Up Until Now

Chapter 4

Oh Goody

Sakura spent the rest of the weekend studying and catching up on any homework or reading assignments. It proved distracting whenever her mind flashed images of a certain Uchiha at random intervals. This she expected, considering the events of this Saturday were still fresh in her memory.

What left her baffled though, was the fact that it wasn't only one Uchiha boy that kept her thoughts busy.

It was hard for Sakura to distract herself at home, especially when her parents were working extra long hours and shifts at the hospital this weekend. Being alone and all, her mind wondered constantly, up to a point where she straightforwardly became annoyed and irritated with herself.

'Get yourself together, girl!' Inner reprimanded her. "You are a strong, intelligent and independent woman. You don't waste your time fawning over hot guys like the Uchihas.'

'Not helping,' she thought back dryly, currently busied making herself a sandwich in the kitchen. 'By the way, should I use ham or baloney?'

'Why the hell are you asking me that?'

'Just answer the question. Baloney or ham?'

'You answer this question then: Sasuke or Itachi?'

'Ugh.'

She did not think she would see her parents before school on Monday when she thought she was seating herself for a lonely breakfast. To her pleasant surprise, a very exhausted mother of her was sipping casually away at her coffee with a newspaper in hand. Her fatigued face slightly brightened up when she saw Sakura walk into the kitchen and take a seat in front of her.

"Good morning, dear," she greeted offering a tired yet fond smile to her daughter. "How have you been?"

Sakura smiled back, almost getting tired for her mother's sake. "Hi mom, I've been good. Is dad still at work?"

She saw the older woman take a deep breathe through her nose. Sakura could tell she was beyond tired and would like nothing more than to pass out for a good few hours. What took her by surprise though, was the sad and dark look that coated it.

"Sweetie, your dad and I are going through a rough time," she explained suddenly, all colour drained from her eyes. She started to finger the handle of her coffee mug, purposely avoiding the wide-eyed look of her daughter. Needless to say, the friendly breakfast mood had been violently crushed.

"How . . . how long has this been going on?" Sakura forced herself to ask, something invisible constricted around her throat. All confusion was replaced by utter and complete misery. Sakura was not stupid, after all. She knew from that one sentence what her mother was trying to tell her.

The shock was so overruling though. All thoughts she might have been having at the moment were flushed into nothingness, twirling around in bits and pieces. Through this experience, Sakura desperately tried to claw at the pieces, clumsily hoping to regain her thought of mind. In the end she proved too weak.

Her heart began to ache.

She felt past memories of her childhood flash before her eyes like a disorganised pastiche of a poorly constructed Hollywood film. It seemed to happen in a manner of seconds.

Her mother's eyes closed for a moment, like it was painful to only think about the concept.

"A few months."

Sakura felt like her head would explode. She had always taken pride in her normal functioning family and she had liked to think they were all happy together. Apparently, things were not always as they seemed.

"Where was I when this happened?" Sakura asked frantically, searching an answer in the deep worn-out eyes of her mother, who finally had taken it upon herself to look her daughter in the eyes. Those irises held a heartbreaking precision Sakura felt no part of.

"School," she answered simply. "We fought at the hospital sometimes. I've been put on probation," she admitted heavily, head shaking in a very weary manner. Sakura's eyes became desperate.

Even in a heavy moment as now, Sakura couldn't stop herself from appreciating her mother's form of honesty with her.

"How, mom? How did you get put on probation?"

Her mother waved her hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. I'm considering giving up my position at the hospital, anyway."

Sakura felt like a new world was opening up to her. Her house had always felt so empty with her parents' constant absence, and in the end, it turned out they were having troubles with their marriage. To top it all off, her mother might lose her job, but wants to quit it anyhow.

"Why?" It was all Sakura could manage to get out now. She was very close to tears, feeling betrayed and hurt in so many places in such a short time. "And where's dad?"

