Love, Actually

Chapter 2

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5 Months Later…

Sakura yawned widely as she stretched out in her chair.

Today had been such an exhausting day for her. Patient after patient had trickled into her office all through the morning and there seemed to be no stop to them. It didn't help that she had stayed up the whole of last night thinking, theorizing and experimenting on a possible faster way of healing internal injuries.

Sakura sighed. Now that it was her lunch break, and how she yearned for a nice, long nap…

Without even realizing it, she closed her eyes and pillowed her head in her arms, quickly falling to sleep on the desk. But suddenly, something hard slammed onto the table and Sakura bolted upright with a small yelp. She instinctively gathered her chakra to her clenched fist and swung towards the intruder. One punch from that would knock them through at least a dozen walls.

When her sleep-addled brain finally processed exactly who was standing in front of her desk, Sakura stopped her attack. Her hand hovered mere inches away from the calm face of the intruder.

"Pig," Sakura scowled in displeasure.

Ino rolled her eyes at the nickname and replied just as snootily, "Forehead."

Sakura let out a deep sigh and resumed her former sleep position. She had less than an hour of her lunch break left, and by God she would use every last second to get some well-deserved rest! When she heard no reply or movement from the blonde, she snuck a peek. Ino was still standing in front of the desk, with her hands crossed over her ample chest.

"Go away Pig," Sakura moaned miserably. "It's my lunch hour and I need to catch some shuteye or I'm seriously going to die from exhaustion!"

"Nonsense Sakura," Ino clicked impatiently. "Come on."

Ino walked around the desk and pulled Sakura up. The pink haired woman struggled to get her arm free but Ino refused to let go. She dragged Sakura out of the office and into the corridors of the hospital.

"Ino, where are we going?" Sakura asked pointedly, finally jerking her arm free.

Ino stared at her calmly. "We are going to have some lunch together. I have something I need to tell you."

Around half an hour later, the two women were sitting at a table outside a restaurant. Sakura was wolfing down her noodles like she hadn't eaten in days. Ino eyed her friend's table manners in distaste but said nothing. She merely nibbled at the corners of her salad in a thoughtful silence. Sakura wondered what Ino could possibly want to tell her that was so important, but she didn't say anything. She would let the blonde tell her in her own time.

"Sakura…" Ino finally began, and the woman raised her brow in surprise. For Ino not to refer to her by the nickname… Whatever the matter was, it had to be something quite serious. "There's a rumour in Konoha that I think you should know about."

Sakura frowned. A rumour? That was the all-important topic? "What rumour?"

"A rumour about Sasuke-kun," Ino replied softly.

Sakura's expression grew serious and her frown deepened. "Talk."

The blonde sighed. "There's been this rumour going around Konoha for some time about Sasuke-kun. Everyone seems to know about it and they call it the 'Scandal of the Century' or something."

Sakura snorted. "Scandal of the century? Okay Ino, so tell me. What exactly is this rumour and how is it the 'Scandal of the Century'?"

"The rumour is that…" Ino hesitated and bit her lip. "Sasuke-kun is cheating on you."

There was a moment of shock on Sakura's face, before it faded and she dissolved into helpless giggles. Ino observed her friend's reaction in surprise and secretly she wondered if Sakura had turned hysterical.

"Sasuke? Cheating on me?" Sakura continued to laugh. "Have all of these people lost their minds? Seriously, don't they have anything better to do than to come up with silly lies about my marriage and my husband?"

"… I don't think they're wrong, Sakura," Ino replied quietly.

She finally stopped her laughing and stared at her friend. "What, you actually think that Sasuke is cheating on me? How can you say that Ino? You know what he's like, you know he won't do something like this to me."

"People change, Sakura. And Sasuke-kun is no exception."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. Let's say the rumour is true. Sasuke is cheating on me. But how can I have never heard about this before? I work at the hospital Ino, and that place loves gossip more than Naruto loves ramen." Sakura waved her hand to emphasize her point.

"Gee. Tell a woman who can cause an earthquake with her bare hands that her husband is cheating on her. I don't know why anybody didn't think of this before," Ino replied dryly.

