru is any better. I'm sure the whole grade accusing him of cheating is nagging at him."

Sakura nodded, feeling bad for the two. They truly looked like they could have lasted forever. With nothing left to say on the topic, the silence engulfed them once again. Sakura felt quite relieved to see the bus pull up to pick them up.

___________________________

"Pudding?" Sakura asked, looking at the sugary snack. She recalled Sasuke saying he hated things that were too sweet about a week ago.

"It's.. for Ino." Sasuke muttered, not knowing why he felt guilty when he said that. Sakura wasn't actually his girlfriend, and she knew of his feelings for the blonde.

"Oh." Was all the pink-haired girl said in reply. She hated the sick feeling she got in her stomach at his words; she was foolish to think Sasuke would move on from Ino for her. After all, they were in this relationship simply because of the blonde girl and her brother's happiness.

"I'm going to wait for her." Sasuke continued, leading them through the store as he looked for other snacks his friends would enjoy. "I know she won't be ready for a relationship yet, so I'll wait until she's ready."

"How do you know that won't take years? What if she doesn't even fall for you?" Sakura bombarded him with questions, her slight jealously getting the best of her.

"I want to try, at least.." Sasuke said, not even giving her a glance as he answered.

Sakura nodded, and the two remained mostly silent until they got back to the resort.

Sasuke thanked Sakura for accompanying him, before making his way, most likely, towards Ino's room. Sakura lingered in the lobby, not knowing where she should go. Her heart hurt just the tiniest bit, she'd hoped that after all this time Sasuke would at least lose his feelings for the blonde girl.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had a look of displeasure on his face. Sure, Sakura was a good friend to him now. He did care for her, even if it was just a little. However, that didn't warrant these unexplained feelings he was having. He shouldn't feel guilty over something that was so obvious between the two of them, and he's sure Sakura didn't even think anything of it. He shook the thoughts away as he reached his destination, Shikamaru's room. Ino wasn't the only one in the relationship, after all. Sasuke also highly doubted that this is how his lazy friend wanted to his relationship with Ino as well.

He left a few snacks outside of his friend's door, knocking twice and quietly announcing that he was there. As Sasuke walked away, he faintly heard the door open and Shikamaru mumble a 'thank you' to him. Sasuke made a mental note to pass by later as well, after he saw Ino again.