"You father's staying at the hospital for the time being," her mother explained, putting on a brave face. "Honey, I'm sorry, but I can't take it anymore."

Sakura had never heard her mother sound so discouraged and miserable before. In truth, Sakura knew she was closer to her mother than she ever was to her father. Never in million years would she force herself to take a side, but most compassion went her mother's way none the less.

"I'm not sure we'll be getting back to together," her mother voiced with a mundane finality, voice slightly cracking.

It was like a cold hard stone hit Sakura right in the middle of her chest. The pain in her throat increased by a hundred and her eyes soon brimmed with soft tears she never thought she'd be crying anytime soon.

Why would she? Everyone thought her life was average. Everyone assumed, after all, that she would not have anything significant to cry about. Her entire way of life could change from this one issue, and it scared her to bits.

She felt her mother take her hand across the table.

"Don't worry dear, I'll take care of you," her mother tried to comfort and Sakura was soon a heap of tears. "I have a bit of good news though."

Sakura's head rose slightly to look at her compassionate mother. "A University nearby offered me a position as a consultant for their medical program. The plus side is, I get paid better and the hours are shorter."

Sakura's head began to pound. This was, up to date, the worst breakfast of her life, but the news calmed her a little. She connected her eyes with her mother's once more.

"If-If it makes you happy, t-then I'm happy," said Sakura through a few sobbing sniffs and hiccups. Her mother stood up from her seat to take her daughter into her arms.

"I'm sorry, honey. We'll get through this together. I promise."

"C-can I skip school today," asked Sakura a bit shakily, feeling all strength she might have owned fade at the thought of attending school on a day that had started to horribly.

Her mother sighed tiredly. "I guess. But only today, understand?" The last part was put a little more sternly, but it had an assuring way of comforting Sakura. She felt herself relax in her mother's arms, thinking how different life would be from now on.

'Well, I did not see this coming,' was Inner's idea of a comforting comment.

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Sasuke entered to the homeroom of class 7, the idiot trailing happily after him like a lost retriever. He was babbling about some nonsense or whatever, but Sasuke paid him no mind at all. He was too distracted and it had proved an annoyance all weekend long.

He had purposely avoided speaking to his brother since their small challenging stare before Itachi left to drop off Sakura. It was mildly difficult, because Itachi always seemed to be waiting for him around the corner. This had forced him to the security of his room and he did not leave once until this very morning. His parents had been not present the entire weekend anyway, so he was left alone for a good part of this hiding episode.

His eyes scanned the inhabitants of the classroom intently, searching for a specific head of pink. He searched for her for a good few minutes, failing to spot her eccentric shade of hair among the classmates.

Where was she? As far as he could tell, she'd never missed a day of school this year so far. Was she sick? Did something happen?

Sasuke found himself having a small fit of mental panic. Did Itachi have something to do with this? What exactly happened when he left to drop off Sakura? Subconsciously, Sasuke felt his teeth grit.

God forbid it that bastard did something to her-

"Hey Teme, what's with the whole face looking like you want to murder the next person who speaks to you?" Naruto poked at his friend curiously and Sasuke swatted his hand from his shoulder.

"That would be you then, right Dobe?" he responded with a smirk and Naruto only narrowed his eyes.

"Something's off about you today. What's the matter?" Naruto asked, face suddenly turning compassionate. As a sign of support, he rested his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Is it that time of the month again?"

Offended, Sasuke roughly shoved Naruto's hand off of him and gave him a swift smack behind the head. "Idiot."

"Ow! That's not nice, Teme!"

"Hn. So is your face."

"That's it. I'm going to-"

"Dynamic Entry!"

Both Naruto and Sasuke turned to face the person who had both arms hooked around each of their necks. He smiled at them with utter and complete happiness. It creeped them out to no end.

"What are you two youthful souls doing not enjoying the spring time youthfulness that surrounds us on this glorious day?!" he asked, or more like yelled in their faces. Both teenagers now sported a strained face.

