Chapter Two: Pettiness is a disease
The time when Inner woke up and found herself fully in control of 'their' body with Outer nowhere to be found, she panicked.
Like what the fuck.
Of course, in theory they were the same person; just two different personalities.
But she was always painfully aware of how Outer's life was...Outer's. She had no place there as much as she may have wanted when she was much younger and just forming into existence.
Back then she thought it was really unfair how, although they were one and the same, she was forced to live in the darkness while Outer got to live in the light and experience all that the outside had to offer.
It felt like the most painful form of jealousy in the world.
And it would be a lie to say she ever got over it. There was just so much greed in her that she couldn't simply not feel this way. That's not how feelings worked.
But she never intended to act upon those feelings since she believed that how she felt was her problem and her problem alone to deal with.
So that is to say she never in a million years would've really wished Outer to go away and steal what was, by all means, her life.
And trust her, even though it sounds so far fetched to believe...she and Outer were like sisters. Twins of sorts. So even if you got jealous of your sister, it's not as if you would wish her dead right?
She had Outer's memories, she had her skills due to muscle memory and such-
But her relationships were solely her own and it was something she had no right to intrude on, posturing as a friend, lover, parent etc.
Those were all things that Outer had built with her blood sweat and tears so it felt offensive to claim those relationships as her own when she was at most just a spectator dwelling in the same body as the person they knew.
But nevertheless she knew what caused Outer to forsake the world and hide away like that.
There were many factors and variables but ultimately it boiled down to one person; Sasuke Uchiha.
If Sakura was the type of person to pour her blood, sweat and tears into her friendships, then what she offered to Sasuke Uchiha on a silver platter was her own very soul.
When their toxic guise of a 'marriage' ended, she knew that Outer took it really hard, having been the sole witness to her spiral into depression. She knew that she blamed herself and as much as Inner tried to boost her moral and swerve away from that line of thinking, it didn't work.
She couldn't help the Sakura who believed herself to be a failure with just merely words of consolation.
It was frustrating and it made her angry everytime to think how that man couldn't see what was going on and how utterly wrecked his wife was. Or maybe he just doesn't care anymore about how far Sakura has to fall.
(and that thought made Inner want to go on a rampage all over Konoha. Preferably stomping on that man's ancestral home).
At first, she held the hope that things would change after this second chance that they obtained from be it a God or the Devil himself.
But she was proven wrong by underestimating just how...destroyed Outer really was on the result of Sasuke's abandonment.
She didn't want to try again in the hopes of making things better. To achieve a better ending with Sasuke this time. Failing once was one thing but failing twice-no, even the mere possibility of failing again…
Outer was scared, she knows. It was just simple self-preservation at this point.
And that's why even if she's allowed to have mercy for anybody else; criminals, prostitutes, you name it...she vowed that she would never ever hold mercy in her heart for one Sasuke Uchiha.
He didn't deserve it. Not from her at least.
She pummels the Uchiha in every spar, match, practice that they have. And inevitably, as a result of Sakura's...diligence she realizes that she may have unintentionally caused Sasuke's taijutsu level to jump by leaps and bounds.
Or so she thinks as she dumbly stares up at the smirking boy in front of her eyes, his silhouette glowing from the sunlight positioned behind him.
She had-
...lost?
'Hah?!'
She props herself up using her elbows into a more sitting-like position in automatic motions, seemingly in a trance.
She stares at the palms of her callused hands as if they would provide answers has to how she had lost.
And nothing cropped up and she was left muttering a single word.
"...genius." that damnable label. Yes, how could she forget?
She didn't look up anymore to see that disgusting smirk on this...this-brat's face and instead turned her own face away while clicking her tongue.
She brushed herself off as gracefully as she could-
But lost it when she saw him extending out his hand.
She slapped it away and glared at him with enough hate to murder his clan ten times over. It wasn't too far off from her real feelings anyways.
There was a second of...shock? that flashed across his expressions before it settled into that stony silent superiority.
Fucking prick.
Sakura was more careful in her fights with Sasuke after that. Having another fluke by her carelessness would be so embarrassing she would really die then.
He doesn't win after that.
It was common knowledge to everyone at the Academy that Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno had the worst relationship with each other; so much that it was actually offensive to call what they had a 'relationship'.
It was more like a non-relationship.
Whereas Naruto and Sasuke didn't get along like cats and dogs, Sakura and Sasuke got along like Senju and-
Well, one of them actually was an Uchiha but Iruka digresses.
The point is that Sakura looked at Sasuke as if he owed her a debt of a million ryo and wasn't paying up. Her entire attitude (and trust him, the little spitfire's got a lot of it-) was if she couldn't believe she was forced to breathe the same air as vermin. Like the world was doing her dirty by making her live in coexistence with Sasuke.
And of course, as for Sasuke-
Well, who would want to be treated like that?
So he retaliates against her barbs with his own occasional quipps…
-and Sakura pummels him in the taijutsu match for that day to the point where the poor boy's mother in heaven was probably crying while watching over all of this.
...and Iruka feels like apologizing (preferably in a dogeza form) at being unable to stop the violent abuse being thrown at her son.
In any case, in the eyes of everybody Sakura had become something of a local tyrant whereas Sasuke had filled the role of a-hm, he didn't want to say 'bullied kid' but…
In conclusion, it was rather an outcome that no one would've expected or believed without seeing it with their own eyes.
And Iruka had his work as a 'teacher-counselor' cut out for him it seems.
Everybody in the class are probably thinking that Sasuke is...the victim and it's making her want to laugh hysterically like a madwoman preferably in a bathrobe with a glass of champagne in her hand.
But nevertheless she knows that the general sympathy is decidedly not on her side but that was fine, these motherfuckers didn't know shit to be talking.
Honestly, Sakura felt embarrassed for the fact that their mouths were still open and yapping. Her and God are laughing at them right now and they don't even know it.
Anyways. Where was she again?
...right, so she was in 'anger-management-counseling' and 'general-therapy-group' with none other than Sasuke ft. the Hyuugas. As in plu-ral.
And apparently it was mandatory attendance required unless they each wanted to forfeit their ninja headbands and therefore-graduation.
Now after calming down from calling Iruka a 'little bitch' in 23 different ways Sakura's ready to lend her utmost co-operation to this current endeavour.
She turns to Sasuke, and with a saccharine sweet smile on her face full of understanding sympathy-
"...of course I don't think you're vermin! How could I ever, possibly think of you as such?!"
"G..ood?" Iruka encourages uncertainly from the side.
"-you're vermin shit, duh." she finishes in a monotone.
A beat of silence.
There was a 'thump' as Iruka-sensei's head dropped onto the desk.
The smile on her face dropped and her mouth curved into a devilish smirk.
As usual, his only response was to stare blankly for a fraction of a moment before turning away. And as usual, never once was there a flicker, a wavering of emotion in those calm ocean depths of eyes.
Just like now.
Just like in her memories when he left 'her' for the last time.
...it was pissing her off.
'As usual' she thought emptily.
from acapricorn:
"its not short" or so I say about my chapters and my skirt if anybody asks.
