All We Once Knew
Chapter Two: Insight
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.
Sakura headed towards her locker, weaving around students. Once there she spun the lock around with fluid practice, pulling out a small clay mold that was nearly finished. It'd been two days since her forced art project and the frog had been stuck together and baked and now it was time for painting. She hadn't really discussed with Sasuke—of course she hadn't, if she could avoid it she never said anything to the prick at all—what color they were going to paint the odd-shaped frog.
Sakura thought they'd done fairly well, though it seemed like the frog had just been stepped on, it still looked like a frog. Which was a lot more than many of the other students had been able to accomplish.
She cradled the frog against her chest while she stuffed her books into the back of her locker, not wanting them to be anywhere near her painting mess. She'd even worn her least favorite clothes today (Ino had been giving her horrified looks all day over them). Ratty gray pajama bottoms and a loose-fitting t-shirt with "get out of my way" written across the back. She had her hair tied up in a sloppy bun so that the words were visible.
The girl walked into her art class, ignoring the eyes that followed her. Shion—one of Ino's clones—gave her a nasty little smile as she passed. "You're looking…nice today Sakura," she said. The girls sitting around her snickered noisily.
Sakura almost continued by without saying anything, but gave in at the last moment. She forced her lips up into an imitation of a smile. "Thank you Shion-san. How kind of you." She raked her eyes over the girl's short skirt and frilly pink top. A cold shudder passed over her. "If only I could say the same about you."
Shion's mouth dropped open and she spluttered for a few moments, giving Sakura sufficient time to make her escape to her desk at the far end of the room. "Very nice," a male voice complimented from behind her. She craned her neck back just slightly to look. Kiba shot her a smirk.
Sakura returned it easily. She liked Kiba; he had that boyish look to him that reminded her greatly of Naruto. And, like her blonde hell-raiser friend, Kiba had a knack for getting himself into trouble. Her smile twitched at the spark of mischief in his eyes that was, by far, the strongest similarity to Naruto. He was up to something that undoubtedly have him in Anko-sensei's office by the end of the day. "What are you up to, idiot?"
He gave her a raised eyebrow, overtly innocent look. "I don't know what you're talking about Sakura. Shikamaru and I are just going to hang out behind the school—"
"Smoking." She cut in swiftly, letting him know she still didn't approve of his and Shikamaru's favored past time.
"Smoking," he conceded easily. "And there's nothing criminal in that, is there?"
"There wouldn't be if you were legal to be smoking." She took the frog from it's protective wrap, feeling like showing it off. Kiba had force his partner into creating a tiny replica of Kiba's dog Akamaru (Kiba's, sadly, was one of the projects that ended up looking more like a log with legs than an actual dog). He blinked at the frog.
"Why'd you make a frog?"
Sakura scowled. "Why did that have to be the first thing out of your mouth Kiba? Can't you tell me its great or something?"
"Sure I can. It's a great smashed frog. Why in the heck did you make a frog?"
"It is not smashed!" Sakura yanked the frog back, giving Kiba a dirty look. "I made a frog because it's for your twin."
Kiba nodded in understanding. Though he'd never actually met Naruto, he'd heard enough stories to agree that they seemed to be replicas of one another. Allowing them to meet seemed like a pretty bad idea, but Sakura had reluctantly invited both boys to her birthday party. She was still nervously awaiting the outcome of her decision.
Their teacher stepped up as the bell rang and the two lapsed back into silence, Kiba picking up his amused grin once more. He definitely had some sort of prank planned. "Alright everyone," the woman called out, collecting the classrooms attention. "We're going to finish up with our clay projects. Since we've gotten everyone's clay animals baked we'll go onto painting and glazing them. I'll grade them at the end of the class and, if you want, you may take them home if I've finished grading."
Sakura nodded to Kiba as he got up to move, amused by his dorky back-wards wave. Her amusement died when Sasuke took Kiba's chair and sat himself next to her desk as he had done the last three days. One of his eyebrows was raised questioningly. "Your boyfriend?"
"No," Sakura snapped back, bothered by his easygoing assumption. "Just a friend."
Sasuke picked up their frog, studying it from all angles. "That so? Maybe on your side perhaps." She opened her mouth to ask what he meant but he cut her off smoothly. "What color are we painting this thing?"
Sufficiently irritated, Sakura told him in a tone that dared him to question her choice. "Green and yellow."
Sasuke nodded, showing that he really didn't care one way or another what they painted the stupid frog so long as he got a good grade for it. Sakura felt the odd desire to sulk and squashed it down. The boy stood suddenly, surprising her. Seeing her wide-eyed look, Sasuke's lips twitched. "I'm going to go get the paint. Relax."
