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Back to When I Loved You
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Chapter 1: Reencounter
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''And you know what? I'm tired of always having to explain the exact same thing to you! Why can't you just accept the facts and move on?!'' Sakura exclaimed, visibly annoyed.
''Because it's something you're clearly doing on purpose!'' Sai accused, looking at her with angry eyes ''Why can't you just take fewer shifts at the hospital so we can try to live like a normal couple? We've been living together for almost three months and I can count with my two hands the number of nights you've spent at home!''
''Oh excuse me, sir!'' she mocked ''someone needs to work hard if we want us to live a decent life considering all you do is paint all day instead of finding a proper job!''
''A proper job?'' he repeated, slightly hurt ''Since when is my painting not good enough for you? How many different places did we get to visit because of my art exposition? Oh right, you've come with me to none because you were too busy working at that damn hospital!''
''What the hell would I do in an art exposition? You know I know as much about art as you know about how to perform a CPR'' she rolled her eyes
''That's because you're never interested in my work! I always sit and listen to your complaints about how your work is tiring and how long your days are at the hospital, but you can't bother to take a little bit of interest in what I do for a living, can you?''
''Let's be honest, dear, if you were to live on your art you'd be living in the streets'' she gave him a skeptical look.
Sai grunted and said nothing else, looking to the other side clearly upset and crossing his arms.
Tsunade, the therapist who'd been seeing them for more than 7 months by now, simply watched as they argued, fingers intertwined in front of her face and her elbows resting on the table.
''I see nothing we've discussed so far has proven itself effective'' she began ''but don't worry, there's still salvation to your relationship. We'll just need to try other means''
Sakura raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue
''But I need to ask you, first. Do you two want to try and save this relationship?''
Sakura flinched, then looked at Sai, who did the same. After a moment, she smiled at him and took his hand in hers.
''Yes'' she said, nodding repeatedly.
Sai hesitated a little longer before nodding too.
Sakura wasn't sure why she wanted this to work out. If she was honest, she didn't even love Sai. Of course, she liked him, they had been friends for a long time before they started to go out together, but she had never seen him as anything else other than a good friend. Perhaps that was the reason why she always tried to avoid being with him alone at home, his touch made her uncomfortable.
''Good'' Tsunade proceeded ''Because I have an idea. Have you ever heard about the 'Switching partners tactic'?''
Sakura and Sai blinked a few times, confused
''What?'' the latter said
The blond woman stood up and took a registry book from a shelf on the other side of the room, then came back to sit in front of them again.
''I've tried this once and it had a very good result'' she continued ''it consists of-''
''We know what this consists on, I don't think it's a good idea'' Sakura interrupted
Tsunade closed the registry book and leaned forward
''In these 7 months of therapy, miss Haruno, nothing we've tried has worked. I was hoping you would give this idea at least a chance, given it has proven itself to work before''
Sakura bit her lower lip
''I don't know, it doesn't sound too good''
''What is holding you back?''
Sakura didn't want to say it in front of Sai. Tsunade knew what it was. Despite not liking Sai as much as she should, given they had been in a relationship for 18 months and been living together for 3, she was scared that he might end up leaving her after having a perfect girlfriend for what, a week, fifteen days? However long that lasted. Although Sakura didn't love him, she was scared of being abandoned. It had happened before, it pained her to remember, and she wasn't sure she would be able to handle that again.
''I think it to be a marvelous idea'' Sai said after a moment ''we should definitely give it a try''
Sakura looked at him with wide eyes.
''Are you serious?''
He nodded, eyes not looking at hers.
''After all, it's probably our last chance to save this relationship''
Sakura felt her heart weight a million pounds inside her chest. She was definitely going to be abandoned again.
''Sakura?'' Tsunade looked at her with expectation.
Shrugging, she pinkette nodded too.
''Perfect! I've already spoken of this idea with another couple I see to, so we can all meet again at this same time next week, is it fine by you? You might want to get everything ready because you'll be leaving this place next week with a new temporary boyfriend and girlfriend''
Sakura felt her mouth go bitter. This was going to end so badly.
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Sai was still parking in front of Tsunade's office when Sakura turned to him with pleading eyes:
''There's still time for us to turn around and go back home!''
Sai gave her a serious glance, then smiled lightly and took her hand in his, kissing its back.
''Stop panicking so much, it's just temporary. I'm sure it will do our relationship good''
Sakura wasn't so sure. She had used that last week to get over the idea that yes, she was definitely going to be single once this month was over with. There was no way Sai would still want her having experienced what a real and nice girlfriend is like. She even tried to be nicer to him that last week, but it was to no avail: he stood his ground and decided they would definitely try that stupid 'Partners Switch tactic''.
She stopped in front of Tsunade's office and inhaled deeply. Sai pushed the door open.
Inside the room were three people: Tsunade, facing them, and two people with their backs to them, one with hair as red as a rose and one with hair as dark as night.
