Thanks to the lovely readers who reviewed:
-J. Proudmoore (I'm extremely sorry! I'd added your name in last chapter but it didn't appear there. Sorry!)
-SakuraluvSasuke0718
-anon
-Life'sNotPerfect
-ILoveSxS
-UchihaYukiLuna (Thanks for defending my Authors Note :D)
-SapphireRivulet (HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN!)
- Fist. Of. Fire
-blackdiamond jester
-Katkato24
-SasuSaku Forever and Ever (Don't mind it at all. I understand your problems ;) So don't feel guilty about not being able to beta this fic :D)
-LoremasterLia (Thanks for backing up my A/Ns. Thanks for the compliment too :D)
-black-red-rose-girl
-xxRaianx
-xXNinjaXGalaxyXx
-Sakura Haruno ROCKS17[(Haha! Really now? You want to marry this fic? Well, then I will think about it ;)]
-xXxtellmewhyxXx
-Tu Amur
-HollowRangiku (Thanks for the compliment! I'm glad you think it's one of the best ^_^)
-Kami- Hime
-DarkBlueLynx
-andychan
-Yuki- Hime 2097
-Sweet. Crazy- DramaQueen (Thanks! Well, we aren't much lucky to get Gramps like Seiichi ;) Though we could always wish… :P )
-Hotaru Himura
-KiiroIka
-cat in dreamland
-Sam- AKA- SakuxSasuLover
-xxxemiko. itooshixxx
-TigerLilyette
-Mystic Sorrow
ATTENTION: I'm going to change my pen name from "azura14" to "Lilac Queen". Keep that in mind! Don't forget! And please read the A/N at the end of the chapter. It's very much important!
Beta-read By: Kanryu (She's going to beta this fic from now on. Go check out her fics! They are way better than mine!)
READ THIS PLEASE!
Sanjo Festival Info:
Date: Third week of May- mainly on Friday and Saturday.
Place: Asakusa Jinja Shrine, Asakusa, Tokyo
Sanja Festival is one of the three biggest festivals in Tokyo, along with Kanda Festival and Sanno Festival. It became very popular during the historically significant Edo Era (1603-1868), and still today it features the parading of more than a hundred 'mikoshi' (portable shrines) carried aloft by local residents in and around the crowded streets near Sensou-ji temple.
It is so rare...to find a complete person, with a soul, a heart and an imagination; so rare for characters as ardent and restless as ours to meet and to be matched together, that
I hardly know how to tell you what happiness it gives me to know you.
—Hector Berlioz
It was ten in the morning when Sakura unlocked the door to her house. A thin, icy rain was falling, hurrying her inside to shiver in the warmth.
She didn't bother to call out. She knew her housemate, Ino Yamanaka, would be out, wheeling some real estate deal. Ino was her cousin from her mother's side. And her third housemate, sister of Ino Yamanaka, Sayuri Yamanaka, her other cousin, had moved out months before, when she married Shiniya Domyouji.
Sakura still missed her. The three of them had roomed together for years and had all but grown up together before that. They'd been a trio from college campus to apartments to the houses Ino had begun to acquire.
Knowing Sayuri was wildly happy with everything was what she wanted, yet Sakura still caught herself glancing up those stairs off the foyer, expecting to see Sayuri come flying down them.
Sakura draped her coat over the newel post. She had the entire afternoon free, she realized, and there were dozens of things she could catch up on. Including a long, hot bubble bath. But that was going to be her second order of business, she decided. Food was first.
She headed back to the kitchen, rubbing at the ache she'd worked into her neck by spending four hours sleeping on the lounge sofa instead of getting into one of the cots.
She'd get one of the physical therapists to give her a neck-and-shoulder-massage before she started her next shift.
She smelled the roses before she saw them. There must have been three dozen, pale as snow, long stems tucked into a gorgeous crystal vase, then spearing up to end in tightly curled buds.
One of Ino's men, she assumed, and indulged herself by sniffling, then sighing over the mass of blossoms. Her romantic heart had a weakness for roses and for foolishly extravagant gestures.
She crossed over to the refrigerator with little hope. Since Sayuri had moved out, the pickings were invariably slim. They'd often said Ino never ate, Sayuri always ate, and Sakura herself ate only when food was shoved in front of her.