"Get. Off. Now," Sasuke forced through his teeth. Lee complied, taking it upon himself to salute both Sasuke and Naruto.

"Yes, Captain Sasuke!" and he left to take his usual seat.

Naruto made a low whistle once Lee had left. "I gotta tell ya, Teme. If that guy wasn't so good at shooting hoops, I'd pull a stunt I might regret."

Sasuke scowled. "It's strange how the talent turned out to be this year," he remarked bitterly. Someone passing by stopped to stand next to him. Sasuke recognised him by his infamous pair of eyes.

"Hn, Uchiha. That makes you the captain of the weirdos," Neji pointed out with a smirk of his own.

"Making you a weirdo too," Sasuke added, flashing his own smirk.

Right from where they first met, Sasuke knew he'd get along well with Neji Hyuuga. It was the intimidating way he handled himself that only rivalled Sasuke's own state of personality. It was not that they were close friends, but Sasuke held a high latter of respect for him.

On many business gatherings they would keep each other company – well, as good as company as any Uchiha or Hyuuga would be at such an event. Sasuke found he liked Neji's view on certain opinions and even thought he'd like this guy as his vice-captain. Naruto did prove a handful sometimes.

"Look, are you guys going to block the doorway the entire day or are we actually allowed to get through?" chirped a nagging voice behind the three boys and all of them turned to face an annoyed brunette with twin buns on her head. Next to her stood a shy and embarrassed girl with dark long hair, nervously playing with her fingers.

Sasuke was about to make a snide remark, maybe just huff or something but Neji beat him to any social encounter when it came to this specific girl. For the first time, Sasuke actually realised that, beside his cousin, this was the only other girl Neji interacted with.

"Are you quite sure you can fit through the doorway, Tenten?" Neji asked, raising his eyebrows whilst crossing his arms. Hinata struggled to stop Tenten from massacring her cousin in broad daylight.

"That's it! I've had it up to here with you, asshole! I'm going karate on your ass this time!" she yelled, aggravation building up in her eyes. Hinata pulled at her arm in a desperate attempt to restrain her.

Now, it was not a secret who honed the greatest fighting skill in the school. After all, Tenten had won countless prizes and trophies for her performance in any martial arts tournaments she competed in. She was also renowned for her fierce personality around any boy who deemed her weak or girly.

Yep, that was Tenten for you.

Despite this, Neji Hyuuga did not even blink at the girl who was desperately trying to claw her way to him. He also did not seem to grasp that he was mere inches away from death, if not several hours of enduring pain and blood.

No, that was Neji for you.

"I think you really broke her this time, Neji," Naruto muttered by his shoulder and the other just smirked before turning away to leave.

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"Don't just walk away from me! I swear, one of these days-"

"Tenten, please just c-calm down. People are staring," Hinata desperately insisted because she was starting to lose faith in herself to restrain her friend successfully. There was also the fact that she didn't want her cousin dead.

Hesitantly, Tenten settled down and Hinata could release her with a relieved sigh.

"I can't believe you're related to that jerk! This is probably the fourth time he's made fun of my weight! Not to mention he took on my hair last week . . ."

She grumbled all the way she walked to her seat.

Hinata could only nod in understanding, trying her very best to calm down her friend. "Don't take anything he says personally, Tenten. I-I'm sure he doesn't mean it."

Tenten only huffed. "Does he talk to you that way?"

"Uhm, no, he doesn't talk to me much. When he does, it's very formal . . ." she admitted, somewhat defeated. Tenten felt a pang of sympathy for Hinata.

"Well, you're family. He should treat you better," she assured Hinata firmly and she offered her an encouraging smile. Inside, Tenten was still fuming though. From her seat she saw Neji take his own chair with the usual pompous air he carried around him.

The class was still scattered. A few people socialised here and there. A new face then entered the class room and Tenten saw Ino make the usual entrance she did.

