Wandering

[Kogitsune]

Kogitsune's sandaled feet shuffled delicately across the dirt trail that lead from Konohagakure to Tanzaku Town, a little village that was dotted with onsen that he knew for a fact were the best things possible for his health at the moment. In fact, it was Lady Tsunade herself that had suggested that he and Sakura go to the relaxing village, he wasn't going to complain... not that he ever did, of course. But he was glad that this kage was so much kinder and more helpful than Akahoshi and his strict no-playing-around rules.

Although he felt like more of a sheet of paper with a contract signed by both the villages now, Kogitsune had never felt like such a huge part of something as drastic as testing the weakened bonds of two allied hidden villages. It made his chest swell just slightly with pride before he remembered that any other Hoshigakure shinobi could have been chosen and gotten the same benefits, such as the one that he was being treated to at the moment.

He cast his dark eyes to the ground and began thinking about how much more the other villagers would have given to stay in the Fire Country for a few days so that their organs may possibly begin to heal as well. There were so many that were in worse condition than he himself was. Some of the older shinobi were unable to leave their beds because of the radiation from the meteorite. No matter how much or long he thought about it, he could never get over that such a small thing could make such an enormous impact on those surrounding it.

"Haruno-san," Kogitsune muttered, glancing over to the pink-haired young lady walking beside him. "May I ask a question?"

[Haruno Sakura]

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"This time, everyone, get a good look at my back."
✿❀✿ ♡нαяυησ×ѕαкυяα♡ ✿❀✿
She's Good For One Day Of Comfort, Only Because She Has Suffered

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Sakura felt as if there was some sort of weight of responsibility on her now, what with this new Hoshigakure shinobi she was supposed to keep an eye on, not just for safety purposes - even though he seemed rather harmless in his ways, and was a quiet yet polite man to boot - but for his health. Being a med-nin and the student of the Legendary Sucker, Tsunade herself, gave her quite a load to deal with; of course, Sakura hadn't picked up on her teacher's horrible gambling skills yet, and she didn't intend to. Picking up on something as horrible as that wasn't exactly part of her training exercises, that was for sure.

Then there was the factor of Rajani, as it seemed that Sakura was one of the only people Rajani fully trusted, to an extent. The girl had been rather startled when Naruto had decided to use one of his random jutsu in the middle of the street, which hadn't gone over well at first. Of course, Sakura had done a pretty good job of calming the girl and her wolf down, not to mention a nice violent approach to Naruto's actions. It wasn't abnormal for her to abuse the poor blonde, and she was sure he was rather used to it. Being abused by Haruno Sakura when you acted like that was a pretty normal thing, especially if your name was Uzumaki Naruto.

The rosette kunoichi snapped out of the slight trance she had been when she heard Ko referring to her. "Please, please, Kogitsune, call me Sakura. I'm not exactly a fan of titles," she said lightly, trying to seem more casual. It made her feel uncomfortable to be referred to so highly in a sense, not only by her surname but with the suffix of -san. She didn't mind being called Sakura-chan at times, as Naruto often called her such, but the thought of being called Haruno-san or even Sakura-san almost made her shiver. "Just ask away, it's not like you need permission to talk to me or anything. We're more or less on the same level, in a sense... You're a Chuunin, if I assume correct? Just because I've been - yes, literally - assigned to keep an eye on you doesn't make me your superior or anything." Sakura was trying to be as casual as she possibly could, and she hoped it was working to an extent.

"Anyways, what's your question?"

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[Kogitsune]

Did she call him "Kogitsune"? And did she want for him to call her just "Sakura"?

A look of confusion was now plastered onto Kogitsune's features as he slowed his pace to pile his thoughts together. What she had just asked went against everything that he had been taught growing up. As a child, he was expected to refer to all others as "-san" or a higher rank while he was called merely "-kun" or had no honorific whatsoever, but as he grew older, more and more people began calling him "-san." In Hoshigakure, adding the suffix was a form of both respect and maturity... and being referred to as "Kogitsune" gave him the impression that this Haruno Sakura thought of him as a child and wanted to be called one as well. But, as he had learned already, Konohagakure was a peaceful, carefree village, especially compared to the hostile atmosphere of Hoshigakure. There was no doubt in his mind that there were cultural differences between the villages, but he wasn't sure about being able to shoulder this particular one.