Without much enthusiasm, she pulled out a carton of yogurt, checked the expiration date on the bottom. Well, what was a week when it came to curdled milk, anyway? She decided, and pried off the lid. She closed the door, and then tugged the note attached to it down to read while she ate.
Sak, approval on the roses. What other secrets are you keeping from me? Will interrogate you later. Messages for you on the machine. Gramps Seiichi. Don't ask me. And some sexy voiced man named Sasuke. Flower guy? Hmm. Well, as a doctor you'd know Sasuke's good for you. Back by six. Maybe.
—Ino
Frowning, Sakura read the note again, then glanced at the flowers. She stared at the little envelop back among the stems. She plucked it off the clear plastic holder, tapped it thoughtfully against her palm. Then, with a shrug, she tore it open.
They looked like your style.
Thanks in advance for the help.
—Sasuke
"Oh." She couldn't quite suppress the giddy little thrill as she looked at the roses.
"Mine," she murmured and leaned over, inhaling deeply. Then she caught herself and stepped back. Three dozen long-stemmed white roses was definitely an overstatement. A terrific one, but nonetheless…
She was going to have to be more direct in discouraging Sasuke Uchiha. Grandpa, she mused, just what are you up to and what have you done?
She turned to the answering machine, punched for messages, and had to grin as Seiichi's voice boomed out.
"Hate these damn things. Nobody talks to anybody, just rattles away to machines. Why aren't you girls ever home? Sak, I've a young friend who needs a bit of help. He's a businessman, spins a good company under his control. But then, he's an Uchiha, so what would you expect? Does well with ordering people and gaining profits. You'll give him a hand, darling, won't you? A favor to your old grandpa. He's a nice boy. His mother went to college with yours, so he's not some strange man off the street. Ino, I spoke with your father. He said you're buying another house. That's a lass. And would it hurt either of you to call your grandmother now and again? She worries."
Sakura chuckled and combed her fingers through her hair. A typical Seiichi Haruno message. But it seemed harmless enough. The son of a friend of her mother's. All right, then, there seems to be no plot or scheme behind it. Just a favor, an easily granted one.
Satisfied, Sakura picked up her yogurt again, got out a spoon, then hit the button for Sasuke's message.
"Sakura."
She paused, with the spoon nearly to her lips. There was something about the way the man said her name, she thought. Using the romantic whole of it, rather than the quick and easy Haruno. Were they on first name basis already?
"Hn. It's Sasuke Uchiha. I hope you got some sleep. And I hope you like white roses. I was thinking, that I'd appreciate an hour, anytime today. I'd offer to buy you lunch or dinner, but I don't want to put you back up again. I have to run a couple things by you—hospital history and all. If you can manage it, give me a call. I'm planning on being in all day. I'll see you tonight."
She didn't bother to note down the number. She'd remember. Thoughtfully, she spooned up yogurt. It was a reasonable request, she supposed. There had been nothing flirtatious in the content or the tone. He seemed emotionless enough. Laughing at herself, she scooped up another spoonful. Just listen to yourself, analyzing every nuance. It was exactly what had caused her such embarrassment the night before.
The man was a professional, and so was she. She could certainly give him an hour—if for no other reason than to secretly apologize to him, and to her grandfather, for being so suspicious.
She picked up the phone and punched in his number.
Sasuke was working in his study, since he brought his work home today. His new acquaintance could accept his offer for company and he might not be able to recuperate if he's in the office. So, he had his work files brought here. As he was contemplating his new plans for the hospital, his cell rang. He picked it up and answered at the third ring. A smirk formed on his lips at the familiar number.
"Uchiha. Hello, it's Sakura Haruno. Thank you for the roses, they're lovely."
"Hn, good. Did they work?"
"Work?"
"Did they soften you up enough for you to give me an hour?"
"No. But the message I got from my grandfather did. I didn't realize our mothers went to college together."
"A couple semesters, I'm told. Mine went to interior designing, and yours, apparently, went on a variety of things. My mother says that Kasumi Haruno was interested in everything"
"And still is. I can meet you at two. Konoha Downtown will be best. I've some shopping to take care of."
