"NANI?!"
Kumiko could not help but agree with her friends, even if their incredulity had left a ringing in her ears.
"I can't believe him!" Sakura shouted, clearly upset. "Did he just expect you to be all grateful and say yes?"
"Apparently…"
Tenten scoffed, arms crossing as Ino leaned back in her seat, a frown marring her pretty face.
"Wh-Why do you think he's doing this?" Hinata wondered, confused.
"Yeah, he could have his pick of almost any girl in the village!" The brunette kunoichi agreed.
"That's probably it." Sakura muttered. "He can have any girl."
No one argued with her logic; after all, Sakura had been on Sasuke's Genin squad years ago, before they had been split up by politics and the boy's ego.
If any of them could puzzle out his true motivations, it would be her.
"…Or he just wants to get in your pants."
Kumiko nearly choked on one of the sweets Hinata had set out, cheeks bright red in mortification.
"I-Ino!" The Hyuga heiress scolded, moving to help soothe their friend's coughing fit.
"What?" The blonde replied, completely unperturbed. "It's totally possible! I mean, come on! Mimi-chan's one of the prettiest kunoichi in the whole village; you know, besides me."
A sly smile crossed the Yamanaka's face, hinting at her naughty thoughts.
"So many kunai have been trying to get in your pouch, I'm surprised you've stayed single this long."
It took a moment, but once the innuendo sunk in, Kumiko could only cover her face in embarrassment as Tenten and Sakura fell over in a fit of giggles, wondering why she was friends with these people.
A knock at the door interrupted them, and Sakura rose to answer.
Her apartment was close to both the Tower and the hospital, which was the main reason Kumiko had rushed there after the incident.
Sitting in the living room, she worried it had been too obvious a choice.
"Sasuke." Sakura greeted tersely, acid in her tone.
The Uchiha was unruffled by her obvious aggression, barely batting an eye as he replied in kind, voice monotone.
"Sakura."
"What do you want?" The pink-haired kunoichi demanded, shifting in the doorway to further hide the inside of her dwelling from view as the others fell silent.
"I came to talk with Kumiko." He replied casually. "The dobe said he saw her come this way."
Damn Naruto and his need to help everybody, Kumiko thought bitterly.
"She's busy." Sakura deflected curtly. "We're all getting ready for the mission tomorrow morning."
His eyes narrowed, flashing Sharingan red, and Sakura's knuckles turned white on the doorframe, chakra building in her knuckles.
Seeing the epic confrontation coming from miles away, Kumiko moved to intervene as Hinata and Ino stood, ready to help.
"It's okay." She assured, diverting the temperamental girl's attention from the current bane of her existence. "I'll talk with him."
Reluctantly, Sakura stepped back, sending a glare to the now-smug boy as Kumiko took her place.
Taking a deep breath to fortify her conviction, she leveled a rather frigid gaze on the Uchiha.
"Was there something you needed, Uchiha-san?"
With a smirk that would have made his fangirls swoon and faint, he rested an arm on the doorframe over her head, looming over the much smaller kunoichi like a shadow.
"Yes. I need to know when you plan on telling the old man we're getting married."
The temperature in the room dropped significantly, and even Ino could only stare in wide-eyed horror at the barely restrained fury that filled Kumiko's face.
"Excuse me?"
He had the audacity to lean in, as if for an intimate moment, and Hinata felt the scream for him not to do that lodge in her throat.
"Don't try and hide it. We both know you can't take your eyes off me."
For lack of a better word, Kumiko exploded.
In a move Sasuke clearly had not expected, she pulled her arm back and punched him square in the face.
Tenten was rather proud, actually.
It took quite a bit of rage to break a guy's nose in one hit.
"You…You arrogant jackass!" She seethed, resisting the urge to hit him repeatedly. "I wouldn't marry you if my life depended on it!"
With one last, bone-chilling glare, Kumiko slammed the door closed on a flabbergasted Sasuke's face.
Letting out a deep breath to calm herself, she closed her eyes.
Spirits, I just wish someone would understand that I don't want that sort of life…
Kumiko: Is he gone?
Oh, can you imagine?
He asked me to marry him!
Me, the wife of that arrogant, selfish…
Madame Uchiha!
Can't you just see it?
Madame Uchiha!
His little wife! Ugh!
No sir! Not me! I guarantee it!
I want much more than this domestic life!
I want adventure in the great wide somewhere!
I want it more than I can tell…
And for once it might be grand
To have someone understand
I want so much more than they've got planned…