Kogitsune's confused dark eyes connected with Sakura's, then just as quickly broke contact and refocused on the sandy path. Calm down, he thought to himself, closing his eyes and taking a deep, steady breath. He was shocked at himself for losing composure over something that seemed so simple to this kunoichi and swallowed lightly as he tumbled names through his head. She wanted to be familiar with him, but he couldn't bring himself to call her by her given name while having only known her for a few hours at the least, so... Haruno-san... He would not call her "Haruno."

Just the prospect of calling another by their given name sent an unwanted tingle down his spine. Perhaps... Sakura-san would be sufficient enough. He hesitated while speaking, attempting to sound as comfortable as possible while doing something that was almost unheard of from someone of his upbringing. "Sa... Saku... ra... san..." He felt a slight ping in his heart from the mental strain of referring to her in that sense and gently placed a hand over it to feel his heartbeat and calm himself. At her request to hear his question, he could hardly speak from the attempt of recovering from the shock of the previous moment. "Could you please tell me of your village's customs?"

[Haruno Sakura]

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"This time, everyone, get a good look at my back."
✿❀✿ ♡нαяυησ×ѕαкυяα♡ ✿❀✿
She's Good For One Day Of Comfort, Only Because She Has Suffered

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Sakura gently noted the look of confusion in Kogitsune's eyes, and she stopped, wondering if she'd crossed a line of sorts. The poor boy seemed quite confused, and while Sakura didn't exactly know what it was, she nonetheless was going to ask, once he calmed down a bit. She waited for his confusion to pass, and certainly hoped she hadn't stepped over a line. Doing that could potentially be harmful to the treaty between the two villages, or at least in her opinion it could. His confused dark eyes locked with hers for a mere second, but were then torn away as he stared at the ground. She said absolutely nothing, and simply waited for him to continue.

She felt a small tinge of glee as he managed to utter her name, as Sakura-san rather than Haruno-san; that was a little better than before, at least. Nonetheless, the fancy title still made her itch, as the only honorific she was used to was Sakura-chan, and that was only used by Naruto for the most part. She wondered if honorifics had something to do with it. Kogitsune was a polite man, and while Sakura rarely used honorifics - the last time she could remember using one thoroughly, besides Tsunade-sama, was Sasuke-kun - but still knew what they were. Then he asked about their customs.

"Our customs? Well, we're not a very strict sort of village, as you can probably tell... I'm sure if I assume right it's the usage and drop of honorifics that are confusing you, correct? Well, I'll explain that first anyways. We in Konoha rarely use honorifics; they're only used in certain situations. Between peers for me, I used to call my old teammate by Sasuke-kun rather than just Sasuke, and Naruto often refers to me as Sakura-chan. Of course, we do have the special honorifics, such as Tsunade-sama. Of course, that's more or less because she's of a high stature from her position as Hokage." Sakura continued walking, hoping that she had hit the source of the problem and the source of Kogitsune's apparent confusion.

"Another honorific we often use is the sensei suffix, which is of course not necessarily mandatory, but used anyways. Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei are good examples. Other than that, most people don't use honorifics. Now, let me think of other things... We're a fairly laid-back place, and most of us are quite friendly amongst each other, especially the Rookie Nine, as they call us. Of course, we've had our share of dark times, too..." Sakura trailed off a bit there as painful memories began to surface. They were memories of none other than Uchiha Sasuke, her former teammate and crush. Of course, she didn't really have anyone she was shooting for anymore, but back when she had been younger it had been Sasuke. Now it was her goal along with Naruto's to bring him back.

Well, is there anything else you'd like to know?"