"Don't get snappy with me Ino. There's no way Sasuke could be cheating on me. He wouldn't do that to me. He loves me. Would he have married me if he didn't? There were plenty of other girls chasing after him back then but he chose me, Ino. Me. So what does this say?" she questioned.

"Like I said Sakura. Feelings fade, and people change. Sasuke-kun is no different."

Ino was being so logical and calm about this. She really appeared convinced that the rumour was true. But Sakura knew her husband. She knew him. He wouldn't ever cheat on her. He just wouldn't.

"Why are you so sure that Sasuke is cheating on me?" Sakura asked, annoyance coating her tone.

"Why are you so sure that he's not?" Ino retorted.

"I trust him. And besides," Sakura sniffed, "I've never had any reason to doubt him. Sasuke always tells me where he's going, who he's meeting with and if I'm not around he leaves a note for me. He's never behaved suspiciously around me and I've certainly never smelled an unknown scent on his clothes before."

At her explanation, Ino's expression changed.

Previously, there had been a cool sort of impatience on her face. But now… Though she didn't show it outwardly, the pink haired medic felt just a tad unnerved at the pity she could see in her friend's eyes.

The tiniest bit of doubt started to creep into her.

"Sasuke-kun is cheating on you Sakura," Ino stated firmly, "I know because I've seen them and they weren't even anywhere private. They were in public." She paused then, letting that information stew in her friend's brain for a bit. "When I saw them, Sasuke-kun was so different. He was all gentle, kind and tender with her and I've never seen that side of him before. He smiles at her too Sakura. He actually smiles."

"But Sasuke can't be cheating on me," Sakura insisted stubbornly, like a small child who was adamant on having her way.

Ino sighed softly and Sakura could still see the pity in her eyes. She hated it.

"I'm telling you Sakura. Sasuke-kun is cheating on you. And what's even worse is that he's cheating on you with a woman you both know," she added, and Sakura felt her heart skip a beat. She clenched her fists so tightly that they trembled. "Think about it. If you were both friends with the woman, it wouldn't seem strange to meet her and there would be no strange scent on his clothes."

Sakura could feel her faith in her husband dwindling. She was also sorely tempted to cry.

But… this was Sasuke they were talking about. Her husband, Sasuke, they were accusing of being unfaithful. Rather than believing such words and doubting him, shouldn't Sakura, as his wife, instead trust in him and his love for her?

Suddenly in her mind's eye, Sakura could see it.

She could see how much her husband enjoyed her being in his arms at night. She could see how passionate he would be every time he kissed her. She could see how much he worshipped her body every time they made love. She could see how much gentler his eyes became whenever they saw her. Sasuke really loved her, she was dead certain of that. That's why he would never do this to her.

"Ino," Sakura said in a determined voice, "I trust my husband."

The blonde looked ready to strangle her friend. "Gods Sakura," she moaned, "You are so freaking stubborn!"

Ino fell silent and took several deep, calming breaths. She didn't speak until she felt like she had sufficiently calmed down enough and therefore wouldn't throttle Sakura for being such a bull-headed, irritating and overall frustrating idiot.

"Look Sakura, I am not making any baseless accusations about Sasuke-kun because I saw him together with her. I am telling you about it because you're my friend and I want you to know the truth. I don't want you to be duped by them." Ino went quiet for a moment as she pondered on her next words. What she would tell Sakura could send her friend's marriage past the point of no return. "… That's why, I have something else to tell you. The woman that Sasuke-kun is with… She's pregnant."

Sakura felt her blood turn ice cold. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came.

"She's in no relationships and she's a single mother. No one knows who the father is because she refuses to say anything about him. But it's clear to me and to everyone else that Sasuke is the father. Otherwise, why would he be so devoted to her instead of you?"

Sakura cringed at that last sentence. Sasuke? Devoted? To another woman? A pregnant woman?

"Sorry," Ino mumbled, after reflecting back on her harsh words. But Sakura didn't appear to have heard her. She was so caught up in her thoughts and the blonde could see the despair and the heartbreak appearing onto her face. She almost felt sorry for causing it, but then she reassured herself that technically, she wasn't the one who caused it. She wasn't the one cheating on his wife. She wasn't the one who had impregnated another woman.

