Prison Get Together

October 199:30 a.m.

———Yesterday, Sasuke was sent to prison for the crimes he committed in the past. As much as they hated this, Naruto and Sakura understood that this was how it had to be. They were definitely happy to have Sasuke back, however. The two of them planned to visit him and hopefully make him feel better about the situation.

Sakura already got ready for the day. She hasn't been able to be friendly with Sasuke since they were kids. As much as she tried to hide it, she was super giddy and couldn't stop smiling. Sakura met Naruto outside the prison facility that Sasuke was being held in and he seemed to be in the same joyful state.

"Sakura-Chan!!! What's up?" Naruto shouted as he ran up to her.

"Hey Naruto! How long have you been here?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Not long...probably an hour or something." he replied. "I'm just ready to go talk to him! I bet you are too~" Naruto chuckled teasingly.

Sakura blushed softly and rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up..." she said jokingly, "Don't be weird about it. Let's go see him now."

After exchanging smiles with each other, they went inside and checked in at the front desk. After waiting a few minutes they were let in to see Sasuke. The closer they got to his cell, the more anxious they became...especially Sakura. What if Sasuke was too upset to see them? Sakura couldn't imagine saving the world and immediately been thrown in jail but she could definitely see herself being really mad about that. Hopefully Sasuke was taking this better than she would've.

When the two finally reached his cell, they found him lying on a bench, staring at the ceiling. Sakura couldn't help but smile softly at the thought of how he always seems to be so calm no matter what situation he was in. It was very enduring to her.

"Sasukeeeee! Look who came to see you!" Naruto shouted suddenly, startling both Sasuke and Sakura.

Sasuke turned his head to look at Naruto whereas Sakura lightly punched his shoulder in frustration. "There's no reason to be so loud...calm down!" she said, clearly irritated.

Sasuke went back to staring at the ceiling in attempts to hide the small smirk that appeared on his lips. Although he wouldn't admit it, seeing his friends again reminded him of their short time spent as a team. He continued to stare at the ceiling as his two friends were bickering before he heard his name.

"I hope you're doing alright, Sasuke-Kun. We came to see you as soon as possible." Sakura said softly with a little grin on her lips.

"Hn." Sasuke replied.

"Man...I'm sorry you had to get locked up. Hopefully you won't be here long." Naruto said as he sat on the ground, "It'd be cool for us to have a real get together as a team!"

Sakura nodded and sat beside Naruto. "Yea, that'd be nice. Especially if we could have Kakashi-Sensei join us!"

"Oh yea! The four of us hanging out at Ichiraku??? That would be a throw back!" Naruto chuckled, "What do you think, Sasuke?"

"I don't know." he said before closing his eyes.

Naruto and Sakura stared at Sasuke for a moment before Naruto broke the silence. "Still gonna be all quiet and moody, huh?"

"Hn."

Naruto smiled and shook his head. "Don't know why I expected anything more from you...but I'm still glad you're back...seriously."

"I agree. Even if you don't open up to us, we'll enjoy your company either way." Sakura added.

Sasuke nodded his head before his friends continued talking.

For the next 2 hours, Naruto and Sakura included Sasuke in their conversations, talking about how much they missed him and what they were gonna do together once he was released. But due to Sasuke's quiet nature, he barely responded to anything they said. Although, he did occasionally let them know that he was listening with his occasional head nod and 'hn'.

"Guys, I'm gonna have to go now. I have to study for my Chunin exam..." Naruto said with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Oh you know what? I totally forgot that you guys are still Genin." Sakura said as she softly giggled, "I hope you have fun with that~" she added teasingly.

Naruto sighed dramatically as he stood up. "Yea yea yea...you don't gotta rub it in..." He then rubbed the back of his head. "I'll see you guys later. Don't have too much fun without me!"

"We won't. Bye Naruto." Sakura said with a wave.

"Bye Sakura-Chan. Bye Sasuke!" he said as he walked away, leaving Sakura and Sasuke alone.

Given how silent Sasuke is, Sakura wasn't really sure what to say. She's basically just be talking to herself the whole time. Feeling a bit awkward, she smiled nervously and started playing with her fingers.

"So uh...do you have any plans for what you're gonna do when you get out?" she asked quietly.

Sasuke opened, but squinted, his eyes and stared at the ceiling, furrowing his eyebrows. He remained silent but was thinking hard. Sakura could tell that he was thinking so she didn't interrupt him. Well, not until he went back to his neutral expression.

Not knowing what to say next, she just stared at him in awe. Sakura had missed seeing his more that perfect face. It's been years since she was last able to appreciate his beauty and the tranquility that his presence brought. She blushed as a little smile appeared on her lips.

Noticing the prolonged silence, Sasuke looked over at Sakura to check if she was still there. For a second, the two of them locked eyes. But when Sakura realized that Sasuke was now staring at her, she turned to the side quickly and blushed harder. Sasuke, however, continued to stare at her. 'Does she really still have feelings for me..? Even after all I did?'

"Is something wrong?" Sasuke asked.

Shocked by his sudden question, she turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "No...no, not really." she sighed, "Just umm..." she looked down with a nervous smile.

"Hm?"

"I know we've said it over and over again...but...we really missed you — I really missed you."

Sasuke's eyes softened as she said this. Although the two have been separated for years, Sasuke knew Sakura well enough to read her face and words. She's grown a lot since he left the village; she's a lot stronger, smarter, and confident. But the sweet, loving Sakura that was obsessed with him years ago was still there...and it hurt him. There's no reason for her to want him...he doesn't believe that he deserves her love. Yet she still seems to care for him more than anyone else.

He couldn't erase the look of guilt on his face as he returned to staring at the ceiling. "Yea..." he sighed.

Sakura looked up at Sasuke with wide eyes. She wasn't quite sure what he meant by his response but it was definitely better than his previous ambiguous ones. After staring at him for a minute, she stood up.

"I uh...I know you like your time alone so I won't pester you any longer." she chuckled nervously, "I'll come back tomorrow to check on you though!"

Sasuke's jaw tightened. He wouldn't tell her this but he'd rather not have to sit in here alone all day. "Hn."

"Bye..." Sakura said somewhat sadly before walking away.———

This is the end of the chapter! I hope you enjoyed reading!