Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto/Shippuden. Except for this awesome plot/storyline XD
Ch2: Predicament
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It was raining outside. But the sound was muffled by the closed glass door. Although from the look of it, it was raining quite heavily. Still, the chattering parents were heard almost clearly. Sasuke turned his head to the left- to where his parents and the others were at. Apparently, they were talking about them and all he could decipher were, "They look good together…" "A perfect match—" "Good business deal—".
Then Sasuke turned away, muffling their sound. He looked at the lady that was in front of him. She was silent all the while, looking down on her laps, grasping at the hem of her skirt- since the moment they were 'allowed' to have some alone time together.
"Hinata…" muttered Sasuke. He was trying to get her attention, as well as to create a conversation with her.
With a soft, almost inaudible 'hm', Hinata raised her head and the two young adults were locking their gaze.
"Business deal, they say…" said Sasuke, assuming that Hinata was paying attention to the others' conversations. However, the dark haired lady blinked innocently, sending Sasuke a signal that she was daydreaming.
"The marriage- what do you think about it?" asked Sasuke. He felt awkward about the whole situation but he wanted to know if Hinata has a different view of it.
"I- I just didn't expect that- you agreed to this, Sasuke-kun…" said Hinata. The slight frown on her forehead was proof enough that she was just as confused as Sasuke, much to the guy's disappointment.
"I wasn't informed of this earlier. I'm shocked too…" replied the Uchiha, almost mimicking the worries on Hinata's face.
"You didn't?" the lady spouted, raising her eyebrows. Now, she was looking rather curious than puzzle.
And this had Sasuke confused even more. "You mean- you know about the marriage before this meeting?" he asked. A slight frown embedded itself across his forehead, as he was staring straight into Hinata's eyes, eagerly waiting for an answer.
"Uhm…" Hinata nodded; "Since the day we met at the cruise, remember? My brother made a joke to your father, but apparently… your father took it seriously…" she spoke softly.
Sasuke sighed at the realization. The realization that his father was always a serious man, and that the joke meant something good actually, that he agreed to it. "Now our lives are a joke to them… So, you actually agreed on this?".
"I- I have to… because it's for the sake of the companies. We'll get a lot of benefits from it…". Her voice trailed off.
Sasuke had an urge to shake his head at her comment but instead, he tried to understand her predicament. He had known her since they were in elementary school and Hinata had always been the quiet type, not much of a protester. Sasuke somehow could not remember much about her though, as he did not pay much attention to her. But he had an image of her hiding behind her snobbish older brother, Neji.
"Don't you ever want to go against your brother? As long as I know you, you're always listening to him…"
For awhile, Hinata stared at her immediate fiancé. Her stare was empty, as if she was in deep thought. That made Sasuke wondered about what she actually had in her mind at that time. Then Hinata's jaw slacking to reply something that is nothing like Sasuke expected to hear from her.
"Then why are you agreeing to it yourself?" she asked.
They were once again lost at words and Sasuke could see the future of their marriage- cold, deafening silence. And as he silently imagining the future, a wild memory of a conversation with Sakura, suddenly resurfaced.
/Flashback
The launching ceremony was too much crowded for Sasuke that he left the event to be handled by his brother. That led to him meeting Sakura in a predicament, being hooked up by Hidan; a well known playboy.
"So, what are you doing here then?" Sakura asked with her arms crossed, as opposed to Sasuke's same question.
"Just like you, taking a break from the crowd…" replied Sasuke as he leaned against the railing. Sakura followed him, and they were side by side, looking at the sea.
"I'm just—" Sakura suddenly thought of Naruto; that she went out here because the blonde was talking to some other people. "—thinking of something…" she said instead.
Sasuke glanced at the pinkette, keeping silent still, and waiting for her to continue. He noticed her expression became somber, as if something was bothering her. But he refused to ask, considering that she was upset because of Naruto.
Alas, she spoke.
"…what do you think of arranged marriage?" was Sakura's question.
Sasuke's heart beat faster and he felt a downright frustration out of nothing. As much as Sasuke thought that the question was rather awkward or out of his comfort zone; he was intrigued as to why Sakura would ask him such question. He grimaced and cleared his throat.
"Why are you asking me this? Are you—" Sasuke frowned; "—getting married?".
Sakura's eyes shot open. She quickly turned to Sasuke and gasp. Raising her hands slightly, she waved them in front of her boss; making the guy blinked in confusion. "No, no, no! I'm not getting married!". Her cheeks started to go as pink as her hair.
Letting out an inaudible sigh, "Then, what is it?" Sasuke asked.
"Just a friend... He's getting married, but it's an arranged marriage…" said Sakura. Then she leaned back on the railing, with Sasuke secretly eyeing her.
"I wonder what does it feels like to be with someone that we never love, for the rest of our life?".
Sasuke has no answer for that. He simply stared at Sakura blankly.
/End of flashback
And Sasuke gave Hinata the same stare. "I wonder about it now too, Sakura…" he thought.
"I can't answer that… I have my reasons…" he said, finally answering Hinata's overdue question.
"I understand. Don't we all?" Hinata chuckled. "Even your parents and my brother, they also have their reasons for this. And I accepted it because it's for the sake of everyone's happiness…".