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[Kogitsune]

As Sakura rambled off about honorifics, Kogitsune was able to regain his composure and set his mind straight. Of course he knew the honorifics - chan, kun, san, sama, dono, hime, and the like - although only the latter four were commonly used among the adults of Hoshigakure. The first two only managed to worm their ways into the mouths of childern and their parents, and thankfully, Kogitsune had no offspring at his young age, nor was he sure that he ever would. He himself wasn't fond of children, but he would tend to their needs if the occasion arose. For him, it was one of the benefits of his orientation that was completely uncommon - even rare - in the day and age. Once again, he wasn't sure if it was ever common... but that thought would have to be placed to the site for later picking at, because Haruno Sakura mentioned something else that he wasn't familiar with.

The "rookie nine." Who were they, and why were they called "rookies"? Haruno herself seemed to be of a great stature, seeing as how she was assigned to guard and hopefully mend the wounds of a contract shinobi from a village that she seemed to have absolutely no idea about. Her medicaly skills should not have been lacking from training under the Slug Princess and Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure, Tsunade-hime, and he knew for a fact that her taijutsu skills were definitely not weak. Word of mouth from his village claimed that Uzumaki Naruto was skilled in both taijutsu and ninjutsu, and if Haruno Sakura's taijutsu made his look like a joke, then there was no doubt that she was just as skilled, if not better, than the blond young man.

It also seemed that the four - or at least three, seeing as how the young blonde lady was zoned out - shinobi that he had met in the hallway in front of Tsunade-hime's office were a close-knit bunch, though the two active females were hostile toward Uzumaki Naruto. Perhaps he was a weak pawn of Konohagakure and the other shinobi were actually stronger than he was? Kogitsune found himself mentally shrinking at the thought of this. If the shinobi were stronger than he was, then Lord Hoshikage may think that the Konoha shinobi were going to attempt to overthrow him, and a war may ensue... though that was only a possibility, so he did not dwell on that thought long, either.

He would only reveal to the kunoichi about Hoshigakure what she asked of to make sure that he did not seem too... chatty. "Could you please tell me about the 'rookie nine,' if I am not prying too much?" He hoped that the questions were not making her uncomfortable, because she seemed relaxed from his asking the last question.

[Haruno Sakura]

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"This time, everyone, get a good look at my back."
✿❀✿ ♡нαяυησ×ѕαкυяα♡ ✿❀✿
She's Good For One Day Of Comfort, Only Because She Has Suffered

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His question about the Rookie Nine had been nothing much to worry about. Sakura's hand met with her forehead. She'd forgotten that the term 'rookie nine' had only been used between Konohagakure shinobi to refer to the nine of them who had graduated all at the same time. "My apologies, I forgot we only use that term around other Konohagakure shinobi. The Rookie Nine is just kind of an all-around term to refer to nine of us Chuunins - well, most of us now anyways, but most of us are Chuunin - in Konohagakure who all graduated around the same time. The rookie nine themselves are Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba - under the teaching of jounin Yuuhi Kurenai -, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru - under the liege of Sarutobi Asuma; Ino was the blonde-haired girl in front of Tsunade-sama's office - Uzumaki Naruto, myself, and... Uchiha Sasuke, under the aid of Hatake Kakashi." Sakura's voice went a little lower at the mention of Sasuke, as if she didn't want to mention his name. For a moment she was silent, then shook her head.

"Most of us are Chuunin, but the only odd-coloured stick is Naruto. He's still technically a Genin, but he missed the last Chuunin exams. I'm sure he's at least the skill of a Chuunin, or perhaps even a Jounin, but... He was off training with Jiraiya when the last Chuunin exams were held, when most of us were promoted to a Chuunin rank. And Uchiha Sasuke..." Sakura stopped. No, she couldn't speak about Uchiha Sasuke, but to leave it as an hanging string would be rude. She took a moment, staring at the ground, more silent than ever before. She was sure that Kogitsune would notice the subject of Uchiha Sasuke was a touchy one, but Sakura would explain it anyways. Taking a deep breath, she continued.

"Uchiha Sasuke was mine and Naruto's other teammate. He's one of the only surviving Uchiha after the massacre, aside from his older brother and Akatsuki member, Uchiha Itachi. About two years ago he left the village, and since then he hasn't been seen. Of course, Naruto and I know him a little too well, as well as Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama, and we know exactly where he's gone. He's with... Orochimaru." Sakura almost spat the snake sannin's name in an acidic way. She hated that man, hated him with more than what could possibly exist in the world. It seemed a little ironic that each of the three of them were training under one of the former Sannin, though Tsunade was Hokage now, but it was still the same.

