Sakura was tempted to run after the guy and had half a mind to drag him back and make him explain everything: Orochimaru, the exams and whatever they plotted on doing to her teammates. But her voice died, along with the freezing of her brain, when she saw Haruto hugging Satsuki like that, and he didn't seem like he wanted to let go anytime soon.
The ugly green thing with horns known as jealousy reared its ugly head but she tried to cover it up with the surging relief that her teammates were safe. It didn't help as much as she'd like. Then, surprise of surprises, Satsuki actually hugged him back! Well, not like she wrapped her arms around him or anything, she just clutched his arms like she wanted to judo-flip him for his idiocy.
It would've been a much better sight than their intimacy.
But the pale girl didn't use violence and both clan heirs remained like that for a moment. Sakura squinted, noting that Haruto was saying something and he seemed extremely relieved; fortunately, Sakura could lip-read as per training from the Academy included—well, there was this chunin who was a substitute teacher for Iruka-sensei and he taught the kids that, Sakura was the only one interested and jotting down notes and seeking him out for more lessons again.
Haruto seemed to be saying, "—I'm okay, you didn't have to do that. After all—" he raised his head from where he buried it in the crook of the other clan heiress's neck— "I'm supposed to outlive you, how else am I going to protect you?"
"I don't need anyone protecting me!" Satsuki snapped back, eyes flashing red but she stumbled in Haruto's hold; Sakura suspected it had something to do with the curse seal on her neck. Despite her difficulties, she pulled away from Haruto's embrace and struggled to stand on her own. "I'm not some fragile princess that need a knight in shining armor!"
"I'm not implying that you're weak!" Haruto shot back, eyes flashing with anger as well but he did not have the Sharingan to add tot he effect. Closing his eyes and exercising breathing in and out to calm down, he finally opened his gold hues, seemingly calmer than before and he seemed resigned as he heaved a sigh. "Just don't use your chakra. It'll make the curse seal work."
In return, Satsuki nodded tersely, glancing away and at anything but Haruto. There seemed to be an extremely awkward atmosphere surrounding them until Shikamaru spoke, stepping closer as he did so.
"I propose we stay together until we reach the tower." Glances were exchanged between the genins, weighing the pros and cons. Ino glanced curiously at her lazy teammate, he usually wouldn't do deals since they were too "troublesome" for him; she wondered did it had anything to do with guilt, guilt for causing Haruto to be injured. But whatever the case, this was an opportunity for her to win Haruto-kun's heart!
She didn't catch what the clan heirs were saying to one another but they seemed to be in a disagreement and she didn't mind it one bit. It just means that she could get closer to the Senju. As Haruto also put some distance between Satsuki and him, she took the opportunity to latch onto his arm. This time, he did not protest, he seemed to be too lost in his pondering to notice her. It mildly annoyed Ino, no boy ever ignored her and yet this one was blatantly ignoring her. Just like Neji! Hmph! Thinking about that pale-eyed bastard infuriated Ino so she tried to calm herself by filling her thoughts with her crush.
From behind her, Sakura was drilling holes into Ino's head, watching as they walked, heading towards north.
***
The time limit for the exam was five days, surprisingly, Team Seven and Team Ten managed to make it within two days. Which meant that they had three days to kill time. Sakura was surprised but she didn't complain, it meant that they could relax and the pink-haired girl felt so tired she could just collapse on the spot.
Unfortunately for her, they still needed to submit the scrolls for Heaven and Earth. Grumbling, her hand snaked back into her pouch and drawing them out, brandishing them like weapons.
Satsuki turned her Sharingan on, scrutinizing it. "It's fake," she said flatly and Sakura nearly dropped the scrolls, disbelief etched onto her face.
"What!"
"It was just a joke," the Uchiha waved them off with a dark chuckle, crossing her arms and strolling towards the designated doors with their team name on it.
"It's not funny, bastard! Sakura-chan worked hard for it!" Even though Haruto was defending her now, Sakura felt like the vehemence in his words were very little compared to the time he was defending Satsuki from Neji's taunt. She told herself that she was just thinking too much and that Haruto's feelings were fair.
Trying to diffuse the situation from erupting into a full-out battle, Sakura said, "Um, say, Haruto, why are you always calling Satsuki-chan with '(teme) bastard'?"
"It just felt natural," answered Haruto, shrugging. "Satsuki-(teme ) has a better ring than, like, Satsuki-(ama), right? Other nicknames like, er, (Aba-zure), (aho), (baita), (busu)—"
"If you value your life, Senju, I suggest you shut up now."
Sakura choked, coughing to disguise her giggle and nodding furiously. From the furious glare the Uchiha in question tossed her redhead companion, she did not share the same sentiments. Sakura had the terrible feeling that she'd brought on the wrong subject.
"Yeah, I mean, Satsuki-chan's is a bit boyish so I guess (teme) is better than a more feminine one like (ama)."