Ino was just the messenger. It was never the messenger's fault.

The blonde sighed, deciding to give Sakura some space to think about what she was going to do now. She turned her face, looking out to the streets. Her eyes roamed almost lazily around, noting the activity of the street with disinterest. As her gaze passed a shop selling baby merchandise, she saw something that sent her jaw dropping in shock.

"Oh fuck," she breathed.

Her whispered curse snapped Sakura out of her thoughts. She felt some curiosity when she noticed her blonde friend staring at something in a certain direction, and so she craned her head to look as well. At first, the pink haired doctor couldn't be sure what she was supposed to be looking for. But when she finally spotted it, she felt her heart tear in two.

Across the restaurant, there was a shop selling all matters of baby merchandise. And in it, was Sasuke.

He was standing in the clothes section, rifling through the selections with a purpose. Sakura swallowed dryly at the small smile that appeared on his lips when he picked out one particular outfit that had caught his eye. Sasuke opened his mouth, calling somebody's name and a moment later, a pregnant woman with long raven hair emerged from a different section to stand in front of him. Because of the woman's position, Sakura couldn't see her face, only part of her back and side.

Although the answer was already obvious, Sakura still found herself asking, "That's her Ino? The other woman?"

Ino sighed softly and nodded. "Yeah, that's her."

As Sakura watched Sasuke hold up the outfit in front of the woman's pregnant stomach, tears gathered and fell from her green eyes because of the expression she saw on his face. The utter relaxation of his features, the soft crinkling of his eyes, the small but nonetheless tender smile.

Before, Sakura used to think that she was the only woman Sasuke would ever look at like that. But now…

"Do you want me to go over there and give him a piece of my mind for you Sakura?" Ino questioned gently.

"N-no." Sakura croaked out, still crying. She supposed that if other women had just discovered their husbands were cheating on them, they would feel rage. Indescribable, uncontrollable rage. But not Sakura, no. She didn't feel the slightest bit angry. (Perhaps there would be a time later, much later, where she would feel anger so strong that it seemed as if it could cause earthquakes.) Right now though, Sakura just felt sorrow.

Sorrow, and heartbreak.

Because yes, of course she was heartbroken.

Sakura had loved Sasuke with all her being, and yet he betrayed her like this. It seemed like throughout her life, Sasuke had done nothing but broken her heart. Each time it happened always hurt more than the last.

Sakura's heart lurched painfully when she saw the way Sasuke's eyes lit up as the woman spoke something to him. In the next moment he smiled an open, devastating and sweet smile before wrapping his arms around the woman's waist. He didn't let go but held on and closed his eyes, breathing in deeply. There was a certain peacefulness to his look now as he whispered something in her ear.

The pink haired woman finally turned away from the scene. She couldn't bear to look anymore.

Ino eyed her friend in concern. "Are you going to be all right Sakura?"

"No," Sakura mumbled with a shake of her head. "… I just need… some time to myself… to sort through everything… "

"Of course." Ino agreed. "Do you want me to go to the hospital and let them know you'll be off for the rest of today?"

She nodded once. "Thanks."

"No problem Forehead." Ino stood up to leave. As she took a few steps for the street, she heard Sakura call her name softly. She turned around and saw the silent horror slowly dawning on Sakura's face.

"Ino," she gasped, as if she were being suffocated, "When you said that Sasuke and I are both friends of this woman… You couldn't possibly mean…?" She couldn't finish the sentence, but Ino knew that she had finally put things together.

Ino let out a sigh. "That's right. It's Higurashi Kagome."

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End Chapter

Hello there my lovelies. Welcome to a revamped Chapter 2!

Thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites! Those really brighten up day. :)

In this chapter, I expanded a bit (*coughscoughs*a lot*coughscoughs*) on Sakura and Ino's conversation. I also cleaned up alot of the dialogue since it felt a bit stilted and unnatural in Version 1.0. Hopefully it flows much better now...

I'm looking forward to posting Chapter 3, mainly because it has Sasuke and Kagome... :D

Please let me know what you think!

~Beans