Author's notes:
I'm sorry for starting another story, but I just can't get this idea out of my head. Anyway, I promise I'll update my stories! But it takes quite a little time, so yeah...Anyway, on with the story.
IMPORTANT:
In this story, they had finally managed to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke from sound. They're all around sixteen or seventeen in age, so there. There are also some sub-pairings such as ShikaIno, NaruHina and LeeTen. So, I hope you don't mind.
Chapter title:
The Early Bird Uchiha
Chapter summary:
She tried her best, she gave up everything, and she even gave up her own happiness just for him. But through it all, she knew he would never love her back.
Story title:
In The Midst Of It All
Story summary:
In the midst of her grief, she finds herself irresistibly falling for the least expected person. Problem? She's already in a relationship with Uchiha Sasuke. SasuSakuNeji
Guide:
Naruto - Narrating
"Naruto"- Talking/ Thinking
Naruto- Flashback
She sat there, waiting patiently for him to arrive. She knew he was coming...well, he should. Sure, he was already more than an hour late. That was quite normal, wasn't it? People are not perfect after all, and there's no doubt about it, some always tend to arrive late at events like this.
She groaned as she stopped reassuring herself, shaking her head as her long pink hair bounced up and down behind her. Who was she kidding? Certainly not herself! He was never late. On the contrary, he was always extra early. That's probably why he's called "The Early Bird Uchiha".
She tapped her candle-like fingers on the table in front of her before she turned to the wall clock of the coffee shop. It read 1:15 in bold numbers, seemingly mocking her endless. She sighed as she continued to tap her fingers on the table.
"Patience is a virtue..." she silently reminded herself as she leaned back in her chair, trying her best to be comfortable. It wouldn't hurt to wait for a few more minutes now, would it?
Suddenly, the sound of the door opening caused her head to snap up, her brilliant emerald eyes sparkling up with hope. But it immediately vanished as she found out that it was only Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru. They walked towards a table a little far from her and then proceeded to ordering. They didn't notice her.
She frowned slightly as she watched the couple bicker about something that she might have guessed as "too troublesome" for the lazy genius. It reminded her that her "date" was still missing.
"False alarm..." she told herself sadly as she leaned back in her chair again, staring out the window hopefully.
"Look, Naruto and Hinata always eat together for breakfast and lunch at the Ichiraku!" Sakura said as she frowned, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared at Sasuke hard, trying to get a reaction from him. Her hair flowed behind her back as the wind blew gently.
Sasuke opened his onyx orbs and stared back at her, emotionless. What was the point of this talk again?
"They're going out." He replied nonchalantly, inserting his hands in his pockets again. Sakura raised an eyebrow as her eyes widened in anger.
"May I remind you, so are we!" she exclaimed. Sasuke stared at her blankly. It was annoying, this talk.
"And your point is?"
"My point is, we have never even gone out for a date, even once! In these two years of our relationship, you didn't even bother to go out to eat with me or even hold my hand while we walk!" Sakura exclaimed hysterically. She rolled her eyes as she turned away from Sasuke, facing the river.
Uchiha Sasuke punched the dummy in front of him hard, which fell to the ground like the other dummies surrounding him in the forest. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, before grabbing a few shruikens from his pouch, and then turned to the target behind him.
He threw the shruikens directly at the target, hitting the middle. He then continued throwing the shruikens towards the target. He frowned before stopping his training as he heard a voice not far from him.
"-I swear he always trains somewhere here!"
He raised an eyebrow as his onyx eyes turned to where the voice was coming from. He could recognize that voice anywhere. As if on cue, a blonde emerged from the bushes. His cerulean eyes scanned the area and it landed on the raven-haired boy, who was currently looking annoyed at the sight of him.
Sasuke frowned before he turned his attention back to his target, throwing a shruiken in the process.
"Found you!" exclaimed Naruto loudly as he walked over casually to Sasuke, who didn't give a damn about him. Naruto rubbed his nose impatiently.
"What?" the Uchiha prodigy finally asked obviously annoyed at the kyuubi holder's presence. It irked him much to know that even though at sixteen, the self-proclaimed future Hokage could still act so childish at times.
Naruto smiled mischievously as he knew he was slowly getting on Sasuke's nerves. Perhaps he could push it a few more-
"What? Don't waste my time, dobe." his cold voice said in a blank manner as he stood still, not even sparing Naruto a glance. However, Naruto, who was much used to this attention, wasn't even fazed a little. He continued to smile mischievously.
Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes, reminding himself that Uchihas never roll their eyes. Deciding that whatever Naruto was about to say was unimportant, he turned his back on him and began walking away, determined to find another secluded spot.
"Whatever." The Prodigy said coldly as he walked away from Naruto. The fox-boy smirked as he knew he was annoying Sasuke before placing his hands behind his head as he stared up at the sky. He noted that it was going to rain soon, judging by the dark clouds above him.