"I'm sure you know who Orochimaru is," Sakura said, unable to control herself any longer. Her fist shook, and for a second, she stopped. Taking a deep breath wasn't going to help now. She had to release her anger somehow, and without warning, her fist shot out towards a tree beside her, and with deadly force the tree keeled over, away from them, split by none other than Sakura's fist. She took a deep breath, and returned to her smiling face.

"Sorry about that. He gets on my nerves." Sakura smiled, trying to pull the man's attention away from the scary feat she had just performed. "Any other, er, questions? Don't worry if you're asking too much; I don't mind explaining."

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[Kogitsune]

When Sakura's hand connected with her forehead, Kogitsune was instantly concerned about her health. Did she have a headache? A fever? Had his questions given her a migraine because he knew so little about her country? Thankfully, before he could make a move to ask what was wrong with her, she calmly explained about the "rookie nine." He gave a smile of relief and began walking again, glad that he had not upset her.

When she mentioned Uchiha Sasuke, he mentally noted that it was a touchy subject and immediately stored the bit of information away in his memory banks to never bring up in discussion with her or perhaps anyone in Konohagakure no Sato unless the person or people spoke openly about him.

The boy that had destroyed their star was a mere genin? An expression of pure and utter shock crossed his face, and he gave a curious glance as Sakura spoke about his personal training with the Sannin Jiraiya. He was quite familiar with the legends of the Sannin and was surprised that two of the three of them were still in the village... although they still would have been close without their third wheel, wouldn't they?

Then Uchiha Sasuke's name reappeared. Kogitsune was sure that she wanted to tell him as much as possible about the Rookie Nine, but with Uchiha popping up over and over, he thought that he wouldn't get to learn much about the man that Haruno Sakura was so obviously connected to. A former lover, perhaps? As his thoughts wandered, they were cut off by Haruno Sakura's voice again... this time explaining about Uchiha Sasuke.

So he was with the Sannin Orochimaru, was he? Uzumaki Naruto trained with Jiraiya, Haruno Sakura studied under Tsunade-hime, and Uchiha Sasuke was now Orochimaru's underling... Were these three destined to become the new Sannin? The three reflected the older shinobis' talents as much as he could tell (though, of course, not with Uchiha Sasuke), and they all seemed to have a similar relationship with their comrades.

Once again, his thoughts were interrupted by Haruno Sakura's words. "Yes... I do know who Sannin Orochimaru is," Kogitsune replied, trying to comfort the quivering girl with a smile. He supposed that she was upset and possibly needed a shoulder to cry on because she suddenly stopped. He halted as well and made a gentle move to comfort her, but just as he was about to reach out, she made such a hasty movement that it shot his heart into overdrive, causing him to tense... and he fell to the ground in another coughing fit as he clutched at his heart with the hand not covering his mouth.

[Haruno Sakura]

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"This time, everyone, get a good look at my back."
✿❀✿ ♡нαяυησ×ѕαкυяα♡ ✿❀✿
She's Good For One Day Of Comfort, Only Because She Has Suffered

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Sakura's facial expression went through an immediate change as Kogitsune fell to his knees, clutching at his chest. The rosette kunoichi became a literal blur as she tore off her gloves, shoved them in her hip pouch, and knelt down with a hand on Ko's back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, I do that often; are you okay?" She asked, reaching up her free hand towards the boy's chest. It glowed with a green chakra as she did so, and she hoped she could at least calm things down a bit.

It pained her heart in odd ways to see this poor teen in such a way, and being as young as he was to be in such poor health. She was glad that whatever shinobi had destroyed that star had done so, otherwise a larger number of people would have been affected like this. If so many were suffering, it would cost a number of lives, lives that were valuable, as well as decrease lifespans. As if it were her own life force, Sakura pushed more chakra towards her hands, using it to examine the boy's organs. What she found, however, was something more than she would have guessed.