"Why did your parents name you Satsuki, by the way?" Asked Haruto curiously, but Satsuki didn't seem like she wanted to talk to them anytime soon. She stomped off and threw open the doors for their team.
***
It was when the moon rose did Haruto see Satsuki again after handing in the scrolls and having to listen to a lecture about ninja philosophy. He was meditating, in hopes that he could access the Kyuubi or manage to sort out his chakra; it was a major disappointment on his part when, after many hours, he still failed, he didn't get out of the stance, having found solace and sereneness in meditating.
It was strange and he rarely ever did it unless he wanted to see Kyuubi. He found it soothing and if either his mother or foster sister see this, they'd be in for major shocks of their lives. His lips twitched into his trademark grin at the thought of his two precious people; seeing them react to all of his antics were hilarious, he was sure one of them would try the genjutsu dispel spell on him to see whether or not it was genjutsu trick.
Heh. Was it so surprising to see him sit down and not move around causing trouble?
"Yes, it is."
Haruto jerked, surprised before he whirled around to see Satsuki. He relaxed considerably. "Oh, it's you." After that brief exchange that afternoon, he didn't fee like talking anymore because of that heavy atmosphere of awkwardness. "What do you want?" he asked, trying to sound as less harsh as possible.
The Uchiha narrowed her eyes at him. "You asked me why my parents named me 'Satsuki'."
He paused, wondering why she was disclosing this information. "You said friends can tell one another stuff." His eyes lit up at the prospect of being called Satsuki's friend because, all this while, she was always so subtle and hard to discern in her emotions, he wondered if they could even be called friends.
"Mmhm, so? The meaning behind your name?"
She narrowed her eyes at his light-hearted tone, evidently, she didn't like how he seemed to take things seriously. He quickly amended this by turning fully to look at her, pulling his knee up to his chest and looking at her earnestly.
"Actually, my parents—" She looked pained when she said this and Haruto was tempted to hug her again; his mother always did that, holding him until the pain went away but he doubted she would appreciate the gesture, would most likely mistake it as an act of sympathy which she did not want—"was not the one who come up with my name."
"When I was born, Mother nearly died of blood loss, the medics were incompetent—the real doctor was out of town so they took a total failure as substitute; don't worry, Father sued them—but that doesn't matter now. Mother was in a coma and my father was out on a longtime mission so my… my brother is the one who named me…" She looked like she might die when she said this part—"He told the nurse that 'Satsuki' was my name, and the nurse wrote it on my birth certificate."
"So, why did he name you 'Satsuki'?"
"When I killed him, you can ask him in the afterlife."
Haruto pouted at the answer but he felt relieved that whatever had happened earlier did not distance their relationship. He fell on his back, crossing his arms and lying under the moon. Satsuki watched him curiously for a moment before joining him. "What's so nice about astronomy?" she asked dryly. Obviously, she didn't see the point of star-gazing.
"It's the mood that counts."
He received no answer but when he stole a glance, he thought he saw her cheeks darken a shade. He didn't call her out on it, merely concentrating on the sky. Though the main reason for his silence was because he felt tongue-tied; for the first time in years, he lost his ability to speak due to the proximity of a person.
Unlike in battle where it would've been more useful, his senses chose to alert him to the Uchiha's close proximity, so close he could smell her and was it his heartbeat beating rapidly, double time, or was it her heartbeat and his combined? Sure, he'd been closer to Satsuki than this before, but that was when she was asleep and she was very much wide awake here and now.
Stop thinking and just enjoy it, he told himself.
Darkness fell when the dark clouds drifted forward as the breeze commanded and clouded the moon. Haruto huffed, as complete darkness engulfed them but he suspected Satsuki would have no problem seeing through. He pouted; man, sometimes, he wished he had super-night vision too.
He sprang to his feet and nearly tumbled off the roof. "Yikes!" he scrambled backwards on the seep surface. He seriously wasn't kidding when his eyes processed the darkness. He could barely see a few centimeters ahead. The senses he had left was from the trees and he could hear and smell things as well.
The smell of smoke and something utterly girl wafted up his nose. And it was very close and right in front of him. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "So… lead the way, Satsuki."
"I thought you have your sixth sense to guide you." Her reply was cool and if he hadn't known any better, he would've thought she was teasing him.
He growled. "Fine," he said as he stomped a few steps forward, hesitated before he took another step and nearly tumbled off. This time, Satsuki caught him; if he could see, he was sure she'd be smirking down at him with that I-am-better-than-you smirk. He was suspended between falling and pulled back up. When Satsuki seemed to enjoy dangling him over the edge, he yanked himself up harder, the same time, she hauled him up.
The momentum and power boost was too much as he fell right on top of her. The tiny bits of skin showing through their clothing was touching and it sent Haruto's senses tingling when he registered how smooth her skin was despite how hard she trained and had a few scars here and there.