Sakura scowled at his back as he walked away, angry at herself for letting him get to her. She wasn't sure why Sasuke was so easily able to rile her up, but it was beginning to grate on her already thinning nerves. When Sasuke returned, Sakura pointedly took the small tub of green paint and an equally small paint brush to work on her own, not saying a word to him. Sasuke, to her surprise, let this go and began to work in silence as well.
It was a comfortable silence, Sakura found with some surprise. They finished painting on the green coat quickly, neither talking even as they left it to dry. Sasuke was doing some stripes along the body with the yellow and Sakura began to doodle to pass the time. If she'd been an amazing artist, she may have tried to draw Sasuke; he made a nice picture at the moment. It was the first time she'd seen him so relaxed around her and she studied him with interest. His face was emotionless and blank, almost bored as he worked, but it was far more natural than a smiling visage.
The girl traced yellow stripes along the frog's underbelly, finally speaking as the class neared its end. "What did you mean earlier?"
He glanced up, "hmm?"
"You said 'maybe on your side'. What did you mean?"
The bell rang over head, cutting through their conversation like a cold blade. Sakura jumped in surprise, watching Sasuke collect up the brushes and paints. He shrugged, bringing her back to her question when he said: "he likes—that boy, I mean—you more than you think he does."
Sakura opened her mouth and then shut it quickly, too surprised to reply. Sasuke shot her one last amused look before leaving her desk, taking the paint supplies and cleaning up without ever asking for help. Sakura stared down at the drying frog, admiring they're work. She paused, however, noticing the red swirls over color dotting the frogs face and chest.
That bastard has purposefully added in another color! The girl huffed, made more annoyed by the fact that the frog looked a lot cooler with the additional color than it would have. She lifted the newspaper and frog and took it to the back of the room with all the other projects, taking a moment to label it so that she'd actually get credit.
By the time she'd finished Sasuke had made his escape, not allowing her to chew him out and to further demand information on Kiba's supposed romantic feelings. Pursing her lips in displeasure, Sakura grabbed up her books and headed out of the classroom, vowing to demand answers the next time she saw Sasuke.
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Sakura sighed gratefully when lunch rolled around after a long morning. The girl stopped by her locker to grab up the soda she'd snagged from home and the apple Shizune insisted she take with her. Sakura disliked eating lunch most days—Shizune always made a massive breakfast that left her feeling stuffed all day. By nature Sakura was a small, slim girl with a tiny appetite. Two large meals a day were more than enough for her to get by on—though Shizune seemed convinced she was about to blow away in the wind at any moment.
The pink-haired girl headed for the back exit, swerving around some kids to avoid being trampled as she went against the flow of bodies. She'd been eating outside with Kiba and Shikamaru for awhile now and it was beginning to feel natural that she eat with them. The boys were friends—though she hardly considered them enough of a reason to remain in Konohagakure should chance come to go back home, though she did feel guilty more often lately that they didn't mean more to her.
Sure enough Sakura spotted Shikamaru's legs as she headed towards a massive oak tree resting on the edge of the school's property. It was a secluded area that backed up against the large brick wall that fenced them in, and offered Kiba and Shikamaru enough privacy that they could smoke without worry at being spotted by a teacher. She grinned at them once she was close, raising her soda can in greeting.
"Yo," Shikamaru said on a sigh, sending a puff of smoke out into the air. He watched it dissipate, looking bored and tired.
The girl sat across from them, leaning against the cool brick wall. She rubbed her apple off on the front of her t-shirt and took a large bite, chewing thoughtfully. "You stay up again all night playing internet chess, Shikamaru?"
"Of course he did." Kiba interrupted. He was staring at the cigarette burning away between his fingers, looking oddly angry. Sakura raised an eyebrow.
"What happened to you? Weren't you in a good mood this morning?"
Kiba ignored her question in favor of asking his own. "Just what is Sasuke to you, huh?"
"An irritation, why?"
"Are you sure?" the boy didn't look convinced in the least.
Sakura laughed. "Of course I'm sure! Why wouldn't I be?"
Kiba flicked the ashes from the end of the cigarette in a practiced gesture. They flitted to the ground, covering the grass like gray snow. He didn't answer her question and she turned to Shikamaru, not understand why the subject of Sasuke had gotten Kiba so riled up. The teen sighed heavily as though both were troubling him greatly.
"Kiba feels that you are abnormally close to Sasuke and does not like it." The brown-haired boy lifted his own cigarette up to his lips and drew in a lungful of smoke, exhaling it a second later. "You do seem rather close now that I'm thinking about it."
Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. "Why?"