"I just wanted to ask if you knew where Sakura-chan was, bastard." He asked casually and Sasuke stopped in his tracks. He turned slightly to give Naruto a look.
"What makes you think I know?" he asked flatly. Naruto then tapped his feet, and Sasuke gave him an annoyed look. It was irritating that the times when Naruto looked and sounded more intelligent than him were increasing rapidly.
"Well...I happened to 'overhear' your conversation yesterday." Naruto said as he smirked towards the Uchiha, who was once again masked in his cold demeanor. The prodigy didn't reply, which Naruto took as a sign to continue.
"She loves you so much, that even though you do nothing, she still continues loving you. The talk you had yesterday, can't you see she was hurt?" asked Naruto. Sasuke remained impassive. This angered Naruto.
"Bastard, I can't believe you would actually skip a 'promised' date with Sakura-chan." Naruto said, his voice rising due to the topic. He never liked his 'sister' being hurt, especially by Sasuke.
Sasuke scoffed as he inserted his hands in his pocket, which was also known as the "Uchiha Pose".
"I didn't skip it. I forgot about it." He said flatly. Steam came out of Naruto's ears. He wasn't taking this seriously. He knew she was hurt yet again.
Sasuke smirked inwardly as Naruto resisted the urge to punch him. Again, he was winning this battle. It was almost too easy.
"You! Don't you even care? I mean, you're in a relationship with her! You're a couple! Yet, you make it look as if she's just a pet to follow you around!" Naruto said angrily as he raised a fist in front of him, trying to emphasize his point.
Sasuke turned away from Naruto before he continued to walk. Naruto just stood there, rooted in his spot.
Before he was completely out of earshot, Naruto heard it. A word that hit a nerve. A word that could mean so much. A word that could tear her apart.
"So?" Sasuke said in his usual voice. He then disappeared from Naruto's sight. Naruto frowned at the dust wherein Uchiha Sasuke stood a few seconds ago.
"Damn bastard...He doesn't even care."
"You expect me to act like those love-sick fools?" he asked coldly, staring at Sakura's back. All he wanted was to quietly wait for their two other teammates.
He heard her voice. It was different from the usual.
"No. But just by watching them...It makes me think that you'd never love me back." She said softly as she closed her eyes for a moment before opening it again, turning around to face Sasuke.
Nothing changed in his face. He was still as emotionless as ever, and Sakura looked down at the thought. This was getting them nowhere.
"You know my purpose in life. You know I can't love you." He said, staring at Sakura with a bored expression on his face. Sakura frowned slightly at the ground as she tucked a strand of her pink hair behind her ear. She didn't speak.
"This. This connection, it's only meant for the revival of my clan. To ensure the revival of my clan. You agreed, you accepted. Don't complain." He muttered. Sakura looked up slowly, a bitter smile gracing her beautiful features.
"Yes...I did agree-
She lifted her head off the table as she turned her head to glance at the wall clock. She chuckled merrily before she slumped down in her chair again.
"Wow, I can't believe I've been sitting here for almost four hours." She said to herself before chuckling yet again. She was slowly losing her control over herself. It was ironic, really, how love drives people crazy.
The shop door opened with a creaking sound, and Sakura spared a glance at the door, hoping with all her might, wishing with all of her well being, that it would be him. But as soon as she saw the bowl-shaped haircut of a certain taijutsu master entered the shop, she knew. He would not come.
Sakura sighed as she watched Rock Lee enter the shop, closely followed by his two other team mates, Tenten and Hyuuga Neji. She smiled to herself, silently thanking the heavens above that Lee entered with his team mates, not his lover or something along those lines. She was sure that if she saw another couple enter the shop, she would seriously snap and switch to Inner Sakura mode.
Deciding that she had waited long enough, she stood up from her table, left a bill on the table then walked towards the door.
Lee, however, managed to get a glimpse of Sakura. His eyes lit up in delight as he waved a hand over to her.
"Sakura-san! Having a nice, youthful afternoon?" asked Lee happily as he bounded over to the pink-haired kunoichi, who was a few meters from the door. Tenten followed Lee closely, as Neji chose to just settle down rather than having a small chat with the kunoichi.
Sakura turned around and waved at Lee and Tenten. She gave both of them a smile, her Inner Sakura rampaging inside. She only remembered at that time that Lee and Tenten were actually going out. Luckily, she had managed to lock Inner Sakura in the corner of her mind.
"Hey Lee-san, Tenten-chan!" she greeted happily. Tenten smiled at her.
"Sakura-chan! Come on, why don't you have coffee with the three of us?" asked Tenten hopefully. Truthfully, the other kunoichis developed a bond ever since they had started the dating phase. So in conclusion, Sakura, Hinata, Tenten and Ino were like sisters.
Sakura waved a hand.
