♡ The Only Player SasuSaku ♡

♡ Part 22: old but new bond ♡

NEXT DAY (October 20th)

TO SAKURA

Sakura and naruto walked to school together after being yelled at by kakashi. it quite frightened the blonde boy

naruto: let's never do that again

sakura: agreed

he got mad because they went out in the middle of the night without him being so aware. he was half asleep while she asked him and so he didn't pay much attention to what she was saying. and to top it all off, naruto didn't even wash his bowl

they got to school and noticed that shikamaru and temari were standing there talking although shikamaru seemed more so uninterested. the boy looked at naruto and sakura walking over and a small smile appeared

sakura: hi shikamaru.. temari

temari: hey sakura

naruto: so what're you guys doing here so early

temari: i was ju--

sasuke walked up and was greeted by his friends. he stood in between shikamaru and sakura

temari: so i was about to tell you guys about my party for halloween

naruto: you're hosting it?

temari: yeah and you're all invited

temari took a glance at shikamaru and then back at the rest

sakura: sounds fun

sasuke: you're going sakura?

sakura: yeah, are you

sasuke: hmph maybe

naruto grabbed shikamaru and wrapped his arm around him

naruto: shikamaru and i are gonna match, right?

shikamaru: what a drag

they stood there and all talked as more of them came.

sasori: hey sakura

she looked over to her side to see sasori smiling

sakura: morning sasori

'tsk....'

sasuke looked at the tomato head and then back at the rest of the group. the bell rang and they all headed to class together. after grabbing all their things, sasuke and sakura walked to their homeroom class together

sakura: aren't you excited

sasuke: excited for what

they walked into the classroom and sat beside each other

sakura: the big hockey game is tomorrow

sasuke: oh yeah forg-

he stopped talking once he realized who came inside. sakura looked at the red head and then back at him. she then remembered that karin held him back before going to practice.

she walked pass them without sharing a glance to either of them and sat at the back of the class

'.......'

he was at lost of words but he didn't really know why. but it was most likely because everytime he sees her, the one thing that pops up into his head was what she did... and since then, she hasn't said a word to him

sakura: i think i shou--

as she tried getting up, sasuke grabbed her wrist. the pinkette looked into his eyes and a light shade of pink appeared onto his cheeks and then quickly let her go. in all truthfulness, he didn't want her to go because he didn't want to be alone in a room with karin

sasuke: nevermi--

naruto and shikamaru walked in and sat with sasuke and sakura

shikamaru: did coach mention if we were getting our new hockey jerseys today?

naruto: he didn't say anything, sakura?

sakura: i actually don't know

suigetsu walked in and saw the four of them sitting away from karin

suigetsu: seems like the 4 of you didn't want to sit near the garbage digger

karin: shut up suigetsu

suigetsu chuckled and sat at another end from the red head, although sasuke never knew why suigetsu always bothered karin but then again he couldn't really care less about it

class started and they finally began their day. it was normal like how it usually was... nothing new in particular.

LUNCH

they all sat at the lunch table and talked about the halloween party. though while doing so, shikamaru got up without saying anything and left. sakura noticed and she got up and walked after him to see where he went. he walked outside and and leaned against the fence. he took out a lighter and cigarette and her eyes widened. she quickly walked over to him and took those things out of his hands and looked at him worried

shikamaru: a-ah sakura..um

he tried getting them back but she wouldn't let him

sakura: c'mon shikamaru..... you don't have to

shikamaru stopped trying and looked down. 

shikamaru: it's what it came t-

she dropped the cigarette and stepped on it

sakura: you have so much to live for, why are you slowly killing yourself

'there isn't that many....'

she realized that he started squinting his eyes but because of how much taller he is in comparison to her, even while looking down she could still see his face and so she could see that his eyes got a little red and a small tear dropped

shikamaru: i deserve this..... i don--

without hesitation, she hugged him and his eyes widened as another tear slipped down his face. she had always been his friend, but after becoming close friends with sasuke and always being close to naruto... she had established an even stronger bond with shikamaru and they both knew it. and she was grateful for having him as a friend and so she didn't want to see him broken like this. 

he finally decided to hug her back knowing that she genuinely cared for him.

sakura: you don't deserve to be sad.... and we're here for you, i am here for you. 

she moved a bit back but her arms were now on his shoulders

sakura: you have every reason to live, and just know that one of them is because your best friends and close friends all love having you around.... and trust me our group would never be the same without you

they looked into each others eyes and shikamaru let another tear fall. it was the second time..... the second time someone had his back like this. the first was from sasuke and naruto.

shikamaru: s-saku....

he stopped talking and a faint smile appeared onto his lips

shikamaru: thank you

she brightly smiled and let go

sakura: let's go inside

he nodded as he wiped his eyes and put his hands into his pockets. they got back to the cafeteria and the group looked at them. they sat down

sasuke: where did you go

sakura: i just went to shikamaru to talk with him for a bit

they looked at each other and smiled.