A/N – I was just making mash potatoes (The kind where you mix the dry powder with the boiled water, milk and butter) while trying to think of a plot for this chapter (since the last one was basically pointless, although I'm happy that people liked it and reviewed! THREE CHEERS FOR THE PPL WHO REVIEWED, YAY!) And while I was mixing in the dry powder, I forgot the turn off the heat and I almost made my mash potatoes explode. So let this be a lesson to all those people out there who are trying to learn how to cook, TURN OFF THE HEAT BEFORE MIXING IN POWDER FOR MASH POTATOES! (Or else the thing will explode on you and that's not good! Dx)
GAAAAH Fanfiction won't let me reply to all of my reviews, but that DOES NOT mean I haven't seen them! I've replied to the ones that FANFICTION let me reply to. But if I didn't reply to you, all I can say is I'm sorry and it's not my fault and I have seen all your reviews and I love them all very much. THANK YOU SOOO much!
OH, ALSO, THE FIRST CHPT OF MY STORY HAS BEEN EDITED! (Thank you Alysha!)
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Naruto. But one day, once I am old enough, I will buy Naruto and then I will not share it with anyone else... Muhahahaha! Ahem… Anyways.
OMAKE: Meeting at the Airport
(A/N: I am now eating strawberry JELL-O with whipped cream (A LOT of whipped cream.) So if any of this doesn't make sense, please blame it on the extensive amount of sugar that I am consuming. Also, this is based on a real story. I just modified the ending a bit…)
20 years old Sakura entered an airport waiting room carrying only her purse and a magazine. Inside her purse, Sakura carried some of her homemade strawberry sugar cookies so she wouldn't get bored (A/N - You know when they say the plane will come at 5pm, they really mean 7pm). After she was seated, Sakura took one of those cookies, bit into it, flipped to an article on drug abuse and started to read, slowly getting lost in it's contends.
A man with dark eyes and hairstyle that can only be described as a "chicken-butt" walked into the waiting room (A/N - I think we all know who that is!). He goes by the name of Sasuke. Sasuke sat down in one of the leathered seats in the waiting room. Opening his backpack, Sasuke brought out a bag filled with strawberry sugar cookies (sound familiar?) and a… traveling guide (A/N - That sounds so Sasuke-ish! All work and no play. xD). Just when Sasuke was about to take one of the cookies, a woman with pink haired walked in, sat down beside his cookies (A/N - the cookies are in between them…) and took one. The man gave a confused look, hoping the pink haired goddess… er, woman didn't see the look on his face. He took a cookie and went back to reading his… traveling guide, waiting to see what the woman would do next.
Sakura was shocked. Did the chicken-ass haired freak just take one of her cookies (A/N - GASP!)?! How dare he? But Sakura, being taught always to be polite even to strangers while growing up, decided to ignore it and went back to her story, while taking another cookie, secretly wanting to see what the man would do.
A little while after, Sasuke took a cookie, and then Sakura took a cookie. This kept going until there was only one cookie left. Sakura eyed the cookie, wanting to see what the man would do. Sasuke took the cookie, broke it in half, ate one half and left the other half in the bag. Sakura was shocked! 'Okay, first he takes my cookies and now he has the guts to do this?' Okay, now Sakura was mad. She stormed off into her plane - thank god it was here. Sasuke eyed the woman, wondering what he did wrong.
On the plane, Sakura opened her purse to see that her cookies were still there. She gasped… Then that meant…
After Sasuke got comfy on the plane, he opened his bag, only to find the cookies in his bag. 'Okay…' the young man thought. 'If those weren't my cookies, and they weren't hers, then whose cookies were they?'
A/N – I just had to write that. After my friend told me the story, I just had to re-write the story! I thought that was so sweet! In the real story, they were the man's cookies and on the plane the woman realizes they were the man's cookies. Anyways, I should probably get on with the story.
THE CHERRY BLOSSOM CHRONICLE
Chapter Two: Struggles in Confession
This is Talking
This is Anyone's Thoughts
This is Inner Sakura/Sasuke
FLASHBACKS ARE IN ITALIC
RECAP…
"Sakura entered a room with a pale green door, smiling at whoever inhabited the room. Sasuke looked past her shoulders (it wasn't hard considering the fact that Sasuke was at least a head taller than Sakura) and frowned.
"Ohayou Lee." Sakura greeted the Green Beast of Konoha. "How are you doing?"
Sasuke felt something erupt inside of him. Hate. Pain, and… jealousy? Okay. Deep breaths Sasuke. You cannot, and I repeat cannot fall in love with Sakura. DO NOT fall in love the Sakura. He glanced at the pink-haired angel in front of him.
Oops, too late."
Sakura skipped cheerfully into the room, placing the flowers on the small night table by Lee's hospital bed. Sasuke only glared at the spandex wearing ninja before following Sakura into room. 'What's this feeling I'm getting?!' screamed Sasuke in his mind. 'Why do I want to kill Lee, cut him into tiny, little bite size pieces and feed him to piranhas?!'