"Morning!" she greeted, coming over to stand in front of Tenten and Hinata.

"Hey Ino," Tenten greeted aloofly.

"H-hi Ino."

Ino nodded at her friends, hands on her hips. She then turned her head to search the class.

"Where's Forehead?" she asked and Tenten shrugged. Hinata only shook her head.

"I-I don't know. I saw her this weekend . . ." she trailed off remembering the events that had taken place the previous Saturday. She vaguely wondered whether Sakura was maybe mad at her for abandoning her with unknown company. Hinata felt herself feel guilty all of a sudden.

"Hmm, class doesn't start for another five minutes," Ino observed, glancing at the steep Swiss watch on her wrist. "She should be here by now."

"M-maybe her alarm didn't go off?" Hinata suggested and Ino rubbed her chin in thought.

"Maybe."

But five minutes came and went and sure enough, Sakura did not show up for class. This was new to Ino, Hinata and Tenten, because for as long as they'd known Sakura, she had never missed a day of school before.

An eerie feeling hung over class no 7. It held a distinctive air of something missing. The class seemed so much smaller than it usually did.

Kakashi noticed this when Sakura did not answer his call when he marked down attendance for the day. He scratched his head with his pencil. This left him dumbfounded.

"Does anybody know where Sakura is today?" he asked, getting no response from the small group of teenagers in front of him. Sighing hopelessly at their lack of efficacy, he lazily rested his chin on his hand.

"Well, who wants to take her homework for her?"

Ino was about to loyally raise her hand when a cold voice cut her action across.

"I'll do it," a snide voice announced from the back of the class. All present in the room turned in their seats to stare wide-eyed at Sasuke Uchiha. This included Gaara.

It was probably the most uncomfortable ten seconds of Sasuke's life – something Naruto was never going to let him live down. He knew he should take this chance while it was presented to him though. He could take Sakura's homework for her after practice – when Itachi would come to pick him up.

Shit. He forgot about his brother. He would probably have to ask him to take him to Sakura's house, something he wasn't entirely sure about regarding accurate location. He'd have to ask Naruto.

Said idiot was gawking at him like he had spurted a second head. Damn, he wished everyone would stop looking at him.

Kakashi was the first one to return to the planet earth. "Uhm, thank you, uh, Sasuke. I'm sure Sakura will, er, appreciate it."

The class then slowly, one for one, turned back in their seats. Naruto was still gaping at his friend like a fish, but took it upon himself to shoot the other a questioning look that clearly read: Who the hell are you?

Sasuke easily ignored him and prayed the bell would ring so he could escape from this room of disturbing inhabitants. He had offered out an act of kindness. Was that so hard to believe?

The bell chose to ring and Sasuke thanked whatever god was up there, probably laughing at him. He made a bolt for the door and was out of the room before any other had made it. Naruto was second out though, sitting at the front and all.

"Teme! What the hell was that? I didn't know you were friends with Sakura!" he nearly yelled as the hallways began to fill with busied children. Sasuke punched him on the arm.

"I am not friends with her!" he hissed. "I merely . . . owe her a favour," he found himself lying. He owed her nothing whatsoever.

Naruto crossed his arms at his scowling friend. "Really?"

"Why would that be so hard to believe?" Sasuke inquired, many of his classmates passing him with strange looks directed to him. He paid them no thought.

"Because you don't accept help in general, let alone return it," the blonde stated all too knowingly. He then grinned. "Oh, I get it. You like her, don't you?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Dobe," Sasuke scoffed, scowl increasing. He didn't want Naruto interfering with his plans unnecessarily.

Naruto's grin only widened. Sasuke didn't like where this was going.

"Come on Teme. I've known you since kindergarten. I can tell something's off."

"Humph," was the safest thing Sasuke could afford to let out before he turned his back on his best friend. "Let's go. We're going to be late for class because you're acting like an idiot as always."

"Hey! I'm no idiot!"

"Dobe."

