tampered | Log: Completed

Log: Completed

When; Tomorrow 8D
Rating; PG, I’m sure.
Characters; Zack [

yourarmor] and Sakura [

willfulblossom]
Summary; Zack asks Sakura to meet up and the two have a chat at the café (after all the creepy things have gone).
Log;

Sakura was still a little twitchy after the events of the previous day. She had heard that most of the strange creatures that had been roaming the city had retreated to the underground, but that didn’t stop her from being very wary as she walked towards the café. She had a few kunai with her, as usual, but she wasn’t sure how prepared she really was if she happened to be attacked.

Still, curiosity pushed through her mild anxiousness as she arrived first and seated herself at a table. She had no idea what Zack wanted to talk about. Sakura wasn’t too worried though. She liked Zack. He had lent her some clothes when she had been a boy for a day and was amusingly fascinated with shinobi jutsu.

Ordering some tea, Sakura sat back in her seat and waited (mostly) patiently for him to arrive, watching the people pass by aimlessly.

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Jumping just a bit in surprise as a gentle finger tapped her nose, Sakura looked up and immediately smiled brightly as Zack joined her at the table. He really was the sweetest guy she had met in a long time, always seeming to know exactly what to say to make her smile or cheer her up. He was older than her, and while he occasionally teased her, he didn't treat her like a child. It was refreshing and she appreciated it.

"Hi, Zack," she beamed back. "I've been alright. Busy. You know, with trying not to die from crazy monsters and biting butterflies and kissing epidemics," she joked. Sure, it was easy to laugh about in retrospect, but at the time of all of those incidents, it wasn't as amusing. At all.

"How about you? How's Cloud?" she asked. She had met him briefly when she had returned Zack's borrowed clothes to him (once she had returned to being a girl again). He hadn't been very talkative, but she thought their relationship was endearing.

Zack laughed openly at the mentioning of the odd occurrences that the city tended to bring upon everyone and everything in it. He honestly didn't find the subject matter laughable either, but the way Sakura seemed to phrase things made it amusing. “Let's hope your success in avoiding those things continues.” Really, he was happy enough that the butterflies didn't eat him alive and that he stayed inside most of the day for the kissing thing. Sleeping through the weird days always seemed to work, and it'd give him an excuse to be lazy.

“I'm dandy, of course.” Zack ran a hand through his mess of hair momentarily, glancing up at the waitress who sat Sakura's cup of tea down before asking the other if he wanted something. He gently waved her off with a 'no thanks' before continuing. “Cloud? He's just fine.” Lips twitched into a small smile at her mentioning of the blond, privately amused. “Still as silent as ever, that is. And how's Naruto? Hopefully well, what with all the demon – or whatever those things were – ass kicking he did.”

"Thanks! You too," she laughed with him, shaking her head. "Though, no doubt they'll be plenty of other disturbing and creepy things to avoid," Sakura added with an exasperated eyeroll. After smiling at the waitress in thanks and taking a sip of the tea she had ordered, she leaned back in her seat and refocused her attention back on Zack.

"Naruto's fine, too! He likes fighting, if you couldn't tell," she grinned, exasperation still in her tone but fading now. Naruto exasperated her much less than he used to. This Naruto did, anyways. "It's not like he hasn't had plenty of other opportunities to fight here, either," she murmured. "But I guess he can't get enough," she sighed, shrugging lightly.

Realizing that she was rambling a bit, Sakura blushed lightly and looked a little sheepish. "Sorry. I didn't mean to go on and on about Naruto," she smiled.

Zack couldn't help but grin widely. “It's fine, I find it cute.” The relationship between her and Naruto kind of reminded him of when he and Aerith were together, but he decided to not mention that out loud.

Instead, he paused for a moment in thought, not really expecting to jump into the main reason as to why he asked Sakura to meet up with him so soon. But the opening was there, so he privately decided it was easier to just ask while he had the chance and while it didn't sound so random.

Sitting forward slightly so his forearms were pressed on top of the table, Zack's eyebrows pressed together in contemplation before beginning. “Actually, I kinda wanted to ask something. I guess it concerns Naruto, but... is everything alright?” He forgot exactly how he was going to phrase the question, but violet eyes gave a knowing look towards the teen, hoping that she'd get what he meant.