'Because you don't like to see Sakura give that smile to anyone else but you…'
'Who the hell are you?'
'Simple, I'm you. And I thought you were smart!'
'Just shut up.'
'I won't. Not until you tell Sakura your true feelings for her.'
'I don't have any feelings for her, damn it!'
Meanwhile, Sakura had started waving her hands in front of Sasuke, trying to somehow get his attention. As you can see (or read), it wasn't working. Whatever Sasuke was thinking about was obviously important. Not like Naruto's 'Oh-My-God-there's-no-more-ramen!' important but more like Sasuke's 'OMG-I-still-can't-believe-Itachi's-not-dead!' important. And to tell the truth, neither was very important to Sakura.
'Sure you don't. Stop denying it! You know denial's not good for anyone!'
'I'll say it once, and I'm not going to say it again. I AM NOT IN DENIAL!'
"I AM NOT IN DENIAL!" Oops, I guess he didn't mean to say it out loud. Sakura stared at Sasuke, not that she minded since he was so HOT. Lee blinked a few times and the nurses were now staring at Sasuke for his outburst.
Sasuke just stood there with a shocked expression. Then…
"Hn," Sasuke stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Are you ready to leave?"
Everyone sweat dropped. The nurses went back to their work, Sakura muttered something about 'At least he was talking like a normal human being for once…' while Lee just went on ranting about Sasuke's use of bad language in front of his cherry blossom (Sasuke twitched when Lee said "MY CHERRY BLOSSOM"). Sakura then said goodbye to Lee before following Sasuke out of the hospital.
The "couple" headed towards Ichiraku to have lunch, although neither of them was hungry.
After ordering, Sakura decided to ask Sasuke about his "outburst" in the hospital. Although knowing that any questions that she asked would be answered with a "hn", "Aa" or the rare occasion of a "yes" or "no". But despite the fact that she would not get an answer, Sakura would still try to get at least one sentence out of him (or sometimes, if she's lucky, A WHOLE PARAGRAPH!). Maybe Sakura hadn't noticed, but she was the only person (other than Naruto and Kakashi) that Sasuke had opened up to. Sasuke once took the time to tell her about how his family was murdered by his older brother, and he told her his dreams of someday killing him and avenging his family and also, he hope to someday restore his clan with a woman (Sakura blushed at this) that he thought was worthy of giving birth to an Uchiha.
Sakura and Sasuke were waiting by the bridge, hoping that Naruto and their ex-sensei would arrive soon. It had been about three months since Sasuke came back and he seemed as cold as ever. 'So the human ice cube still hasn't melted heh?' Sakura sighed. Nope, he will never melt.
"Hey Sakura…" Sakura jerked her head up to meet the dark eyes of the youngest Uchiha. She cocked her head in confusion. "Yes Sasuke-kun?"
The Uchiha looked into Sakura's emerald green eyes, Sakura stared back. She could see so much pain, fear and worry in his eyes. And judging by the bags underneath his eyes, she can tell that he hadn't been sleeping much. But despite all his flaws; Sakura knew that there was a kind soul down there somewhere. Someone just has to melt away the hard exterior to reach the softness on the inside. Sakura wished she could do that, but it looked like the Uchiha wasn't about to let anyone help him, let alone a girl who he thought was weak for several years.
"Would you like to know about my past?" Sasuke asked, hoping the answer would be yes.
Sasuke had been waiting for a long time to tell Sakura about his past. He felt like he needed to tell someone about it. He remembered when he told Kakashi and Naruto about the Uchiha massacre, he felt that some of the weight and responsibility had been lifted off his shoulders, it just drifted away. He felt that the people he chose to surround himself with could help him get over the fact that if he left the village again, he might lose everything that really mattered to him.
Sakura's eyes lit up. "Of course Sasuke-kun! I would love to hear about your past." Sakura's expression suddenly grew serious. "I know it must be very painful for you to talk about such a sad, sad thing, I know what it feels like. I lost both of my parents, talking about it will help you get pass the fact that they're gone. I'm happy you're willing to talk to me about it and I'm always willing to listen!"
Sasuke was shocked. If all girls acted this way towards him, then maybe he wouldn't have left Konoha in the first place. But then again, Sakura wasn't like other girls; she had actual ambitions in life that could be accomplished where the other girls dreamed about getting married to people they've never even met before. Sasuke smiled at Sakura – it wasn't a smirk, either, but an actual smile.
"Hey Sasuke," Sakura smiled back at the Uchiha. "You look WAY better when you smile."
Sakura smiled at the happy memory. She was still glad that the cold Uchiha finally opened up to her, even though it was just that one time. Sakura looked at the raven haired boy beside her; he must be in so much pain. Yes, she may have lost her own parents when Orochimaru attacked Konoha, but she couldn't image the pain of her own family/clan killing one another. (A/N – I don't think Orochimaru actually kills her family in the manga/anime, but it does make the story more… exciting, I guess.)
Sasuke turned his head, catching Sakura's eye. He smiled at her, a tiny smile, but a smile nonetheless.
'Tell her you like her, dumb ass!'