His organs were absolutely weakened beyond possible thought. There was blood in his lungs, that was what she could tell, though it was rather obvious due to him coughing up so much blood. Almost every organ in his abdomen and torso was weaker than the average; even an inexperienced medical shinobi in very low training would have been able to recognize that. Hell, even someone with as little skill in the medical field as Ino would have been able to figure it out; and Sakura's own skills were much higher than Ino's. Of course, training under the Godaime Hokage probably changed that a little bit, in Sakura's favour.

"Your organs are horridly weakened," Sakura stated, almost bluntly. "Promise me this; don't try to push yourself too hard, okay? And another thing... You may want to get used to me destroying random inanimate objects. It's a way of, er, releasing anger for me," she added sheepishly. "Or random not-so-innocent bystanders, like Naruto," she muttered, then realized Kogitsune had probably heard that. "Yeah, I know, you're probably wondering about that, too. While a lot of us seem to treat Naruto in... Rather violent and harsh ways, it's not that we hate him. He's just a little immature sometimes, though I'm sure a lot of us love him to death, in a sense." Suddenly remembering that he was easily confused, she quickly rephrased that statement. "N-not in that sort of way, o-of course, more or less like a friend, you know? He's a really influencing kid when it comes down to it, and even with everything he's had to put up with in his life, he's still tough as ever. And pretty obnoxious, too. Kind of like a hyperactive little kid," she said.

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[Kogitsune]

Kogitsune's dry, scratchy throat was now moist with his own blood once again. No matter how many times he saw the red liquid on his hand, he could never become used to it or comprehend that it came from his own body. He had seen it far too many times as the blood of another in his hands, and each time he did, his stomach tensed as he reached into his pocket to wipe it away with the already crimson-stained handkerchief.

At first when Sakura reached for his chest, his immediate reaction was to pull back, but after he realized what she was trying to do, he allowed her to place her hand on him, however awkward it felt from having a girl's hand on his body rather than a man's. His eyes closed as the chakra flowed into his body, giving him the warm sensation that radiated through him when he meditated in the presence of the star. He could picture himself cross-legged in front of the meteorite with Hakuhoshi sitting at his side... like old times...

When his former lover's face entered his mind, Kogitsune felt numb. The other had never even begun his life as a shinobi before it had been ripped away by the sacred star that everyone in the village had practically worshiped. His conflicting emotions for the star now raged inside of him - the lust of power combined with the hatred for taking away his lover and turning his friends and himself into the weakened tools that they were...

Again, Kogitsune was snapped from his trance by none other than Sakura. At the warning, Kogitsune sadly nodded his head, his mind still plagued by images of Hakuhoshi until Uzumaki Naruto was brought once again into the conversation. The mentioning of "love" and his name in the same sentence and the way she spaced out while she said it... there was something more than friendship there, he could definitely tell. No matter how much she tried to cover it, Kogitsune's smile betrayed his knowledge. "Even though so speak of him as such...," he began softly, then realized that it may have been a secret or developing crush. He did not want to interfere with the lives of the blossoming shinobi, so instead, he helped himself back to his feet and dusted off his clothes, then gave a deep bow to the kunoichi. "Thank you, S... Sakura-san..."

[Haruno Sakura]

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"This time, everyone, get a good look at my back."
✿❀✿ ♡нαяυησ×ѕαкυяα♡ ✿❀✿
She's Good For One Day Of Comfort, Only Because She Has Suffered

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[[Err, just a note, when I'm talking about her conscience, it really means her Inner Sakura. xD]]

The start of Kogitsune's comment after her mention of 'Naruto' and 'Love' in the same sentence nearly stopped her heart. That, as well as what he had said, confused her. Why was her heart stopping? It wasn't like she held any sort of feelings for Naruto, at least not in that way. She froze for a minute, almost, but stood up when Ko began to, and with a bow he thanked her, which felt a little awkward.

"Hm? What were you going to say?" she asked, still somewhat interested in what his comment would have been. It's not like I like him or anything, I mean... He's pretty annoying, after all! Heh... 'You're deluding yourself. Better stop it while you can,' her conscience teased. Mentally, Sakura groaned. Not you again, you just coming to piss me off or what?! 'Hell yeah, what else am I here for? I'm not your mommy, thanks, I'm just that little piece of you that likes to aggravate you and cause you to have mental battles with yourself.' Oh, if this was how things were going to go, Sakura would literally go insane sometime.