Blinking, Sakura was surprised again as Zack leaned in, looking a little more solemn than usual. It took a moment to register, and she cocked her head to the side curiously. "Naruto? Do you mean... did you see when he transformed?" she asked quietly, raising her eyebrows. Many people had seen him in his Kyuubi form, running through the city towards the underground. She, of course, had been right behind him, trying her hardest to keep up.

"Or did you just hear me freaking out about it?" she asked again, smiling a little this time. Truthfully, the experience had scared the hell out of her. Surprisingly, she hadn't actually been afraid of the Kyuubi itself, but rather, how Naruto would end up when it was all over. Thankfully, she had been able to be there and help him back to their apartment before he had passed out.

“Just the freaking out part of it.” Despite the new heavy topic at hand, Zack let out a tiny grin, though it slowly faded to a small smile of sorts instead. “Y'know me, if I would've seen you running after, well, whatever he turned into, I probably would've ran after you guys.” It really would've given him a heart attack, to be honest, especially since he found himself playing the 'overprotective brother'-type with Sakura, even though he knew she could take care of herself.

“M'not trying to pry or anything, so if it's a tough subject or you just can't say anything about it, slap me upside the head or somethin' and tell me to quit it.” Another grin, showing her that he was joking, of course.

"It's okay, really," Sakura smiled appreciatively. Zack was worried about her, and it was really sweet. Taking a deep breath, she began to explain it as best she could. "I actually only found out a short while ago, but there was a demon, the kyyubi, who attacked the village where we live, right around the time Naruto was born. The strongest ninja, the Yondaime, saved the village by sealing it inside... Naruto," she replied, tapping her fingernail on her teacup absently.

"We also just found out that the Yondaime was actually Naruto's father, and he's here now, too," she continued. It was strange to explain this all aloud, and it sounded much crazier than it did in her head. She hadn't spoken extensively about this with anyone before. "Anyway, one of our enemies showed up here on the exact same day, and Naruto got really mad. Parts of the kyuubi's chakra leaked out and he partially transformed," she sighed, clearly remembering the incident, the images replaying in her mind vividly.

"It was scary," she said more quietly this time. "When it was over, I helped Naruto back to our place and he passed out for a whole day. Luckily, the kyuubi apparently has really strong healing powers. Naruto's fine now," she explained, flashing Zack a small smile in return.

Zack listened carefully and intently, keeping his attention on Sakura the entire time she explained things. He really didn't know much about Sakura and her friends, now that he thought about it, so his concentration level was at a high. That and it was fascinating to him that things like that happened in other worlds. Then again, he wasn't surprised, seeing as a lot of people had different kinds of powers and talents that Zack never even imagined was possible until he spoke to said people.

There was a moment of silence after Sakura was done, and he contemplated on how to respond. Not being able to come up with anything just yet, Zack took another route to the situation; he sat up straight in his seat and grinned. “You know what you need? Cake. Oi!” Zack raised a hand in the air to get one of the waitresses attention, “Can we get a slice of your best cake?”

When one of the waitresses simply raised an eyebrow over at him and turned to leave, Zack settled back down in his chair, turning back to Sakura while simply winking once. It was only a minute before the waitress came back and slid the plate of cake on the table, Zack saying his thanks before focusing back on the other. “Well. As long as he's fine and the situation has been covered...” He stopped for a moment, pursing his lips but a fraction of a second in thought. “I suppose all is well, yeah? Just as long as neither of you got seriously injured, I mean.”

Sakura couldn't help but grin at Zack's first reaction to call for some cake. For some reason, it helped and she relaxed a bit more now that her explanation was finished. Spring green eyes widened when the piece of cake was set on the table and she glanced back up at Zack and laughed softly. "It's huge. You'll have to share it with me," she grinned, propping her chin up on her hand.

"Yes, we're alright," she nodded in reply, her grin fading into a grateful smile. "There are lots of other shinobi here to help Naruto if he goes crazy like that again, but he said himself he doesn't want to use the kyuubi's chakra anymore," she continued thoughtfully, taking a bite of the cake.