What completely shocked and stopped Haruto's brain from operating was the fact that he kissed her. However accidental it was, it still felt nice and it totally counted as a kiss, his mind said, sounding like he was doing a mental victory dance. Well, he'd found himself in a situation worthy of Ero-sennin, the white-haired sage would've encouraged him to explore more and take advantage of the situation. Not like he didn't know how or he didn't want to; he'd seen enough of his godfather's graphic novels to know what he had to do next.
He nipped her lips, which made her gasp —or maybe she opened her mouth to berate him or tell him to back off—and he took the opportunity to taste her with his tongue. She tasted of strawberry milk—most likely because of the snack they had earlier. He teased her with his tongue, trying to provoke her for a reaction, and he moaned when her tongue bumped his own. Experimentally, he explored her mouth, hesitantly and just when he thought he would die of asphyxiation, someone screamed.
Instantly, he was pushed back, but fortunately not too much force was applied in the action. Obviously, Satsuki had learned her lesson of applying too much power in a simple gesture.
A thin string of saliva connected them but Haruto's tongue darted out and he cut it. The rest fell on Satsuki's body which she did not appreciate. She scowled up at him, hastily patting it to dry it while Haruto turn his attention back to the person who'd screamed. His face was burning, hotter than when he'd found himself sleeping next to the Uchiha.
He squinted and made out the faint pupil-less eyes; a Hyuuga and since the voice was high-pitched… "Hinata-chan?"
A small squeak came when he said that name. "U-u-u-m, I-I-I-I w-w-w-w-ill l-l-leave y-y-y-ou t-t-to w-w-what-e-e-ver…" Hinata stuttered, her speech impairment worse than ever and Haruto could just see her face glowing with embarrassment, his face was probably the same. She looked ready to pass out.
"No wrong ideas! We're just kissing—I mean—uwah! Hinata-chan!" Haruto blanched when the Hyuuga heiress fainted. What on earth was the girl doing up here anyway? "Come on, Satsuki, let's go back down!"
"Don't order me around!" the Uchiha's voice came from behind as she pushed past him; this time, he really saw her cheeks flaming. "And for the record, if you try that again, I'll rip your eyes out of their sockets!"
She sounded serious but the blush undermined it. "You like it," said Haruto, before a grin split onto his face. "Admit it!"
"Shut up!"
***
When her teammates came down from their star-gazing, with an unconscious Hinata in tow, faces a few shades pink and red, Sakura knew something had transpired. She narrowed her emerald eyes suspiciously at the two conscious ones but neither said a word and seemed to be avoiding one another's eyes though they settled themselves on the same bed—which was odd when neither even moved away from one another or argued about the ownership.
"What happened?" demanded Ino, as suspicious as Sakura was.
Kiba and Shino whom were both fanning their fallen teammate glanced up. Haruto glowered at them; curse those sensor nins. Kiba took a long sniff then glance at his dog, then back at the clan heirs, his face tinting a shade of pink as well. "You two did that… and let Hinata—sweet, innocent, little, Hinata?!—see?!"
"We did nothing, like—like you're implying, okay!" Haruto protested loudly. "it was just a bit of contact only! What was she doing there anyway?!"
"What contact?!" Ino and Sakura demanded in unison to which were ignored.
"When you two didn't come back, she grew worried," calmly explained Shino. "Why, you may ask? She thought that perhaps you couldn't see so she decided to lead you back."
"Hinata-chan's a very nice girl," commented Choji as he munched on a cookie. "So, back to the topic, what were you two up to on the roof?"
Satsuki's eyes narrowed in a very unpleasant manner. "None of your business," she said coldly, then without glancing at the redhead, said, "I'm going to bed."
No one moved.
"I said: go to bed." This order was punctuated with a Sharingan glare, sending everyone scrambling.
"Geez, so troublesome, women," Shikamaru grumbled as he climbed onto his bunk.
"Hmph," huffed Ino as sauntered to the bunks meant for the girls. "I need my beauty sleep anyway."
"Don't wake me up before nine tomorrow," threatened Sakura.
In the end, without protest, everyone settled themselves for a good night's rest. However, Haruto couldn't fall asleep; he shifted and he turned, he even counted sheep, reached two-hundred-ninety-six and he gave up. His mind kept replaying the time where he'd had his first kiss. However, accidental, both of them enjoyed it (even though Satsuki didn't admit it) so it counted as a first right?
He was tempted to ask the Uchiha but he knew it'd only earn him a sound beating.
He sighed, glancing around at his friends—they'd bonded rather well over snacks and unhealthy beverages. "Want a pillow fight?" he called.
"Haruto."
"Yes?"
"Shut up!"
He sighed; man, maybe they weren't as bonded as he'd thought. But, ah, well, they have three or so days more to bond. Relationships form over time. Well, his brain said, not with her, you need to be very straightforward to make her realize your feelings.
Shut up, he told his brain.