Snapping out of her mini trance, she chuckled when he had bowed. "Oh, y-you don't need to bow or anything. Eheh, like I said, I'm nothing more special than you, really... I guess you can say I'm kind of laid back, in a sense." Sakura didn't notice that her voice was shaking a little, as her mind was now on edge. While she knew what Kogitsune could possibly have been and probably was eluding to, what possibly could've given such an impression? Was it the way she'd said his name? Her tone of voice? 'Duuuh, wow, you're so freaking naive. I can't believe it.' Don't you have anything better to do other than annoy the freaking hell out of me? 'Hmm, lemmie thing here; nope, I'm rather content. Hope you enjoy deception, girl, 'cause that's exactly what you're rootin' for.'

After being silent for about half a minute, she looked up to see the doors of the springs greeting them. "Oh, we're here!" she said, with quite an air of enthusiasm. Of course, she wished that Naruto was there to break the somewhat awkward tension between them, but hopefully that tension would dissipate after a little bit. She was sure that her and Kogitsune would get used to each other, and would eventually end that tension.

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[Kogitsune]

The few seconds of silent thought after his comment told Kogitsune everything he needed to know. He wasn't a chuunin for having an inability to read others. "Nothing, Sakura-san," Kogitsune said with a light smile. Although he was sure of his train of thought, it seemed to him that Haruno Sakura was still in denial about her affections toward her companion. He knew the feeling all too well.

After bowing, Kogitsune was perplexed by the kunoichi's response. She denied him of something as simple as bowing as a way of thanks as well? Konohagakure no Sato... He didn't believe that it would be such a great place to adjust to. His formalities in the laid-back village didn't seem to go over will with its inhabitants.

After he repositioned himself and began walking alongside Haruno Sakura, there was then a heavy tension in the atmosphere. He supposed that she was mulling over her thoughts, and the silence allowed Kogitsune himself to revert back to his own about the previous moments. About his lover... well, former lover.

It seemed so awkward for a boy to fall head-over-heels for another of his own gender. Of course he had heard the term, but never before had he understood its true meaning or the impact that it would have on his life until he had experienced the two terms for himself: love and homosexuality.

The first was, of course, widely accepted and endorsed by all of the inhabitants of Hoshigakure. The latter... not so much. After Kogitsune had told his parents about the crush on his male teammate, he was afraid that the others in the village would respond in the same negative way that they had. Never before had he harbored such a feeling towards another, and after he finally was able to take the emotion and bring it to himself for both himself and another to share, the others were deceived for his selfishness. He loved being a part of everyone else's lives, so once his parents told him that it was wrong, he never had repeated his confession to someone else.

For the x number of times, Kogitsune was snapped from his daydream, and his attention was now focused on an inn sign that read "Tanzaku Onsen." A smile played once again on his lips as he mentally prepared himself for the dizzying heat and water that awaited him within. There was nothing more satisfying at the moment than just the thought of being able to enter an onsen for his health benefits.

[Haruno Sakura]

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"This time, everyone, get a good look at my back."
✿❀✿ ♡нαяυησ×ѕαкυяα♡ ✿❀✿
She's Good For One Day Of Comfort, Only Because She Has Suffered

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Coming into the change areas where the baths were, Sakura smiled brightly, trying to at least break a little of the tension that was rising in the air. In all honesty, she wanted Naruto there to at least break things up a little bit; he was good at breaking the ice between people, for the most part, and Sakura would have felt quite a bit reassured had he been there.

"Well, I'll meet you in the water, okay?" Without really waiting for an answer, Sakura disappeared off into the female change rooms after paying at the receptionist for the two of them; just because they were shared baths didn't mean that there were shared changerooms, too. Grabbing herself a basket, Sakura claimed herself a private stall where she could at least collect her thoughts. A few girls smiled at her, knowing who she was simply by her attire and the headband she wore. She recognized none of them, except for one, a girl who was more flat-chested than Sakura herself and had insanely long, light brown locks. She recognized the girl as none other than a fellow Chuunin, Fujiwara Asuka.