Two, Sasuke mused. After lunch, before dinner. Clever woman. "Two's fine. How about meeting me at the Sapphire Rivulet's Hotel? They serve a pretty great tea."
"Yes, I know." He guessed the thought of rich, creamy pastries must have been tempting for her. "Fine. Two o'clock, in the main lobby."
Sakura was exactly on time, a habit her cousin Sayuri called most irritating. She'd taken that long, hot bubble bath, which had done wonders for the stiffness in her neck. She'd had researched a bit about Sasuke Uchiha, just 'cause she wanted to familiarize more with his style of work before the meeting.
She would have given precisely the same review and thought with a patient's history before treatment, or an acquaintance's personality before buying a gift. She was a thorough and meticulous woman, one who had graduated from medical school years before the norm and was now the youngest surgical resident to ever serve on the staff of Konoha Leaf Memorial.
She'd worked for it, and she knew she'd earned it. There was no discounting the advantages she'd grown up with. Her family was loving, supportive, and generous. They had backed her in every decision she made along the way. She also understood that wealth, the kind Harunos could claim, smoothed many bumps in many roads.
But it was the love of medicine, the mystery, the art, the science, of it that had sealed her destiny.
She wandered through the hotel lobby, appreciating the grandeur, the grace of the ornate coffered ceiling, the huge urns filled with towering and exotic flowers, the marble and the gilt. Just the kind of thing you'd expect for the Uchihas to have. After the research, she'd found out that this beautiful hotel is owned by the Uchihas themselves. Judging by the distinctive name, she had it confirmed. Sapphire Rivulet. Gracious and elegant. Not to mention the cozy atmosphere.
Sasuke was waiting for the elevator to reach the lobby, the rendezvous point with a certain pink-haired woman. His eyes caught the woman's presence he was anticipating. And she looked, Sasuke thought as he stepped off the elevator and saw her, like a rich man's college-age daughter come to town.
She'd changed into dark blue skinny jeans and a white floral chiffon top accompanied with Lanvin multi-strap light pink silk satin and gros grai bow sandals. She had a silver golden handbag draped on her forearm and a thin silver watch with diamonds embedded in it resting on her right wrist and in her left hand, there was a diamond bracelet. And when his gaze traveled upwards, his entire demeanor froze. Her pastel pink-colored hair was styled in waves with bangs freed on her forehead, and an apricot colored flowered headband was decorated within them. Her pale face was free of make-up, save for the pale pink lip gloss on those heavenly soft and supple kissable lips and some black eyeliner on those stunning emerald eyes.
She looked absolutely breathtaking. It took every ounce of his Uchiha resistance to restrain himself from ravishing her right then and there. He was simply smitten by her appearance. She looked alert, refreshed, and not nearly as fragile as she had the night before. Her aura emitted a rejuvenating feeling which he could sense even from the far off distance. But no matter how sexy she looked, her naïve and innocent attitude still remained. He should have expected at least this much from her. A Haruno is always prepared for a paparazzi appearance.
He took a deep breath and braced himself for encountering her statement-making presence whilst glaring at the men who were staring at her with lusty eyes. His jaw clenched at any one of them even trying to make a move towards her. That man would not see sunlight ever again, he'd make sure of that. He growled at a few men in his way, who were obviously busy staring at the pink-haired goddess before them. The men immediately scattered, sensing the strong murderous aura coming from the ebony-haired man.
Sakura looked around, searching for the Uchiha who was going to share his company with her. After a bit of observation, she found him making his way to her from the elevator. For some reason, his jaw was hard set and he seemed to be glaring. She assumed he was just in a bad mood, but that didn't spoil his good looks even a bit. Of course, Uchihas were known to be so handsome that one would prefer to go through hell for attaining those features.
He was dressed in black jeans and a black and white checkered shirt adjunct with a dark grey sweater, along with his black and grey Nikes. He adorned a black Rolex watch on his right wrist. And his disheveled hair, with some of his ebony bangs that hung on his forehead loosely, were just adding to his sexy demeanor.