"Teme."

"Dobe."

"Teme."

...

"Dobe."

"Ugh."

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The whole while through school Sasuke found it became implicitly hard to concentrate on any work presented his way. He was annoyed, not only by Naruto's constant bickering concerning the Sakura girl, but also because he couldn't stand the fact not knowing where she was.

It was a strange feeling – the feeling that something was missing and the same feeling the class had shared this morning. It lingered around all his classes the entire day. He became so frustrated at lunch; he barely acknowledged Naruto and decided to flatly ignore him until practice this afternoon.

He had hoped however, that once school ended and he'd find himself on the school's well-kept basketball court, he could set his mind in order and finally attain some focus. This dream never came true.

After a while he realised he was taking his frustrations out on his team and had regretted it instantly when they all pulled a cold shoulder on him. Being shunned for his colder than usual behaviour left him feeling perturbed and he called the session off, sending everyone home in a bewildered and relentless silence. Naruto had left without uttering a word to him.

Sasuke found himself sitting alone beside the court, playing with the ball between his fingers. He thought he was alone, but the footsteps he hears echoing through the room made it evident he wasn't.

"Uchiha."

"Hn."

"Heard that one before."

Sasuke refused to look up into the piercing eyes of Hyuuga Neji. A glare from the guy always sent an uninviting chill up his spine, making him feel distinctively uncomfortable. For the first time, Sasuke realised that he was probably partially afraid of Hyuuga.

"You're more of an ass than I am today," Neji remarked rather smugly and took a seat on the reserve bench next to Sasuke.

"Practice is over, Hyuuga," Sasuke stated, fairly grudgingly.

"I know. But I want to know what the hell got your ego in a bunch," said Neji. Sasuke still refused to look at him.

"It's a girl, isn't it?" he confirmed, almost too knowingly for Sasuke's liking. Instantly upset by this, Sasuke shoved the ball into the other's stomach. Neji only grunted at the sudden impact, but kept his usual cool mask on pretty well.

"What would you know about anything like that?" Sasuke heard himself grumble, finally looking up to scowl at his teammate.

Neji paused for a fraction of a second. "Because I recognise your behaviour."

"From where?"

"From me," he admitted simply, his face betraying no unnecessary emotion or feeling. Sasuke copied this look very well.

"Then if your think it's about a girl and this had happened to you before, who the hell is the unlucky son of a bitch who's attracted your attention?" Sasuke asked coolly and he couldn't help as to break into a smirk. Neji chuckled.

"I'm not telling you," said Neji stubbornly, knocking his elbow into Sasuke's arm. He barely felt it of course.

"It's the violent brunette who wanted to kill you this morning, isn't it?" Sasuke asked confidently and Neji only smirked.

Of all the people Sasuke thought he'd be talking about girls with, he suspected Naruto at the very least more than willing. But Neji Hyuuga never sprang to his mind. This conversation will probably remain in his memory for a large amount of time.

"So, why treat her like crap?" Sasuke inquired, turning from irritated to curious. This could prove helpful in his attempts to get to Sakura before Itachi did.

Neji shrugged though. "Don't know. Guess it's just to get her attention."

"How mature."

"Shove it, Uchiha."

There was a small exchange of respected silence between the two prodigies. Neither made eye contact of any sort, mostly because Neji's eyes freaked Sasuke out.

"So, who is she?" Neji asked. Sasuke felt himself get angry.

"You can honestly tell by the way I grind everybody into the ground and by the fact that I am fucking pissed, that this all because of some stupid girl?"

There was a pause and then a smirk.

"Yep."

"You've got to be kidding me." In disbelief, Sasuke raised one of his eyebrows at the guy sitting next to him. Neji started to play with ball he had in his possession.

"You and I are lot alike Uchiha."

"'But we're still different'. I know, I know, you always say that," the darker boy said rather impatiently.

Neji ignored him. "Admit it, Sasuke. You're pissed because you can't get some dumbass girl out of your mind."