Smiling, she disappeared into her private stall and sat down on the bench. As she removed the tied headband for her hair and shook her rose locks out a bit, she thought about things. What was wrong with her? She felt as if... As if she were attached to Naruto, attached to him in such a way that was just a sort of inseparable bond between them. Drilling her fingers on the wooden bench, she unzipped her red top, folded it nicely, and set it in the basket, then got to work on removing the rest of her clothing as she thought more and more. Why am I feeling this way? It's as if I'm tied to him by a string, a string that can't be seen... And now my chest hurts, but I'm not physically hurt or ill. I don't understand it at all... For a moment, she thought, as she folded her black shorts and set them in the basket, thinking harder and harder; she'd felt such a feeling before. Wrapping herself in the given towel, she froze in the middle of picking up her basket as a single name came to mind.

Uchiha Sasuke. Sakura drew in a shaky breath, feeling tears coming to her eyes. Quickly sitting herself down on the bench, she wrapped her arms around her torso, as if she were in pain. And literally, she was. The thought of Sasuke just pained her to the core, and made her almost feel physically ill to her stomach. Fighting back the tears, Sakura released the grip she'd had on herself and wiped her eyes before the tears could fall. No. She'd sworn she wouldn't ever cry for Sasuke again, not until she cried for joy when he was safely returned to Konoha. Her and Naruto would bring him back; she couldn't stop believing that now!

Coming out of her little personal stall, she slid her clothing into one of the racks and walked out to the baths, to find Kogitsune already in the water. Well, that was fine; at least he wouldn't be able to tell her eyes had been tearing, with the steam and all. At least, that was as much as she hoped. Settling herself down into the relaxing water, she sighed, enjoying the water. She would need it, most likely, because to her knowledge, Kakashi-sensei would have something odd in store for them later... That, and at least the baths would help her take her mind off of things.

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[Kogitsune]

As he stepped into the presence of an older woman, Kogitsune was vaguely reminded of the onsen that he had visited the last time he had visited Hi no Kuni with his three-man squadron. The trips had been interesting of course, not only because he was able to bond more with his teammates who carried the same medical condition as he himself, but because he was able to see his lover like never before. Blushing at the memory, Kogitsune nodded as Haruno Sakura's voice reached his ears, but her words seemed to have overshot the poor man once he realized that he had not heard what she said. When he turned to ask, he found that he was alone with the onsen lady who gave him either a suspicious or curious eye. He wasn't quite sure... and he was also quite sure that he didn't want to know. So with a kind smile, a bow, and a "thank you for your hospitality," Kogitsune slipped into the changing room and took one of the unfamiliar baskets into a stall to begin stripping the clothes that were badly in need of a wash from his body.

To make sure that he didn't dirty the onsen, Kogitsune decided that it would be best for him to shower before entering the clean water, so he headed toward the men's shower and kept his eyes to himself... as best he could. He couldn't help his male hormones, but he was able to get away with the few slip-ups unnoticed by the victims of his curious glances. He wasn't sure why his hormones were acting up... perhaps it was because of his past experiences at onsen? He hoped not, because if so, he knew that he would be caught one day, and then it would more likely than not void out the better memories for the worse.

Kogitsune finally stepped from the shower to towel himself off, then wrapped the mock garment around his waist and stepped into the sticky, humid onsen air. He breathed shallowly, allowing his body to become adjusted as a precaution before he completely immersed himself in the foreign air to walk toward the rocky lining of the spring. After finding that Haruno Sakura had not come out and a nice, clear spot lacking the people that relaxed on the farther side of the pool, Kogitsune dipped himself into the steaming waters and closed his eyes, resting the back of his head on one of the many stones behind him, clearing his mind of all worries. Onsen were a place to enjoy yourself, not stress out. It was only after his female companion entered the steam that he opened his eyes once more and greeted her with a smile.

"Enjoying your trip... Sa... kura-san?" Kogitsune managed to squeeze out without making himself too dizzy.