Sakura held her breath for a moment when she started to recognize that second figure.
''Sai, Sakura! We were waiting for you'' Tsunade greeted them, a wide smile adorning her face.
Then onyx eyes slowly turned in her direction and her heart stopped
Sasuke
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''Sasuke?'' Sakura asked, her mouth slightly opened
Sasuke's eyes showed no emotion when they met hers, but he analyzed her thoroughly
The red-haired woman turned to see them, her eyes judging. She had eyes the color of her hair and wore brown glasses, which made her look more serious than she probably was. Her eyes scanned them quickly and didn't show any sign of approval or disapproval, but they still made Sakura shiver, it was like she was looking at her bare soul.
''Sasuke, Karin'' Tsunade introduced them ''please meet Sai and Sakura''
After a moment of shock, Sakura regained her composure and her face went serious.
''I'm sorry, Tsunade, but this won't work. Let's go, Sai'' she took his hand and started to lead him out of the office, but he held her hand tight and prevented her from leaving.
''What are you talking about, it's all set, you can't back up now!'' he raised an eyebrow.
Sakura bit her lower lip.
No, she would definitely not spend a single minute alone with Sasuke Uchiha.
''Sai is right'' Karin intervened ''we didn't cancel up all our plans for you to give this up now. Let's move on with all of this'' her voice was calm, but stern.
Sakura gave her an angry glance, but said nothing. Inside her head, one million thoughts were popping.
''It will last only for one month, I promise time will fly'' Tsunade reassured her
''A month?!'' no no no, Sakura was prepared for a week at most of this nonsense!
''Sai, are you alright with this arrangement?'' Tsunade turned to him, ignoring the pinkette.
''I am''
''Karin, what about you?''
Sakura's heart was racing and she hoped the red woman would object, though she knew she wouldn't, given what she had just said
''So am I''
Now, Sasuke would definitely be against it. Sakura smiled briefly, she knew he would never agree to such foolishness.
''Sasuke?''
Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other and Sakura gave him a triumphant look, knowing this would all end once he uttered his next words.
''I accept it''
Sakura's eyes widened and she chocked. She was about to turn to Tsunade and say Well I don't! when Sasuke discretely smirked. Sakura was left speechless. Was this a joke to him?
''Great! I'll meet you four in a month then!'' Tsunade clasped her hands and smiled victoriously.
''Miss Karin'' Sai offered Karin an arm, which she promptly accepted, and they left the room looking extremely pleased with the bargain.
Sakura, on her side, was horrified. But she said nothing, she waited until both she and Sasuke were outside of the building and then turned to face him.
''Is this a joke to you?''
He walked past her to his car and went inside it. Sakura grunted and entered the passenger's side.
''I'm talking to you'' she said
''Do I look like I'm joking around?'' he replied, his face serious as he started the car.
''Then why are you doing this?''
He didn't reply, instead, he started to drive out of the parking lot. Sakura pulled the handbrake and the car abruptly stopped.
''Look at me when I'm talking to you!''
Sasuke did so, but his face was emotionless.
''Let go of the handbrake'' he said
''Why did you accept this?''
He rested his back on the seat
''Because'' he started ''my relationship sucks as much as yours, and Karin wanted to try this''
''And you always do what your girlfriend asks of you, no matter how stupid it is?'' she asked, skeptically.
''If it will make her stop complaining and leave me in peace, yes'' he took her hand out of the handbrake and looked in her eyes ''I know you're thinking I did this to provoke you, Sakura. But I did not. I did this to please Karin. We can't be in bad terms months before the wedding''
Sakura's mouth went dry.
''Now use the GPS to take us to your home, we need to get your things and take them to my apartment''
Sakura said nothing, only did what she was told. She only had one bag to bring with her from the small house she and Sai lived in: she was hoping that would last at most one week so she hadn't prepared many things to bring with her, and she wasn't sentimental enough to bring things she would miss. To be honest, she wouldn't miss a thing in that house.
If it had been anyone else, Sakura might have felt shocked when she saw the building Sasuke lived in. Located on the wealthiest part of the town, it was the largest lot she had ever seen, it looked much more like a resort than anything else. But Sakura tried not to feel too enthusiastic about it, she would spend most of her time at the hospital like she always did so as to avoid him as much as she could. If she were to spend even more time working, she would definitely earn enough money by the end of the month to rent herself a fair apartment once Sai dumped her and she had to leave his house once this was over with.
''There's a guest room you can use'' he said once he opened the apartment's door
Sakura said nothing. She didn't intend to spend a single night in that apartment, she would sleep at the hospital every day for that whole month.
What she wasn't expecting, though, was for something to jump on her and take her to the ground.
''Hey!'' she complained when a big wet tongue started to lick her whole face. She started to gently push the big dog away so she could get on her knees ''Kira?!'' her face lit up for the first time that week and she hugged the dog tight ''is it you?'' the big old dog barked twice and started to lick her again ''oh my God, you're so big!''