"And I'm so glad. Seeing Naruto like that... I never want to see that again. And I couldn't do anything to help. Nothing at all, but stand by and watch," she sighed. But that was what she always did, wasn't it? If she wasn't watching helplessly, she was the one in trouble.

Zack tried to recall a lot of the terms that Sakura taught him when she went over to show him that jutsu thing, and tried to remember exactly what chakra was again. Even if he couldn't exactly put his finger on it, it didn't matter, because what Sakura said after that caught his attention more than the chakra-thing.

The words she said reminded him of Cloud a little, or at least the expression plastered on her face followed with a sigh. The blond always had a way of mentioning off-handedly that he couldn't do anything to help, despite that not being true at all. In fact, those were some of the words he faintly recalled sometime or another, except he couldn't put his finger on when it was exactly.

No matter. Zack, instead, looked over at Sakura knowingly. “But you were useful, and you did help,” he reassured her, smiling faintly. “I'm sure just being there helped Naruto more than you know. Besides, how else would he have been able to get back to his place?” Sitting back in his seat, Zack's eyes wandered up, looking almost nostalgic in a way as his smile widened. “Knowing you were concerned, knowing you wanted to help? Yeah. That's one of the best things anyone could offer a person in need.”

[ooc: Oh god, I'm so sorry this took so long. Real life? Totally taking low blows right about now. And my graduation is tomorrow, but I'll reply back ASAP. ♥]

Not only did Zack sound like he knew exactly what he was talking about, he was doing that thing again where he was saying just the right thing to make Sakura feel ten times better instantly. And he was so sincere, calling her out here just to talk to her about this, to make sure she was alright. Sakura couldn't have been more grateful.

"I guess you're right. I never really thought of it that way," she admitted thoughtfully, chewing on her bottom lip for a few moments in silence. "It's hard to look at it like that though sometimes, you know?" she half smiled. "My teammates are so strong. Naruto has worked hard his entire life to get where he is. The people in our village hated him because they were afraid, and until we were twelve and put on the same team, he basically did everything on his own," she explained, recalling her own treatment of Naruto with shame and regret.

"And Sasuke-kun is the survivor of a powerful family. He has the Sharingan, which is amazing. You'll have to see it sometime. But I, I'm just me. My parents weren't shinobi and I don't have anything that makes me special like them. It's hard. I wish I did, if only so I could be strong enough to make a bigger difference," she let out another sigh, the soft puff of air moving her bangs for a moment. "Sorry, I'm rambling again," she smiled sheepishly at Zack, twisting a lock of her hair around her finger in embarrassment.

[ooc: No worries at all!! I totally know how it goes ♥ And dude, obviously your graduation is way more important 8D Congrats! :D Get back to me whenever you can]

An automatic shake of the head was all Zack did at the moment before propping his elbows on the edge of the table, using his hands to support his chin. “Don't say that. Just because you were raised a different way than they were doesn't make you not as special as they are. You've got a kind heart and a brave spirit if you were willing to run after Naruto when he wasn't himself. Just trying to make an effort is one of the biggest steps anyone could take – just trying in itself makes you even more braver than you think.”

Zack was determined to reassure Sakura that she did make a difference, so he traced over words that he's said before, which amused him since Sakura seemed confident enough when he first met her, so it surprised him slightly to know that she felt this way. Then again, everyone had some kind of doubts inside of them, no matter who they were, Zack included.

“You have your own talents and special gifts, I'm sure of it.” He then reached over to take the fork, stabbing a piece of the cake and paused to look up at the other. “Maybe you just haven't found it, and really? That's okay. A lot of people I know don't know what they want out of life or what they're good at and what they're not. So admitting to yourself that you don't have a skill that someone does have, well...” Zack took the piece of cake and ate it, setting the fork down again while allowing another wide grin pass over his face, “I admire that.”