[Fujiwara Asuka]

~уσυ ѕтσямє∂ σff тσ ѕ¢αя тнє αямα∂α; ℓιкє נєѕυѕ ρℓαує∂ мαятуя, ι'ℓℓ ∂яιℓℓ тняσυgн уσυя нαи∂ѕ!~
~тнe ѕтone ғor тнe cυrѕe yoυ нave вlaмed мe, wιтн love and devoтιon, ι'll dιe aѕ yoυ ѕleep!~

"ι тнoυgнт мen were ѕυppoѕed тo вe тнe тoυgнer oneѕ?"
Ŧยןเฬคгค ครยкค
~yoυ мaĸe мe ѕo нoт, мaĸe мe wanna drop, yoυ're ѕo rιdιcυloυѕ, ι can вarely ѕтop~

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ṡhε'ṡ øṉε øƒ τhøṡε ģïɾlṡ, ṉøτhïṉģ вυτ τɾøυвlε
just σnє lσσk αnd nσw чσu'rє sєєíng dσuвlє
вεƒøɾε ÿøυ ќṉøώ ïτ, ṡhε'll вε ģøṉε, øƒƒ τø τhε ṉεχτ øṉε

Recognizing people by face if they weren't a good-looking male really wasn't her forte in the first place, but it wasn't hard to miss someone with such a large forehead and such a vibrant shade of hair. Nonetheless, it wasn't the woman, known in Konoha as Haruno Sakura, that was catching her attention. Even through the steam, there was still one of the most gorgeous men she'd ever seen. Oh, she just had to at least give him a try.

I just hope that he isn't Haruno's boyfriend or something, she thought to herself as she "casually" made her way through the steaming water to that end of the pool, catching a little of their conversation.

"Enjoying your trip... Sa... kura-san?"

"Ah, yes, I am. It's nice to do something casual once in a while, not to mention that I need to be loose for this evening. Knowing Kakashi-sensei, he'll probably have some sort of odd test to throw as us, or something of that nature."The rose-haired kunoichi leaned back with a sigh, dipping her face from the nose down into the water, obviously enjoying the warmth. Seeing an opening for conversation, Asuka decided to take the bull by the horns.

"Hey, don't I recognize you from somewhere?" Asuka asked, curiosity spreading across. "Haruno Sakura, right?" The rose-haired kunoichi nodded, and Asuka smiled, turning her attention to the dark-haired, gorgeous male with her. "And who might you be?"

shє's sσ gσσd thαt чσu wσn't sєє ít cσmíng
ṡhε'll ταќε ÿøυ ƒøɾ α ɾïḋε αṉḋ ÿøυ'll вε lεƒτ ώïτh ṉøτhïṉģ
чσu'll вє вrσkєn, shє'll вє gσnє, σff tσ thє nєхt σnє

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~вυт ιғ yoυ coυld jυѕт wrιтe мe oυт, тo neverleѕѕ wonder, нappy wιll ι вecoмe?~
~вє тσ ιт тнαт тнιѕ ιѕ иσ σρтισи, ѕσ ωιтн ѕιи ι ¢σи∂єми уσυ, ∂ємσи ρℓαу, ∂ємσи συт!~

[Kogitsune]

Kogitsune's eyes fell slowly once more as he stretched back, resting his dark locks on the stones again. A small smile played on his lips as he gave a light sigh and nodded in agreement with Haruno Sakura's statement. "Although I do not know Hatake Kakashi like you do, nor do I believe I will ever, it is best to keep yourself calm and guarded in battle." The tiny speech made his brain spin from the steam, and he took a few more medium-deep breaths to calm himself down again.

It was going to be harder to relax here than he thought.

Not thankful for the intrusion, Kogitsune heard the feathery bare footsteps of someone very lightweight heading their way. He hoped that he or she would just hop by, but instead, a confident voice spoke up and ruined his quiet soaking in the onsen.

He didn't mind that she was speaking to Haruno Sakura, but once the attention was turned to him, Kogitsune opened his eyes and gave her a pathetic gaze. "I am known as Kogitsune," he stated simply. "My home is Hoshigakure... and I'm not very well-acquainted with this land." As soon as the words slipped from his mouth, he realized that he had given away too much and immediately broke contact and stared at the steam above him.