Kiba muttered something, but it was Shikamaru who surprisingly continued to speak. "Sasuke's a plastic," he explained. "As fake as they come. But when he's around you his image chips and he starts looking more like who I imagined him to be." Shikamaru took another long drag and blew the smoke upwards, seeing Sakura's displeasure of having smoke blown out at her. "He's dark."
Sakura had to agree with him there. She'd begun to notice it little by little that under Sasuke's pleasant, fake smile, there was an anger that was bubbling over. "You think so, too?" The boy nodded.
"Stay away from him, Sakura." Kiba said sharply. He put out his cigarette in the small pot they kept at the base of the tree and crawled forward until he was sitting directly in front of her. "No joke. He's dangerous; if Ino thought even for a moment you were interested in Sasuke, she'd go bat shit crazy trying to get rid of you." He raked his fingers through his already messy hair. "Besides—if Shikamaru thinks he's dark, then he's probably got some evil twist."
"Kiba—"
The boy put his hands on her shoulders. "Just be careful, okay Sakura?"
"I promise I'll be careful." She leaned forward and bumped forehead's with him, sending him falling back onto his butt. "But there's really nothing to worry about; I'm not interested in Sasuke."
Shikamaru, seeing that Kiba was about to start another line of protest, cut him off, tired of his obvious jealousy and Sakura's obvious ignorance. "Lunch is almost over."
Kiba, remembering his food finally, retreated to hurriedly eat. Though, from the annoyed look firmly rooted in his eyes, the conversation about Sasuke was far from over.
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Sasuke stared at his reflection in the floor-length mirror standing before him. As usual he was decked out in the finest clothing money could buy—his hair shining after its afternoon wash. His tie was done expertly; his father would never forgive him if he attempted to leave the house without making sure his appearance was perfect. The boy sighed, turning away from the mirror and heading over to his expensive laptop. There was still some time before he and his parents were going to leave for the party that night and he wanted to check his email one last time.
He knew that Itachi hadn't emailed—that he would never email—but Sasuke couldn't help but open up the window to check, that small flicker of hope squeezing his lungs until he could hardly breathe. Nothing. Sasuke slumped back in the chair, rubbing a hand over his eyes.
It'd been almost three years since Itachi had betrayed they're father and been cut out of the family as though he'd never been apart of it. All for some woman who had no title, no money, no exceptional skills—she was nothing compared to the prestige of the Uchiha family, and yet she'd been enough that Itachi had thrown everything away to marry her. Sasuke couldn't understand it.
His brother had meant the world to him and his abrupt disappearance from Sasuke's life had changed his whole life. Suddenly Sasuke was the sole heir to his family's lineage and all of Itachi's responsibilities had been dropped upon his shoulders. His mother had practically gone crazy after Itachi was gone—her beloved pride and joy no longer accepted as her son was almost more than she could bear. Sasuke had always been nothing more than her replacement for when Itachi wasn't around and she longed for Itachi's return.
The boy had known since a very young age that his parents didn't love him. They didn't love Itachi either, but they'd always respected his brother. Been proud of him. Itachi was strong willed and a genius at whatever he tried his hand at. He'd easily accomplished things that would have taken another person a lifetime of hard work. Sasuke wasn't like that. Things didn't just come to him naturally—it was only through tireless work that he was able to follow in Itachi's footsteps, but he knew he wasn't what his father really wanted.
Fugaku was a man who never went back on his word—and yet he continued to try and coerce Itachi into coming back home. Going as far as promising that Itachi could remain with that woman, when he'd told Itachi before to never return. The same offer would never be given to Sasuke. He would never be allowed the freedom Itachi had been given easily.
But Sasuke continued to try—smiling when he didn't want to smile. Making polite with his father's business partners and even agreeing to marry that disgusting woman Ino for the sake of being everything his father expected him to be. He knew it'd never be enough that Fugaku would look upon him with pride, but it didn't stop him from wanting it to be enough.
Sasuke straightened up with a snap as the door to his room opened slowly and his mother stepped in. She was wearing an elegant evening gown that fitted her slim form attractively. Her hair was swept up into a tight bun and held in place with a diamond clip. She tried to smile, but it was fragile and gone as quickly as it came.
"Sasuke, love," she said, walking farther into the room. "Your father is almost ready, are you?"
"Yes, mother." Sasuke's voice was empty. Mikoto froze however, hearing the underlining rage that danced at the edge of his tongue. The woman was far more perceptive than Fugaku, who either ignored Sasuke's growing hatred, or didn't see it. She swallowed anxiously.
"How are things going with Ino darling?"