He practically radiated an egocentric and conceited aura. She had no doubt that he had a pompous attitude as well as a short temper, too. After all, all Uchiha men were known to have it, or else they wouldn't be rightfully fit to be called an Uchiha. One more attribute of theirs was the player's stance, though she had qualms that the rumored stance of theirs is not true. It's just that they are very popular with women, which led for false anecdotes. She shook her head, as if to rid her head of the thoughts currently occupying her mind, and concentrated on the approaching Uchiha.
"You're prompt," he said as he walked up to where she stood.
"Yes, an annoying habit of mine."
"I like prompt women." He took her arm and turned her towards the elevators. "Wasting time is not appealing for Uchiha men." He used a small key to access a floor, then turned to smirk at her as the doors slid shut. "You look great, a striking beauty. Got some rest, I'd say."
She gave him a polite smile in return, with a faint blush on her rosy cheeks, which had his heart beating a mile for each second. "Thank you, yes. You look quite handsome yourself. Where are we going?"
"Up to my suite."
Her eyes deepened, her lids lowered, her lips were set in a straight line and her thin eyebrows furrowed, as if she was intensely thinking about something. He didn't doubt that she was contemplating whether to smash him and escape or to just go with him. Suspicious, as he expected. Seeing her bewilderment, he had to chuckle.
"Sakura, you really are so trusting and naïve. People will take advantage. Relax," he added before she could speak. "I've ordered tea. We'll convey things in the suite. It's more convenient for both of us to discuss there and avoid interruptions from hovering waiters and meddling crowd or fans. No hidden agenda. I'm not going to confine you and have my way." Though I'd love to if you allowed, he added mentally.
"All right, since I happen to be very hungry. I didn't think of you as that kind of a man. I know you must love women, but I'm also sure you must be respectful towards their wishes, right?" He didn't miss the deadly threat hidden beneath the polite tone. Hn, she's one with a small patience for pointless things. Always straight with things, he guessed. "Anyway, you live here? I thought you lived in the Uchiha mansion." So she had done some research about him, huh? Just like he estimated, precise and thorough.
"I do." He took her arm again, to lead her off the elevator. "But sometimes I live here. The press figures it's an eccentricity, the Uchiha living in a hotel. It works well for me, better to avoid the crowd and some fangirls. Since it's my hotel, it's pretty much like my own house, with a high class apartment, daily maid service, room service, and a really quick place to crash when tired. You've got a great smile. Why are you finally giving it to me?" I was waiting for it, he thought inwardly.
"My parents essentially lived in a hotel until after I was born. And they often still do. I'd live in one, too, if I could get away with it without letting Grandpa know about it." She gave a cheeky grin to him with a wink. "I don't consider the choice the least eccentric."
"Right, I'd forgotten. The Harunos love traveling and have habituated with almost all the well-known places, and your uncle, Jun Haruno, has almost his business spread all over the places. Casinos. Vegas, Atlantic City, New Orleans, Europe. Your family's cost me some loss—indirectly."
"There's nothing we enjoy more." She waited for him to unlock one of a pair of wide double doors, and then walked into the spacious and smartly appointed parlor. She noted the sleek black laptop, with a full-size monitor attached, on the end of the walnut dining room table. There were some files scattered around—what she thought as—a study table. There were stacks of books, papers, coffee cups littered around.
"I'd say you bring your work here from office. This would be a very quiet and convenient place to work."
"Hn, it does the job for now. Occasionally I get an itch to build a mansion of my own out of town, to escape the never ending fans. It usually passes, but I expect it's going to stick one of these days. Can't live with parents forever."
"If it does stay, you should call my cousin, Ino Yamanaka. She's an expert on real estate."
"Aa. The Flower Girl."
Sakura angled her head. "Yes, the press dubbed her that when she had excelled in her flower-arrangement course. She thought it was amusing. Even at seven, Ino had a well-developed sense of the ridiculous."
"Would have been a kick growing with media surrounding all the time. No one knows better than me. All cousins are excelled in some concept. One of them just had a big, splashy wedding last spring."
"That'd be Sayuri. Are we here to discuss my family or your research?"
"Hn. Just making small talk." Prickly, he thought. Protective. "Seiichi likes to brag. I've heard enough about his kids and grandkids that I feel as though I know them. Bragged about you for an hour, at the very least. He's very proud of you." He said with amusement lacing his tone, remembering his meeting with Seiichi Haruno.
