Title: Begin Again
Summary: She had thought that was it for him. That he would never again be the Sasuke she knew. That he would always be trapped in darkness, and his only freedom, his only real relief, would be death. That sadness would forever engulf him until death came to embrace him.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Rating: M
Author's Notes: Thanks for reviewing, guys! Here's the next chapter. Xo
Chapter Four
"What do you want?"
Sakura pressed her lips together, her cheeks heating at the sight before her. There stood Sasuke, clad in only a towel hanging low on his hips. His body was wet, his hair dripping. He glared at her, oblivious to the affect he had on the poor pinkette.
"I-um...hi," she said stupidly.
"What do you want?" he repeated, harsher than before.
"I just-I mean, I came to talk to you." She held up the bag of tomatoes, as if it were a peace offering. "But I can see that you're not decent. So I'll come back another ti-"
He retreated back into his house, leaving the door wide open, an offer to come inside. She wondered for a moment if she should really enter his house while he was half naked. But her hesitation disappeared almost immediately, because this was Sasuke, who hated even the slightest touch of someone else's skin.
She walked in, closing the door gently behind her. "Sasuke-kun?" she murmured, following him into the living room. She held out the bag of tomatoes again. "These...these are for you."
He glanced at the tomatoes and then back up at her. He didn't take them. "Why are you here?"
"Like I said, I want to talk to you."
"So talk."
"Could you put some clothes on?"
"No."
She placed the tomatoes on a table and bit her lip. "I...I just wanted to apologize for what happened earlier. I mean, I guess I still had bad feelings about you because you tried to, you know, kill me." She let out a nervous laugh. "But then again, I tried to kill you too. So I guess I have no right to be angry. And, um, it's not your fault that you don't feel that way about me. You can't force someone to love you, and-"
"...Sakura."
"I just think that-"
"Sakura."
"But I think we should-"
"Sakura."
"...Yes, Sasuke-kun?"
"Just shut up," he said, running a hand through his wet hair. "That's enough."
"Did it hurt you?" she asked bluntly. "Did it hurt you when I tried to kill you?"
A pause. Then, "What?"
"Did it hurt you, Sasuke-kun?"
"Nothing hurts me," he lied, and then turned and started making his way towards the bathroom. Sakura followed.
"O-oh," she replied quietly. "R-right. I kind of forgot you were...you know, you. Untouchable or whatever."
Sasuke stopped in front of the open bathroom door and turned to face her with a raised eyebrow.
"What I mean is that n-nothing hurts you, and..." she stopped, shook her head, and started again. "Never mind. I guess I should have known that me of all people wouldn't be able to...hurt you. Or make you feel anything, for that matter." Again, she laughed, but it didn't quite reach her eyes, and Sasuke noticed. He didn't like it. And it bothered him that she didn't understand that in actuality, she of all people could make him feel more than he could ever want to.
"Well? Are we done here?" he asked.
"Are we okay now? Is everything...okay between us?"
"Nothing was ever wrong between us," he told her, and they both knew he was lying.
"Right. Well, um-"
"Why did you try to kill me?"
"What?"
"You heard me," he snapped. "Why did you want to kill me?"
"I didn't want to. I just thought I had to, because you were so consumed by evil, and I figured that the only way to get you to stop was to-"
"End my life?"
"Sasuke-kun..."
"Nice to see how quickly you gave up on me."
She gaped. "T-that's not fair, I never wanted to do it in the first place! I didn't give up on you, I was just tired of watching you suffer, I didn't want you to be alone-"
"I've always been alone."
"And I hate that. I don't want you to ever be by yourself-"
"Since when was it your job to keep me company?"
"I loved you, Sasuke-kun, I just-"
"You loved me?" he asked, his tone as bitter as the look in his eyes.
I still do, she wanted to say, but she kept her mouth shut and looked away. "That's not what I meant."
"Forever is not a really long time in your mind, is it?"
He was using her own words back at her, and she hated it. She did love him, she still loved him, and she would always love him. He was being so unfair. "Sasuke-kun-"
"I'd like to get back to my shower now," he said tonelessly, gesturing at his wet body, making Sakura's cheeks heat. "By myself. Unless you're planning on joining me, since I can never be alone."
She flushed and shook her head. "No," she said softly, not really sure what she was talking about. She turned to walk away and was almost at the door when she heard the quiet call of her name. She stopped, but she didn't turn around.
"Did you mean it?" he asked, and his voice sounded almost weak. "When you said that no one has loved me like you have?"
"Yes, I did, Sasuke-kun."
"...Get out, Sakura."
This time, she did not argue.
XX
"I've seen you suffering long enough. Go make a move."
Ino glared at her stupid best friend. "Are you an idiot? How many times do I have to tell you that the guy makes the move? God, you're so dumb."
"Who cares who makes the move?" Sakura snapped. "Shikamaru is the laziest guy on the planet! He doesn't even like to move to use the bathroom! Just go!"
"Shut up, Billboard Brow! You don't know anything!"
"Guys, p-please," Hinata murmured. "Let's stop fighting."
"Hinata, stop fidgeting. Your hair will never come out right if you keep moving."
"S-sorry."
"Don't be so rude, Forehead! She's just getting antsy because of how much time you've been spending on her hair!"
"Shut your damn mouth, Ino-pig! We're sitting on the floor of a stupid flower shop for Kami's sake, how fast do you expect me to go? It has to turn out perfect! This is Hinata's first date, and it's with the guy she's in love with!" Sakura glared. "You could be out with the guy you're in love with, too, if you had the balls to approach him."
"The balls to approach who?" a deep, familiar voice drawled, and they all looked up to see Shikamaru standing there, hands in his pockets.
"Ino has a crush on you," Sakura said, smiling up at him.
"I'm going to kill you, Forehead, I swear to-"
"Well, whatever. It's true."
Shikamaru opened his mouth to speak when a certain hyperactive idiot came running in. "Sakura-chan!" he called breathlessly, panting when he reached them. He paused and winked at Hinata. "Hey."
Hinata blushed. "H-hi Naruto-kun."
"What do you want, Naruto?" Sakura asked. "I'm busy."
"There was a flood."
Her eyes widened. "Where? What happened?"
"...In your apartment, Sakura-chan."
Sakura gaped. "N-no way-"
"And I kind of told Sasuke-teme that you'd be sleeping in his apartment until everything sorts out-"
"WHAT?!"
"You guys need to learn to bond! We're all teammates, and we-"
"I am going to kill you!"
"Sakura-chan-"
"There's no way I'm sleeping there!"
"You...kind of have to."
"Why?!" she shrieked.
"Because I knew you were going to object, so I went to Tsunade and gave her my idea of the whole 'teammates needing to bond' thing. And she agreed that you have to."
Naruto swore he'd never been punched so hard in his life.
Hope you guys enjoyed! Review please, next chapter will be up as soon as possible. Thanks! Much love xo