The stoic Uchiha did not flinch at all. He was conflicted inwardly. Hinata pursed her lips, shrugging a little, she let out a soft whine. "But I've never imagined that we met again in such occasion…"
"Yeah, not like this—"
"No, not this—" Hinata cut in quickly. "I mean at the cruise…".
"Oh-" Sasuke squinted a little at her. He took a hint that the lady was having a train of thoughts of her own too.
"You know, I'm glad that nii-san asked me to come. I can meet up with Naruto-kun… ah- and you too" said Hinata. And Sasuke could not ignore the fact that she was blushing. Not because of him, but someone else that might be playing in her mind right now.
"It's been a long time since the graduation… he never changed…" muttered Hinata.
A soft smile glued on Hinata's face, confusing Sasuke a little bit but he was no idiot. "Maybe Naruto is—" he thought.
Hinata took the glass in front of her and took a sip of the drink, while Sasuke still staring at her, having a distracting thought in his mind. He let it out.
"Do you like Naruto?"
Hinata snapped from her thought. She looked at Sasuke over the glass, with eyes widened.
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Present time…
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/clank
Itachi glanced at his younger brother, then to the two cans of alcoholic drink on the table. He then glanced at Sasuke again- raising an eyebrow.
"That's all I have. Because I'm an unmarried guy, unlike you…" said Sasuke as he rested his back on the couch. He was in the mood for sarcasm, and so does Itachi.
"But you'll be… soon" said the older Uchiha. He felt like smirking to Sasuke, but he did not. He felt pity at him, somehow. "So, you're not gonna do anything about it?" he then asked.
Sasuke simply nodded, drinking from the can.
"But is this what your heart desire? You don't wanna go against dad, for once?"
"I'm not you, nii-san…"
For some moment, they stayed silent; until Itachi decided to pry much more. "What about your girlfriend then?" he asked.
Sasuke glared at his brother for mere seconds before he tore away. He was surprised that Itachi would ask such thing, considering that he had not told anyone, except Naruto. An image of a certain pinkette ran through his mind that he cursed Itachi inwardly for it.
"You've never changed, Sasuke… still a player. I think you're never serious with Sakura- or any girls at all …" Itachi stated bluntly, snapping through Sasuke's thin patience.
Sasuke's eyebrows twitched at the statement, he turned to Itachi again, feeling rage building up inside of him. He felt the urge to shot up from the couch and scream at Itachi's face- telling him that he is serious about Sakura. But all he did was clutching the can- so hard that it bent.
XOXOXOX
It was another day and Sasuke was preparing himself for the monthly meeting, the meeting that he dislikes the most because of its long hour and tons of presentations. He quietly managed his files when the door was knocked and then opened. Rie's pretty face appeared by the door.
"Sasuke-sama… Miss Haruno wants to see you…" she said.
Like an arrow, the mention of 'Miss Haruno' made Sasuke's heart leapt. And unfortunately, cold sweat too. But as usual, he played it cool and it pulled through. He walked back to his desk.
"Let her come in. 10 minutes…" said the young chairman.
Rie nodded in response and invited Sakura to come in. The pinkette entered. She gulped secretly as she walked over to Sasuke's desk while being eyed by the guy. Then she stopped somewhere in a distance that was clear enough for Sasuke to see her and for her to hear him. All the while, Sasuke was observing her. He clearly saw how pale she is. And her eyes were baggy, maybe from too much crying. And the fact that she only put a dull pinkish lip tint on her lips. Sasuke gnawed his feelings inside.
"I was sick…" was all she spouted, before she took a few more steps forward and placed a small white envelope on Sasuke's desk.
Sasuke had to tear his gaze of the pinkette and look at the envelope. "What's this?" he asked.
"It's my letter of absence and the doctor's reference. I'm sorry about the late notice…" muttered the pinkette.
Sasuke took the letter and put it aside. He sighed and his jaw was slacking a little as he stared at the lady in front of him. There were too many thoughts in his mind, and too many things he wanted to tell Sakura- to explain. He wanted to comfort her.
"So how are you?" was all he managed to utter.
The pinkette displayed a forced smile on her face. "I'm fine, thank you. I'm going now…" said Sakura then she turned away to leave the place. A slight frown quickly replaced her smile.
"Sakura, wait—"
Sakura's feet instantly died on its track and she glanced at Sasuke over her shoulder.
"I'm sorry…"
But Sakura did not flinch. She left the room.
.
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The meeting ended and Sasuke went straight to his office. He could felt his head pounding slightly from all the tensions and the fact that he could not stop thinking of Sakura the whole time. Thus the files were smacked hard in a loud thud on the desk and his left fist hit the wooden surface too.
"..."
Frowning and breathing hard, Sasuke had a resolve. He reached for his phone in his pocket and was about to dial Sakura when an incoming call ringing.
/Neji calling…/
Sasuke's eyebrows rose slightly as he answered the call.
A/N: Here's the update. I didn't realized that I took so long for this second chapter because in fact, I hv all the plot written down. Well, anyway, I hope you all like it. Thanks for reading, have a nice day!
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