[ooc: Alas, I am awake, therefore another tag! x) And thanks~ ♥]

"You do?" Sakura blinked in surprise, looking back at Zack curiously, eyebrows raised. Interesting. It was obvious to herself and everyone else that she was the weakest member of Team 7. It had always been that way, and the difference between herself and Sasuke and Naruto had only grown as time passed.

But still. She supposed she was part of the glue that held them together. Without one of them, there was no Team 7, which was why Naruto was trying valiantly to keep them together and to keep Sasuke from leaving. Maybe she did have more worth than she credited herself for. She wasn't the strongest, but she probably had the most heart.

"The Naruto here is from my future, you know. He's two years old than me. And he did say that the me he knows there is a lot stronger," she replied after another few moments of thinking. Lifting her gaze back up to Zack's, she smiled brightly again, gratefulness written across her face. "Thanks, Zack. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you," she grinned, blushing ever so slightly.

“Oh?” Zack blinked in surprise when Sakura mentioned Naruto's age difference. He, once again, didn't really know all that much about them to begin with, but when she mentioned something about the future, well, it caught his attention. Then again he shouldn't be too surprised, considering where they were all living and how many odd things seemed to happen in the city.

But he grinned toothily, winking at Sakura once. “Hey, that's what I'm here for. You ever need anything? I'll be right beside you.” Zack knew it probably sounded cheesy, but he didn't care – being cheesy was his specialty, after all.

A quick glance over at someone's watch that was nearby told him that it had been a while since they sat down to talk, and even though he wanted to stay, he knew there were a few things he wanted to take care of before the day ended. “Well, Sakura, I'd talk your ears off for another hundred hours or so, but I have a few errands to run before I go back home.”

Zack reached over to take another bite of the cake, acting like he was being extremely stealthy about it. Though he paused in mid-attempt at standing, looking over her features before asking very carefully, “You're alright now, though, yeah?” He wanted to make sure that she didn't have anything else she needed to get off of her shoulders, very much so willing to throw whatever else he had planned out the window to listen to Sakura if she needed it.

Sakura giggled as Zack moved in for one last bite of cake. "I'm alright," she nodded reassuringly, smiling up at him. "It was really wonderfully of you just to call me out here to check on me," she added. Really, who did such nice things like that? She was sure that Zack must have had plenty of other more important and probably more interesting things to be doing with his time than listening to her ramble on about the woes in her life.

She beamed and then hesitated for a moment. Sakura chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully and then stood up as well, taking a step forward and hugging Zack tightly, her cheek pressing against his chest due to their height difference. "Thanks, Zack," she murmured gratefully. To be able to talk things out like that with someone was exactly what she needed. She didn't have Ino around to rant to, after all.

Blushing and stepping away, Sakura tucked her hands behind her back and looked rather sheepish. "Well, I know you have things to do, and I should probably get back too. Left without supervision for too long, and Naruto and Sasuke-kun might kill each other or wreck our apartment. Or both," she rolled her eyes good naturedly, smiling in amusement.

Zack blinked a few times, then grinned widely. Yeah, too bad he wasn't a few years younger and Sakura didn't already have a boyfriend or else Zack'd be laying on the flirting pretty heavily. Then again, that was the case for almost any pretty lady, and Sakura was indeed pretty, but when he looked at her he couldn't help but want to shower her with silly gifts or prop her on his shoulder and run around or something equally as ridiculous.

It was funny, because he always wished for a little sister. And with the wide range of protectiveness and concern over her that he had already, well, he might as well call her that. Or at least something close to it.

He couldn't help but allow the grin to stay on his face, watching her pull away while tucking her hands behind her back. The raven-haired one shook his head, sighing dramatically, “I don't know how you can take care of such rowdy boys all by yourself. Must be tough!”

Reaching a hand out, Zack gingerly placed it on top of her head, bending down to her level as best as he could to give her a wide smile. “Take care of yourself, alright?” With that he stood up straight once more, digging out his wallet with a hand to take out some money, placing it on the table to pay for the cake and tea.

“Later, princess.” Zack winked once before turning around, shoving his hands in his pants while walking off, whistling to himself rather cheerfully.

[ooc: Fail on me for forgetting to post this tag up! DX]

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Log: Completed

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