'Great, you're back. I thought I got rid of you.'
'You will never get rid of me, as long as Sakura is blind to how you feel, I will exist.'
'Damn, so you mean here's no way of getting rid of you?'
'Nope.'
Sakura cocked her head to one side and frowned at Sasuke. He seemed so deep in thought, with that same emotionless look plastered across his face. Sakura poked him; she just had to poke him.
"What the hell?!" Sasuke snapped out of his trance, pulled out a kunai and looked around. After realizing that no one (or rather, Sakura) was under attack, he slowly returned his kunais back into his kunai holder and sat back down next to Sakura. Sakura blinked innocently at a very confused Sasuke.
"Is something troubling you Sasuke-kun?' Sakura asked while she slurped her ramen. "You seem really out of it today. You know, spacing out and stuff."
Sasuke glared at the Kunoichi sitting beside him, an innocent puppy look plastered on her face. Sasuke frowned and gave in.
"Sakura, look," Sasuke began to explain. "I have… these unusual feelings for this girl in the village, and I'm not sure exactly how to explain it." Sasuke took a deep breath before continuing. "This feeling, it's kind of like…" Sasuke thought for a minute. "It feels like I would do anything for the person and if she's talking or smiling to any guy other than me, I would want to rip the guy apart. I want to protect her with my life, and I don't know how to tell her about these feelings."
Sakura gave him a sad smile, knowing that would never be her. She knew in her heart that no matter how hard she tried and how hard she dreamed, she would never be with Sasuke. Sasuke needed someone better, more powerful and more beautiful than her. Little did she know, she seemed perfect in Sasuke's eyes.
Sasuke looked for a sign of hope, hope that she might have seen through his charade and found out that the girl he described was really her.
'Keep dreaming…'
'What do you mean? Sakura's smart, she'll figure it out.'
'No, are you THAT dense? Look at her eyes. She's obviously convinced herself that it isn't her! You can almost see the tears!'
Sasuke looked into Sakura's eyes, and sure enough; he could clearly see the tears threatening to fall. Sasuke frowned again. He hated to see Sakura cry. What had he done? Sakura stared down at her food, trying not to cry. 'I should be happy for Sasuke-kun. He's finally learning to love again.' Sakura gave Sasuke a fake smile. A smile that said 'I should be happy for you but why do I feel so empty inside?' Sasuke frowned at the girl. What was he supposed to do, tell her that the girl was her?
"Um… Sakura? Do you want to know who the girl is?" Sasuke sighed, he was finally going to tell her his true feelings.
"Um…" Sakura hesitated; did she really want to know?
"HI GUYS!" Naruto suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Sorry I missed out training session today…" the hyper active blonde trailed off seeing Sakura's sad face. Naruto frowned, and then glared at Sasuke. "What did you do to Sakura, Sasuke-teme?!"
Sakura's eyes widened and she shook her head violently.
"Nononononono…" Sakura yelled, and stood up so fast, that she knocked over her stool. "Sasuke-kun didn't do anything, Naruto. Whatever would give you THAT idea?"
Naruto looked at his best-friend/sisterly-figure. "Tons of things. The fact that your sitting here with him when we all know he'd rather be training" - Sasuke twitched at this –"and by how you've reacted, you NEVER spaz when I ask you if you're okay."
'Wow, the dope actually said something intelligent today. Hinata must be really rubbing off on him…' Sasuke thought. Secretly, he knew it was partly his fault that Sakura was sad. He was just too… egotistic to admit it. Sasuke got up, paid for the food order and headed for the forest.
"Let's go train. We only came here because we knew Naruto would be here." Sasuke began to walk away with his hands shoved into his pockets once again.
Sakura and Naruto exchanged looks and followed the Uchiha heir. Upon entering the forest, Sakura sensed a familiar chakra. It was kind of like an Uchiha, but it wasn't Sasuke. She knew there are only three people with the Sharingan eye - Kakashi, Sasuke and HIM. Since Sasuke was with them and she knew it wasn't Kakashi's chakra she sensed… Then it hit her, well almost hit her. As a kunai flew towards her, Sakura spun around and skillfully caught the kunai.
"Who's there?" Sakura yelled into the trees, which got the boys' attention. They turned their attention to their female teammate who clutched the kunai in her hand. "Show yourself!"
The man in the shadows smirked at the pink-haired kunoichi. Nothing but a pair of piercing red eyes behind the blackness of the shadow he's hiding behind. Sasuke froze at the pair of red eyes. As he realized who their mystery attacker was, he stopped breathing, slowing reaching for his sword from behind his back.
The man with red eyes smirked at the three Jounins.
"Wow, who ever heard of a shinobi with pink hair?"
Wow, short chapter. I'm going to write a fight scene next chapter. I'm sure we all know who the "man with red eyes" is. Anyways, I'll make sure to write a longer chapter next time. I'm trying to update once a week. I'll write an OMAKE (which means bonus by the way…) to make up for the short chapters at the beginning of every chapter. Oh, and thank you to Alysha for editing!
m e d a r i