Adding to the fact that Neji just called him by his name, he also hit a nerve Sasuke never knew he possessed. Rigidly he turned to the other and roughly pushed him off the bench. Sasuke stood up, picked up his bag and left the court in whirl of steam.

"She's not a dumbass," he growled and he thought he actually heard Neji laugh while picking himself up from the ground. Despite the fact that Sasuke was as pissed as hell at the moment, his curiosity still overruled him. He turned to face Neji dusting himself off.

"Why her, of all people?" he asked and for a moment he thought Neji was merely going to shrug again. To his absolute surprise, he offered the smallest of a grin.

Creepy.

"I like a girl who can kick my ass any day," he confessed haughtily and Sasuke rolled his eyes in frustration before turning around to leave.

He had to admit, Neji was a bit different nowadays. He was still the pompous and cold bastard Sasuke knew him as, but there was something about him that seemed . . . laid-back. Like he had finally calmed down or something. Sasuke didn't get it. One thing was for sure though.

He wasn't going to let Hyuuga live this down, especially since Sasuke now knew the object of his affection.

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It was difficult, and they had to make plenty of calls, but the Uchiha brothers had finally succeeded in locating the house of Sakura Haruno. Itachi parked the car in front the driveway and switched off the engine without thought. Sasuke moved to get out when he saw Itachi unbuckle his own seatbelt.

"You don't have to come along, you know," he said, almost obviously meaning to say that he didn't want Itachi getting out at all. His brother only smirked.

"I just want to check if she's okay. She's my friend too, after all," he affirmed rather conceitedly and Sasuke only growled in exasperation.

Both climbed out of the car, Sasuke holding Sakura's assignments in one hand, and thrusting the other into his pocket. He didn't understand why, but he was relatively nervous. Having Itachi with him though, only made him determined.

When they came to the door, Sasuke moved to ring the doorbell, but Itachi beat him to it very swiftly. Sasuke felt his eye twitch.

They stood waiting in front of the door for a good few seconds before Itachi became inpatient and rang the doorbell again. After hearing a faint 'I'm coming' from behind the white front door, they waited in strained silence.

The door soon opened and sure enough, Sakura poked her head curiously out from behind. Her eyes widened in obvious shock and Sasuke could see she was stunned out of words at the fact that the Uchiha brothers were standing at her doorstep.

Sasuke was about to greet her first, but took in her appearance first. Her hair was messy, obviously not combed today. She was wearing black shorts that hung loosely on her hips and a tight pink T-shirt, showing off her nicely curved figure. Along with the distinctive bags under them, her eyes were very pink, puffy and swollen. Somewhere in the deep cold-hearted depths of his soul, a twinge of sadness was dusted off of the neglected shelf of sympathy.

"Uh," was all she got out, hand still on the door's handle. Itachi was the first to respond, much to Sasuke's displeasure.

"Hello, Sakura. Can we come in?" he asked kindly and the pink-headed girl – who was still astounded by her surprise visitors – only nodded dazedly before fully swinging the door open to give them access to her small and modest house.

Both stepped in, Sasuke only offering the girl a 'hn' when he passed her. His eyes rested on her swollen ones for a second and all three found themselves standing in the entrance hall. Sasuke, wanting to avoid any awkward silences at this point, held Sakura's homework out for her to take. Almost reluctantly she accepted the small heap of papers and took a second to skim them over. She then looked up to force a smile for Sasuke.

"Thank you for bringing my homework. You have no idea how much it means to me," she voiced. To Sasuke it sounded like she was close to tears but he didn't get the chance to even speak before Itachi butted in again.

"Is everything okay, Sakura?" he asked worriedly and she only took to stare at her bare feet for a moment.

"Come into the living room," she insisted, purposely avoiding Itachi's question. Deciding not to push it, both brothers followed her until she offered them seats in a comfy and well-furnished sitting room.

