tampered | (no subject)

(no subject)

When; August 31
Rating; PG13
Characters; Greed

so_very_greedy and Sakura Haruno

betterthanthen
Summary; Sakura repays Greed for his contribution to helping Naruto. With what, you ask? Why, a date, naturally!
Log;
Greed slid down the side of the building Sakura was in, leaping off 2/3 of the way down and landing in a crouched position. He quickly straightened up and walked the rest of the way to her door, before knocking loudly.

"Yo, babe, you in?" he said through the door, "It's me, Greed. It's time for our date, Sakura."

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The door slid open, revealing a rather short girl, dressed in rather normal clothes--not her training clothes, though, just normal street clothes--and wearing a rather grumpy looking frown.

"You are punctual," she said, trying to sound surprised. But he had probably been waiting for an occasion like this for a long time, so it really wasn't any surprise, that he was punctual. She promised herself that she wouldn't be mean to the guy. It wasn't his fault that she was still a bit tired from the whole night of healing. In all honesty, it was a stupid idea to go on a 'date' with him, but she had to admit, all those months of rejecting him had drawn to a close. She owed him Naruto and Sasuke's health, and she wasn't one to deny someone her gratitude. Sure, he was a womanizing, exhibitionist prick, but he'd helped. And who was Sakura to judge?

"Let's go..."

Greed brought around a bouquet from behind his back, offering it to her as they walked.

"I got the pinkest roses I could find, to match your hair. It was harder than I thought it was," he admitted, "So I was only able to track down five with the right hue to them."

She blinked, taking the bouquet in her hands. "Thanks," she said, her voice a bit surprised. To her knowledge, that she remembered, this was the first time in a hell of a lot years that she received flowers. "You didn't have to look for pink roses. Please tell me you didn't battle another horde of beasts for them."

"Rose bushes don't grow in the forest. Too bright. Bright things tend to attract them, leading to the destruction of said bright things. Everything in the forest is dark."

He shrugged and put his hands behind his back.

"I found them in Xanadu. Had to do some real searchin'."

"I don't think I've ever been to Xanadu," she mused idly, smelling the flowers. They smelled nice. Like roses. Very nice.

"Well, either way, thanks. D'you think we could just...hurry up to the Temple? I don't feel quite..." How to put it? "Safe. On the streets." Scared was more like it, but, eh. He didn't need to hear that. He'd just take it as a chance to protect her with his body--and sneak a grope. She thought.

"We could always go over there instead, if ya' like," he stated, slipping his hands into his pockets, "It's a good area. Not much trouble there."

He scratched his chin and addressed her, "Wanna' race me, then? The path is pretty simple. It starts on that path just ahead of us."

"No, the Temple is okay." A race, huh? Well, she could do racing, she guessed. It'd lift up her spirits, and it would be fun.

"Alright, let's go~!" she shouted, already starting to run towards the Temple.

Greed took off after, matching the pace.

"You ninja's must train hard, huh?" he said, getting a few steps ahead, "I'm surprised your bodies can hold together at this level. Naruto is pretty good, too, but he's too hot-headed."

"Naruto's resistance is completely different from the average ninja's," she answered, not giving further explanations. "But we do train hard. What good is a medic-nin if she can't hold herself together in a battle, after healing her team-mates. It's not good if we're the weak spot in a team."

"Understandable," he nodded to himself as they went. They soon reached the steps, upon which he stepped forward and opened the door for her.

"After you? Take off the shoes, please."

Sakura took off her shoes before he said the words. She had grown in a traditional family, and these sort of habits stuck with her all the time.

"Where to, then?"

He pointed to a low table with candles already lit and several platters of sushi already splayed out on it's surface. Warm sake, hot tea, and a platter of ginger were also present.

"Have a seat," he said, walking over to sit on the floor, putting his legs under the table, "I got this set up just before I came to pick you up. Nice, fresh sushi."

She sat down on her knees, tucking her legs under her, wondering if she should've worn something more formal than her simple pants-and-shirt outfit. "It looks delicious," she said, fingers itching to pick her chopsticks and dig in.

"Eat all ya' like," he said, dipping some ginger in soy sauce and popping it into his mouth, "I have plenty for us."

He slid a few trays closer to her position.

"So what do ya' want to drink, babe? We've got quite the variety."

"Tea, please," she said. No alcohol for her. No way. She hadn't trained under Tsunade without growing to have a serious lack of liking towards any alcohol beverages. If they made her act like they made Tsunade act, then she'd pass.

She took one piece of sushi in between her chopsticks, dipped it in soy sauce, and ate it. "Mm, 's good. Did you make these?"

"Nah," he said, waving a hand as he poured some tea for her, "Too complicated for someone like me. I payed someone to make it, then had it delivered to this location. I have them on speed-dial."

He popped several eel rolls into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

"It IS good, though. I made sure to try as many sushi places as possible before findin' one I like."

"I don't eat out that much, and if I ever did, it was because Naruto insisted on having ramen," she confessed, taking a sip of the tea. "I don't mind cooking for myself, when I have the time. And cooking for more people is better."