"I know." Sakura's eyes softened again. "I tend to be defensive about my family. Another habit."
"That's a mutual trait with Uchihas," he told her with a smirk. The bell ranged and he excused himself to open the door, not before telling her to make herself comfortable.
She decided the efficient place to sit was at the dining room table, at the opposite end from his workstation. She smiled at the room-service waiter, listening to Sasuke giving him some instructions. "Champagne?"
"No." He noticed the brief dislike in her voice.
"Just covering the bases," he said while rolling the cart to her. "Dig in." He gestured over the plates of sandwiches, scones, and pastries. "You said you were hungry."
"And you said you wanted to discuss the hospital history and stuff with me." She picked up the teapot, and poured two cups. After she was done pouring—which was in an elegant way, of course—she handed a cup to Sasuke, their fingers brushing briefly against each others'. Sasuke felt a jolt of current at the smooth silky touch of her pale and slender fingers against his. Attractive in every aspect, indeed.
He toned down the running surge in his body on the thought of ravishing the beauty before him. Her delicate figure was something which he feared of harming, and that's why he was able to resist. He wouldn't want her to break her, he was sure.
"I was thinking if there should be a psycho ward included," he began with his eyes staring at her accusingly in a teasing manner.
"Psycho, as in?" She asked him, confused.
"Some psychopathic doctors, I mean- who go berserk randomly. Should take precautions."
"Lovely. Are you suggesting someone like me?" She caught on his former look. "Woman like me who work three days shift without a break?"
"No. You're a stunner, to be exact."
"Really now?"
"Yeah. I figured you don't see any good female psychopaths today."
"And what makes you think, may I ask, that males are an exception on following the psycho path?" Defensive much?
"Who said about them being an exception?" He asked with widening his eyes a bit, to prove his innocence on that matter. The pinkette wasn't fooled.
"Whatever," she huffed and puffed her cheeks haughtily at him. He had to chuckle at that. She looked beyond cute, though she passed that mark way beforehand.
"Didn't know that Dr. Haruno was childish," he chided.
"Am I?" A frown appeared on her face, her lips dangerously close to forming a pout.
"Absolutely. You've got the looks—not just the beauty. I mean the air of fragility, the delicate bones. The grace and the efficiency, and a deadly glare that can scare even the most powerful of men," he said, his onyx eyes narrowed and intensely focused on Sakura's face. "I couldn't find a better prototype."
On one hand, he insulted her strength, and on the other hand, he complimented her features. She decided to be amused rather than insulted. "For an idol psychopath?"
"Yeah." He smirked dryly, and his eyes went from cool to warm smoke. "Do you mind?"
"I think I'm oddly flattered. So, if there were a film made out of this—whatever it is, the villain, that would be me, is a doctor woman, who heals with one hand and kills with the other." Her smile was a deadly one. He could practically feel the coldness.
"There you go. You're quick." He slid forward a bit in his chair. "She'd be absolutely in control, knowing exactly what she's doing and rather enjoying it. The power of healing, the thrill of destroying. Of course, she'd be insane, but that's a different level. And she wouldn't be a genius like you."
"I'm not a genius. I'm just a good student."
"Sakura, you were in med school at Harvard years before you were old enough to drink; in most states, you are a genius. A Haruno prodigy, nothing less to be expected. So, there's still male territory in the world, right? The boys' club. Then there's the God complex that you possess. That arrogance and ego that comes from having your hands inside the human body."
"Arrogance and ego?"
"You've got them. I could see it when I watched you work on those kids yesterday. You snap out an order, it never occurs to you that it won't be obeyed—immediately obeyed." He didn't notice that he was speaking more than he normally would. "You stride from one room to next, and people come to attention. You don't notice, because you're used to it. You expect it. You hold the expectations of absolute respect and obedience, that confidence in yourself. You have much rage and frustration, Sakura?" He didn't detect that he was already out of main business line.
Good Lord, he moved fast. "Now, or in general?"