Sasuke said nothing to that scene in front of him and walked past the two of them to the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water.
At least, Sakura thought, she would have a good companion during the time she would inevitably need to spend at that apartment.
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Sakura spent the first 4 days of the arrangement at the hospital. She ate there, slept there, worked there, discussed clinical cases with the medical students, helped the volunteering team and did everything she could, but she did not return to the apartment.
''Sakura'' Shizune called her while she was reading an update on Management of Heart Failure
''Yes?''
''As much as I appreciate all your help at this hospital, I must say this is the unhealthiest thing to do, to spend so much time straight inside this building. You need to see the sun, to feel the warm summer breeze and to breathe some fresh air!''
''You know why I can't'' Sakura looked back at her book ''I have nowhere else to go''
''You know that's not true'' Shizune sat next to her ''Sakura, can't you behave like an adult and handle this as one? What happened between you and Sasuke was years ago, you are not the same person as before and so isn't he''
Sakura turned the page
''Perhaps.''
Shizune sighed
''Well, good thing I talked to the security then. I told them that you're not allowed inside this hospital during the day shifts. You can work here at night as much as you want, I won't force you to spend the night at his apartment, but you'll have to find somewhere else to spend your time during the day''
Sakura blinked a few times
''What?! Are you serious?''
Two men from the security came behind Shizune
''Very''
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''Stupid Shizune'' Sakura cursed, walking down the streets stepping hard.
Sakura looked up at the sky. There were almost no clouds that day, the sun shone bright and she could feel the fresh air filling her lungs. At least Shizune had been right about that.
Deciding to take a look at the new side of the town, where she temporarily lived in, Sakura came across a big park, where people were enjoying the sunny day with their families. She didn't get to walk much among the trees when suddenly she heard a dog's bark and Kira jumped on her again, making her fall to the ground. She would definitely need to teach him not to do that.
''Look who crawled out of their grave'' she heard a familiar voice say
She rolled her eyes and stood up again.
''I had work to do''
''I'm sure you did'' Sasuke took the stick he had been using to play fetch with Kira and threw it again.
Sakura didn't know what else to say, so she simply stood there watching them play together.
''I know you're not pleased with any of this, but can't you at least try? It's for the sake of both mine and your relationships''
Sakura snorted
''If it had been anyone else I would gladly give it a try, but you? No way''
He was silent for a while. When he finally spoke again his voice was low
''I thought you'd gotten over it''
She glared at him, but said nothing
No, she didn't get over being dumped by the one man she loved more than anything in this world, especially for the stupid reason he used to justify the breakup. She never would.
Still, in spite of everything he'd done to her, her heart still raced when she was around him, and she hated herself for that.
''When did you come back to Konoha?'' she asked
''A few years after our breakup'' he threw the stick again
''Why?''
He sighed and turned to look at her
''If you want me to say it was for you, it wasn't. Our story ended when we broke up and I don't think about it anymore. You ought to do the same''
What a bastard Sakura thought. She had been hurting for years because of him and he had the courage to say he stopped caring about them once they broke up?!
She was going to hear that no more.
''What do you suggest we do?'' she finally said, crossing her arms
''This is business, Sakura. I need my relationship to work so I was hoping you would help me see what I must do to save it. What I'm doing wrong and what to do to make it better.''
Sakura raised an eyebrow
He had never been that willing to change for someone else when they'd dated. He must really like this Karin, she thought bitterly.
''What do I gain from this? It's much easier for me to simply ignore you for 26 more days and get Sai back when this arrangement is over''
His eyes narrowed for a moment while he gave it some thought.
''I'll give you the money to open the clinic for children's mental health you wanted to build. Everything you require will be yours''
Sakura's jaw dropped
She'd been wanting to build such clinic since they were much younger, even before they started to date. Still, she had never been able to save enough money for it. Was it her chance?
If she took this opportunity, she might be able to open her clinic even before the end of the year, on the other hand, it would mean socializing with Sasuke far more than she was willing to…
Well, how bad could this go? It was only for 26 more days anyway, and she wouldn't need to spend her entire day with him, only enough hours to teach him how to be a decent boyfriend.
''Well, Mr. Uchiha'' she smiled and offered him her hand ''it sounds like you got yourself a business partner! I'll teach you what it is like to have the best relationship and what you have to do to have it!''
Sasuke looked down at her hand. Then he smirked and shook it.
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Hey, everyoneeeeee!
I'm so, so, so happy to be back! I had given up writing for some time... I was really done with it. I'm a bit cyclothymic, I know, but I'll try to write more often from now on! I'll TRY!
Anyway, this is my newest fic and I had the best time writing it, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed to write it!
It won't be too long, and I'll try to post one chapter every day or so (:
Thank you so much for reading the first chapter and I hope to see you on the next one!
Big hugs!
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Blackfan Diamond