"So tell me, what's it like? I've never asked about day to day life in the villages. Are you guys just "war, war, war" 24/7, or what?"

She blinked. "No. Who said--no, we're not 'war war war' all the time. In fact, Konoha hasn't been at war for a while now, so we're enjoying peace. There are villages and countries that are almost always at war, but that's not our case, I guess.

"What we do? Well, the villagers do whatever they please, they're normal citizens who work, and live nicely. And the shinobi, we train ourselves, or we take up missions, since that's how we earn our money, we protect the village, its people. And other than that, we're like any other person. We eat, sleep, go out, relax at the onsen...stuff like that."

"Huh...From the way I've heard others describe it, war and espionage is the life-blood of villages. Without it, you guys are pretty much out of a job, right? It's like bein' mercenaries."

He took down a shot of sake and sighed loudly, taking a few sips of his miso soup.

"But I've also heard every village is a little different. Humans ain't really meant to be at war all the time, it creates stress that can affect the mind."

"Sound is pretty much like that," she confessed, shrugging slightly. "But it's not all war and espionage in Konoha. Most ninjas are still assigned missions like rescue-someone's-cat and escort-a-nobleman-accross-the-bridge, so I guess that makes it less...like a bloodied town, right?"

"But I can imagine those don't bring in the big money. People tend to pay depending on how hard work is, in most areas."

He finished off his plate and took a deep swig of sake, crowing contentedly.

"So how do you guys keep it together? Most humans who are brought in up those situations grow up with some issues."

"You're right in that aspect. It doesn't make us rich, but at least we know it's not all about war and espionage."

Taking a sip of her tea, she frowned slightly. "Most people don't. They're just really good actors, or they have really good friends. Some of us do that. We hang on to our loved ones with hopes that they'll make us forget we're weapons, and make us feel like just a normal teenager, boy or girl. Some of us just pretend it's all okay, and keep on doing what they do. With repercussions, of course."

"Huh...Well, that's pretty cool, I guess. So...you got any questions for me?"

She blinked. "Nothing you haven't told me so far." After a pause, she raised an eyebrow. "Why were you so intent on getting me on a date?"

He blinked in surprise and shrugged, pouring more alcohol for himself.

"Why not? Why does any man? I wanted to go out with you because I find you very beautiful. Surely ya' realize you're not exactly an average girl."

"Well...actually...I pretty much am, from where I come from. Or was. Or just...I'm not used to being the centre of attention, so...I don't know. It's confusing. And this is the first time I've agreed to dating someone so pushy."

"I get accused of that a lot. I can't exactly help it, ya' know. It's hard to make a human understand the way a homunculus is, because we look so much like ya'. Our instincts and senses are all much more powerful than yours, so it's hard to control how we are."

"You can't blame us. It's just like you don't understand our way of ninja. Some things are impossible to understand, from one culture to another.

"Well, you've managed one date. That'll be enough, right?"

"But you guys shouldn't blame ME, either."

"Date's are hard to have just one of, for me."

"Greedy man." She rolled her eyes, and shrugged. "I hope you'll forgive me if this is all I'm giving you."

"For now, it's good. I have a feelin' that one day we'll have an outing again."

He rose from his spot and offered his hand.

"But I've already eaten up enough time from you tonight."

Blinking, she took his hand and sat up. "Really, that's optimistic of you."

She gave him a slight smile. "The food was really good. Do you think I could take some of the left-overs with me?"

"Oh yeah!" he said, running back to gather some transport dishes, "Take all you want."

He began to pile food into the packages and hand them to her.

"That good?"

"It was," she said, nodding as she took the packages. "And there's also a team-mate of mine that hasn't been eating properly lately, so I'm going to hand him these..."

"Ya' need more then?"

He grabbed up several other boxes and started to box up more of the food.

"This is all the stuff that's fit for consumption, but I suggest ya' get it refrigerated quickly. Fish goes bad fast."

"Greed, slow down! That much is enough...Thanks. Again."

Pausing for a moment to look at him, she tilted her head. "You're not that bad, actually. I've been pretty cold to you, huh?"

"Eh, my passion gets the best of me. Guess ya' don't know many humans who act like I do, huh?"

He tied several boxes together and walked toward the door.

"Think nothin' of it."

She let out a tiny laugh. "No, not really."

Putting on her shoes, she stopped by the door. "Thanks for everything...helping me, with the boys."

"Only helped with one, really. Can't say I know the dark-haired one too well."

He opened the door for her, bowing.

"It's been a pleasure, Miss Haruno."

"Oh, he's nice, once you get used to him." Grinning, she decided that he deserved one prize. For all the help he'd turn out to be. Because if it hadn't been for him, she would've lost the boys, and...her brain and logic could shut up for a moment.

Standing on her toes, she pecked his cheek lightly. "Goodnight." Pulling away, she turned and exited the Temple, not before saying, "Don't dare think that was an invitation."

And before he could react, she was out of his grasp.

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