His face practically beamed at her with a teasing grin. "I really like your voice. High-class, frosty. If a character were to be based off on you, she'd have to handle both the subtle and overt sexual harassments and advances on the job. I figure she would mainly be mutilating men 'cause she finds them inferior, irritating, obstructive and obnoxious." He was, of course, defining the pinkette's personality, indirectly referring her to a fictional character.
Her smile bloomed again, coolly amused by his interpretations on her, for she was no idiot to catch them late. "I'm beginning to like her."
"That's good. I figured one day she'd finally snap the connection she has on her humanity and turn to a full-on raging psychopath."
Sakura decided it was more productive to be amused and intrigued than to be annoyed. "Well. The pressure is outrageous. A number of doctors wash out simply because they can't handle hospital work, the vicious hours, and the miserable bureaucracy. Untimely emergencies, budget cuts, interrupted personal lives. Not many people enjoy this kind of schedule, you know." He immediately sensed the defensive tone.
"Keep going." He rather enjoyed her flushed face when she was angry.
The hour had run to ninety minutes before she remembered to look at her watch. "I'm running behind. I've to go, if I'm going to finish my Sanja Festival shopping before my shift."
"Finish? It's the first week of May, and the festival doesn't start till the weekend of the third week." His tone hinted absurdness.
"I'm an obsessive overachiever." She rose and got her handbag, removing a red jacket out of it.
"I'll go with you." He said it even before he could think of it.
"Shopping?" She was bewildered. Didn't men think of this activity as boring and pointless?
He was up; helping her into her red jacket before she could do it herself. And he took the opportunity to sniff her hair and catch the fruity scent of her Garnier shampoo, and rolled his eyes in approval over the top of her head—which barely reached his chest; she wouldn't know the difference. "I've excellent buying taste. And I can pick your brain some more while we're at it. Then I can run over to the hospital with you."
She could feel the brush of his ebony locks on her neck as he helped her, but decided to ignore the tingling sensation.
"Another obsessive overachiever," she commented.
"That I am. I'd be glad to see the set-up of Konoha Leaf. And maybe you would get to know me better and vice versa. Don't you agree?" His baritone way of speaking was enough for intensifying the hidden meaning.
Sakura cocked her head. She knew a line when she heard one, however cleverly it was delivered. "Rough, tough and cynical. I'd undoubtedly enjoy trying to kill you whilst walking. I'm still on the Graveyard shift after all."
"That's what I thought." He gave her a smile, albeit a subtle one, and slipped his hand down to hers, linked their fingers—sighing softly at their soft and tantalizing feeling against his—and pulled her out the door.
Hey guys~ The outfits that I've written for Sasuke and Sakura, you can find them on my Flickr account. Please DO check the outfits as it will give you an idea about why both of them were slobbering over each other ;) There's a link to my flickr account in my profile, at the top. Open the set titled "END 2 Outfits"
Sorry it took this long to update! I was sick with high fever and weak eyesight -_-" Well, now I updated! And thank you so much for the reviews you gave. I was crying happy tears, really! 31 reviews is a big deal for me! WHO LOVES ASHER BOOK? MEEEE! For me, he's the second closest guy resembling Sasuke. Aren't I lucky? ;)
So, um, … gimme 50 reviews for this chapter? NOOO! JUST KIDDING! PUT THE KNIVES DOWN! DON'T KILL ME! AAAAHHH! Though, I won't mind getting 50 reviews (PUT THE FORKS DOWN!). But I don't think I'll get that much ^_^ I know I'm not capable enough to expect them. But one can dream, right?Cough-wheez-cough
Also, I'VE POSTED MY THIRD ONE-SHOT! BOOYAH! Go check it out! It's titled "Letter's Between Uchiha and Soon To Be Uchiha". I tried my luck in crack. It's a Giftfic for SapphireRivulet as her birthday present ^_^ Wait o.0 Do you know that I've posted my second one-shot titled "Lady Doc"? Well, haha, I guess not ;) Then check it out!
AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW BOTH OF THEM!
Also, now, I wanted to tell you a bad news, but I'll delay it to the next chapter. It's concerning this fic, alright. Now please don't leave without a review. Leave one as a token of appreciation for updating even in my sick state. And sorry for the long Authors Note!
So REVIEW, my lovelies!