"Living A Lie"

She sat hugging her knees tightly while sitting under a big tree and leaning on its trunk for support. The rustle of the wind and the coldness of the air gave an eerie effect to the surroundings, but, she dare not care. Her frail heart pounded on her chest like a hammer as tears slowly made their way down from her emerald eyes. Afterall these years, she had discovered that what she was living, was in fact, a lie.

The pink haired Chuunin felt shattered, decieved and most of all, betrayed. She had trusted them. Even calling them her family. But they betrayed her. They kept the truth from her. All her life, she was living a lie.

"Sakura..." A familiar voice called out to her. Slowly, a tall image made its presence known. The silver-haired Jounin sat beside her, also leaning on the trunk for support. "Uhm... I know it's been hard on your part to know the truth after many years. But I think, the time has finally come for you to know everything." Kakashi slowly explained, letting Sakura slowly digest every word he had said.

Suddenly, Sakura stood up and looked at him accusingly. Her emerald eyes seeing through his soul. "So! You also knew! You also knew, yet you kept everything from me! How could you, Kakashi-sensei! I trusted you!" Sakura shouted as fresh tears made their way down her cheeks. Her emerald eyes full of hate and contempt for the people she once called her family.

Kakashi stood up as well. He bowed down his head feeling guilt weigh down his chest. He didn't like seeing Sakura like this. She was full of rage, hate and contempt. Her soft hands balled into fists, ready to punch anything that would come her way.

"Sakura, please listen to me. What we did was what we thought the best for you. Things were complicated back then. We were worried for your safety." Kakashi mellowed down his tone, vainly explaining to her and pleading for her understanding, but Sakura remained angered.

"I don't want to listen to anymore of your lies!" With that, Sakura ran once again. She ran away from all of them. Trying to block out all the pain that she felt at the moment. Kakashi understood the pain that she was going through and rather chose to leave her alone for a while. He looked up at a tree, knowing full well that he would come after her. Trusting him that he would be able to bring Sakura back, just as she had brought him back to them.

After minutes of jumping from tree to tree in a fast pace, and deciding that she had made a good deal of distance from Kakashi, Sakura slowed down and slumped at the bank of a flowing river. Her eyes were still dense from the crying as she looked at her reflection on the water. She took off her hitai-ate which she wore as a headband and let her rose-colored locks fall free, letting them cover her face. Then, all of a sudden, she cried again. She tried to stop the tears from coming but it was useless. Her chest was filled with so much pain that had to let them loose through crying. She even admitted in herself that she looked pathetic and pitiful.

Because of too much crying, she wasn't able to detect his presence as he stood beside her. He didn't say anything. He just simply stood beside her, letting her know of his presence. "Sasuke-kun..." Sakura looked up to him and saw him looking at the running water. He didn't even look back at her. All of a sudden, Sakura managed a bitter sweet chuckle to escape her lips. "Yes, Sasuke-kun, I am weak, pathetic and pitiful! You see, I didn't even realized that I've been living a lie all my life! So, did you come here to tell me that you were right about me all along?" Sakura said rising up as she faced him.

"I could... but I won't." Sasuke said as he faced her with no whatsoever emotion from his face.

Sakura was a bit surprised by what he said simply looked down and slumped at the bank of the river once more. Tiny cherry blossom petals floated down the river as the water flowed. "Leave me alone..." Sakura said, but Sasuke didn't leave. He just stayed there. Simply standing.

"This is taking more of my time as what I have imagined." Sasuke said. Then in one swift motion, he hit a nerve point on Sakura's neck that made her unconscious. He caught her just in time before her head hit the ground and supported her weight as he sat close beside her.

He may not say it out loud but the Uchiha was worried for Sakura. As he looked closely at her face, he saw traces of dried tears on her skin. He took out a clean handkerchief from his pocket, dipped it lightly in the river and gently wiped her face. After making sure that she looked okay, Sasuke picked up her hitai-ate and began his journey back to town with her in his arms.

In Tsunade's Office...

"Kakashi, you know the risks involved when she knows the truth about herself! You were there! You saw clearly what had happened!" Tsunade was trying vainly to explain to Kakashi but it seemed that the Jounin had made up his mind. "I am the Fifth Hokage and as leader of this village, I order you not to tell her anything!" Tsunade ordered Kakashi but he refused to obey.

"I respect your rank as Hokage, Tsunade-sama, but as Sakura's former sensei, I will make this thing personal. She has to know!" Kakashi matched the intensity of Tsunade's voice with his, making their argument a very heated one.

"You know what could happen, Kakashi. Sealing her true bloodline and locking out her past memories has made her quite normal but that doesn't mean she's safe! The real reason I agreed to be her sensei was to guard her and make sure she's safe!" Tsunade spoke with such rage.

All of a sudden, Shizune barged in on the Hokage's office while panting. "Tsunade-sama, the Uchiha has brought Sakura back." Shizune announced. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, both Kakashi and Tsunade rushed to see how the pink-haired Chuunin was doing.

She was unconscious as Sasuke held her in his arms. "I wanted you to know that she's safe before I bring her home." Sasuke explained. He was well aware of the fact that both Kakashi and the Hokage herself were acting strange towards Sakura's sudden rage. He knew... everything.

"Wait... You're bringing her home? To the Haruno family?" Kakashi asked. "I think that's not a good idea." He added, and both Tsunade and Sasuke silently agreed. In the end, Kakashi and Sasuke had to wait for Tsunade's decision regarding Sakura.

"Very well. Uchiha Sasuke, I'm giving you a B- rank Mission. You have to let Sakura stay in your house until further instructions are made. You have to watch over her for a while and never let her out of your sight." Tsunade spoke seriously. Sasuke's brow rose up but nevertheless, he didn't argue further. If there was one person who sould watch over her, it should be him. Not that she mattered much to him, but, he knew of her past. And as painful as it may sound, they shared the same tainted past.

tbc

Preview of Chapter Two: "Her Own Tainted Past"

She looked up to see him, uttering one very familiar name. "Sasuke-kun..." She tried to wipe her tears away but it was too late. Again, he had seen her cry. And again, he had seen how weak she was. "I want to tell you something..." The Uchiha began. It was unlikely for the Uchiha to share something to her, so Sakura felt the need to listen. He slowly sat beside her and looked at a distance, as if trying to recollect past memories. "But before I begin telling you about it, you must promise me that you'll talk to Tsunade-sama." Sasuke looked at her, expecting for an answer and she couldn't help but give a nod.