"I would, but I'm giving someone a piece of my mind. I'd have to take a rain-check." said Sakura. Tenten's mouth formed into an 'o' position, as she immediately knew what she was talking about. Sakura had earlier confronted the other three about Sasuke.
Lee gave them both a look, before resuming his "good-guy" pose.
"Let's talk later with Hinata and Ino then. Meeting at the park?" asked Tenten in a hushed voice. Sakura nodded before turning to the door, waving goodbye at both of them.
"Goodbye, Sakura-san! Have a youthful trip to wherever you're going!" said Lee and Tenten shook her head with a smile.
Sakura grinned at her before opening the door.
"Good day, Lee-san, Neji-san. See you later Tenten!" she said as she walked out of the shop.
-but I'm not complaining." She finished simply. Sasuke gave her an annoyed look, but Sakura still wasn't finished. "I'm simply asking a favor. Couldn't you at least try to love me, or at least pretend?" asked Sakura quietly. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. What was it about girls anyway? He crossed his arms over his chest and gave her an almighty look. Sakura didn't even flinch.
"Look, you're with me. Isn't that what you have always wanted? What more do you want? You're too annoying." He said. Sakura chuckled at herself. Of course, annoying. She was always annoying.
"Yes. Yes, I've always wanted to be with you. Just being with you was enough. I love you, yes...I still do. But-but something's missing." She said sadly. Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This was just not his field. He never liked talking about relationships. It just gets too sappy.
Wanting to end this, he sighed as he ran his hand through his hair.
"Look, let's just get this over with. Meet me at the coffee shop tomorrow at twelve. Whatever." He said blankly. Suddenly, Sakura's eyes lit up.
"Re-really?" she asked, trying to decide whether this was a dream or not.
"Yeah, whatever. Just stop talking. It's getting annoying."
He sighed as he wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. He turned around to stare at the tree that had met its end. Apparently, Sasuke's chidori found out that it needed to destroy something at the moment, and the tree was the nearest thing to him.
He then sat down with his legs crossed, leaning against the tree. He would probably have a minute or two of rest, and then he would resume training again.
He closed his onyx eyes as he breathed deeply. Suddenly, he found himself thinking of a certain pink-haired kunoichi. He frowned. He reassured himself that it wasn't his fault that he missed their "date". He simply forgot.
Besides, he didn't have time for those things. She was the one who insisted they needed to go out once in a while. It was her fault.
"She's just too stubborn. It's her fault she's hurt again." He thought to himself as he opened his eyes. He suddenly felt a familiar presence near him, and he didn't need to look up to find out who it was.
"Sasuke-kun." Her voice floated through the air and Sasuke frowned. She found him, that was unlucky. He wanted to be alone. He needed to be alone. He needed to train, and yet here she was, standing a few meters away from him.
"What?" he asked coldly. He knew what was coming. It was another one of those "talks" that just got too touchy.
A smile found its way on Sakura's face as she replied.
"You know what's funny? That someone told me to meet him at the coffee shop today at about twelve. Yes, you know, promised and all...Then suddenly, guess what? He didn't show up!" she said with a smile as she laughed merrily, her green eyes full of mirth.
Sasuke turned his head towards her to stare at her blankly.
"And you know what's funnier? It's the fact that I actually waited for four hours, for someone who didn't come!" she said even more happily than before. Sasuke took this as a sign to defend himself.
"I forgot." He said simply. Sakura's smile vanished immediately as groaned.
"Yes, you forgot. That's it?" she asked, obviously irritated at the way he was acting. She knew of course, that he didn't care. That's probably why it annoyed her more.
"Hn." He said flatly. He stood up and decided that it was time to continue his training. He might be able to avoid her then.
"Sasuke-kun. You said you were gonna make an effort." She said angrily. Sasuke gave her a sideward glance.
"I did. But I forgot."
"Don't give me that! I know that you don't forget about things, Sasuke! You only do when they are unimportant things." She said hastily. What was the point of his coldness anyway? Couldn't he even try?
The Uchiha prodigy ran a hand through his hair.
"Who said that this date was of any importance?" he asked coldly. That hit a nerve. The color drained from Sakura's face as she gave him a look. She needed to ask him the question that's been bothering her for a long time.
"Wha-what about me? You forgot about the date, but what about me?" she asked quietly, slowly dreading the fact that she had even asked. She knew him too well, and she knew what was going to come out of his mouth.
"Who said you were of any importance?"
"Oh, thank you so much, Sasuke-kun!" she exclaimed happily. Sasuke turned away from her.
"I think you're forgetting an important fact. As soon as I finish killing him, I just need you for the revival of my clan, nothing more." He said. Sakura smiled sadly as she breathed in the morning air.
"Yes...I know." She said sadly.
A little further away from the two, he sat on the tree branch, listening to their conversation. He ran a hand through his blonde hair as his blue eyes stared sadly at his pink-haired team mate.