Sasuke nearly sighed, realizing that she was going to drag on another pointless conversation. He knew that she hated being around him; he could clearly see her desire to leave the room and get away from him. He forced himself to smile, feeling irritated. "Fine, mother. Ino is very…nice."
Mikoto fiddled with the silk wrap on her shoulders. "Oh? I'm glad to hear that, love. I was worried that you were having problems since you have to keep this quiet." She tried once more to look happy. "But don't worry dear, soon your father will finish this new merger and we can release your engagement to the press."
"I'm sure Ino would be happy to hear that," Sasuke replied. His mother licked her lips and looked as though she wanted to say something more. Instead, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, having to stoop because he was still sitting. It was an awkward embrace and Mikoto released him almost instantly.
"You should come down soon. Your father won't want to wait." The woman turned and fled from the room, disappointed that hugging Sasuke didn't compare to hugging her beloved Itachi.
Sasuke clenched his hand into a fist over his heart, is head dropping down. For just a moment the boy allowed the deep longing in his soul to fill him up with agony. More than anything Sasuke desired the love of a family—the love of anyone, really. But not his mother's hesitant love as she tried to replace him with Itachi, nor Ino's false romance. Real love. Sasuke wanted to find someone in this world who might actually love him for who he was.
The boy rose, laughing quietly. What a fairy tale that was. In his world there was no room for love. Itachi had ruined his life chasing love, and this was one time Sasuke was not about to follow his brother.
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Karin gossiped away, ignoring that Sakura was ignoring her. She and Tayuya had already arrived by the time that Sakura had gotten home after school and had taken that time to fill up Sakura's room with their crap. Sakura tried to totally tune Karin out, wanting to focus on what had transpired that day. She'd had an odd conversation with Sasuke—about Kiba, no less—that had led to her being asked if she was actually close to Sasuke.
"And that's why I really think you should get a boyfriend, honestly." Karin clapped her hands together, startling Sakura. She poked a long-nailed finger at Sakura like a bad omen. "Have you been listening to me? No, right? Geez Sakura, here I am giving you awesome advice and you totally tune me out!"
"Sorry," Sakura responded sheepishly.
"Sorry doesn't cut it! Have you even read that book I gave you?"
"On page two hundred almost."
Karin frowned, but conceded that this was good enough for now. "As I was saying—"
"If someone normally acts one way—but around someone else he acts differently does that…equal something more in a relationship?"
Karin's speech stuttered to a stop. Her eyes went round with shock. "Wait, wait! He, as in a boy, and obviously from the way you worded that means you're the one he acts differently around…tell me everything!"
Sakura stared at Karin for a good minute, hating Karin's ability to both see through her best worded diversions and her habit of jumping to conclusions. Not feeling up to listening to Karin complain all night, Sakura told her about Sasuke. When she was done, she could see that Karin was convinced they were in love with each other and hastened to get across that she didn't have feelings for the boy. "It's not that I have feelings for him, well, no feelings besides an extreme dislike it's just…"
"Just?" the girl prompted. Karin was sitting on her knees on Sakura's bed, staring at the girl with obvious anticipation. Sakura avoided looking into her eyes.
"He feels lost. It…" Sakura squeezed a pillow in her hands tightly. "I feel like I'm looking at myself. I see the anger in him and I can't help but remember how I felt then."
"Sakura, I—"
Sakura stopped Karin's upset flurry of words before she could even start. "Don't bother, Karin. I see Sasuke and I see how I might have been."
The red-haired girl moved forward and embraced Sakura tightly. Sakura allowed it, knowing that she probably needed the comfort even if Karin was holding her a little too tightly and cutting off her air supply. Karin sat back and Sakura saw that her eyes were swimming with tears. "I'm so sorry Sakura—I should've just let it go. I didn't mean for you to have to think of all that."
"Like I said; don't bother." Sakura grinned slightly. "I have a wonderful family now. Those memories no longer hurt me anymore." She played with the edge of her quilt. "Though I can't help but worry about Sasuke. I just get the feeling there's no one offering him the love that saved me."
Karin adjusted her glasses higher on her nose and nudged Sakura lightly. "Maybe you're the one who'll give him that love, hmm?"
Sakura laughed humorlessly. "No." Her mind drifted to Ino, remembering the slimming dress she'd worn that day and how Sasuke hadn't left her side. Her laugh turned a touch bitter. "I'm not his type."
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Author's Note: Shion is not an original character. She is from the first Shippuden movie (and is a total betch). Also, for those of you concerned about why Sasuke was acting strangely, I hope this chapter cleared that up for you. You'll find out more about Itachi's wife later, but she's based off an original character. Itachi's nameless lover whom he killed in the original manga. Because she's not been named, I'm going to give her a name and appearance.
See you in chapter three!