"You have a lovely house," Itachi complimented and she only nodded with a soft smile, taking her own seat next to Sasuke. She barely registered his presence so he assumed she didn't even notice him sitting next to her. He saw Itachi's eyes narrow at this for a second. Sasuke mentally smirked.

Point for Sasuke.

"Thank you," she said softly, gently placing the papers on the coffee table. "Can I get you guys anything? Tea or something?"

"No, thank you," said Itachi.

"No," said Sasuke.

"Oh," said Sakura.

The room felt very cold all of a sudden. To Sasuke, it held a familiar presence of . . . nothing. He knew the feeling all too well.

His eyes momentarily scanned the room. It was neat, well-kept and everything seemed relatively new. All in all, it looked like a neglected home. His eyes then shifted to Sakura. She looked paler than he would usually think she was. Her hair had somewhat faded what regarded its normal sheen and her face was devoid of any hope to want to enjoy a conversation.

"Sakura?" Sasuke asked hearing how he spoke properly to her for the first time. Somewhat startled, she turned to see Sasuke sitting next to her. Sasuke wondered what had her so drastically sidetracked that she would not even notice him sitting right beside her.

"Are you alone here?" he asked sceptically and Sakura blinked innocently.

"Well, yeah, my parents are . . . at work," she stated, eyes glistening over. Itachi shifted closer in his seat.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" he asked softly. Sasuke guessed he asked it in a way that upset her or something, because it was then after that she started to silently cry. He saw her clench her fists, probably trying to counter the tears in a way.

Now, Sasuke wasn't one who liked to comfort or liked to receive it in any way, but he thought he was doing an okay of a job when he placed his hand on her shoulder. Very half-heartedly though, but her response to the mere touch was astounding. In a second's time she buried her face into her hands and then threw herself into Sasuke's torso.

For a minute Sasuke wasn't sure what in hell's name he was supposed to do next. This girl was practically sobbing into his chest, completely unaware of the dumbfounded look on his face. Itachi would have thought this was all hilarious, had there not been a lady in distress at the moment.

In panic, Sasuke turned to Itachi with a questioning look. His brother signalled to him to simply place his arms around the girl so she would feel more secured. Unenthusiastically, Sasuke did so and he felt Sakura lean further into his touch . . . and sob harder.

Oh dear lord, did he do it wrong? Why was she crying louder?

Itachi noticed and finally moved to the couch his brother and the crying girl was seated on. Gently, he placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder, who still wailed loudly into Sasuke.

Itachi tried to find what was wrong with this picture.

"Shhh," was all he could think of to say. He turned to Sasuke in slight confusion, but his little brother only shared his feeling of uncertainty. It was clear, to both Uchihas, what a big responsibility comforting a girl in company really was – neither realized what a great challenge it proved either.

Sasuke took initiative to lightly pull Sakura away from his already wet shirt and to look down at her with small sympathy on his features.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly and the look she gave him sent his heart defrosting at a speed he thought was impossible. Her eyes, so large and sparkling with tears; her cheeks were stained a rosy red and her face held all the vulnerability of a porcelain doll. Sasuke was sure if he tightened her hold on her only by a little, she would surely break.

He didn't want to let go. He didn't care of Itachi was watching. (Actually, he was feeling pretty victorious with his brother there as a witness). Sakura looked up at him with pure sorrow, then a bit of confusion coating along the lines.

"S-S-S . . . Sasuke?"

Sasuke held his breathe. Sweet merciful lord, she remembered his name?

"Sakura, what happened? What's wrong?" he found himself asking frantically. If Sakura could remember his name all of a sudden, then something was definitely not right.

Up until now, he was fairly sure he would go to great length to fix whatever the hell was wrong.

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A/N: Ugh, dear hell, my back hurts. I am so sorry it took so damn long to get this thing up. We only brought one laptop on holiday with us and my mom keeps stealing the damn thing from me. It's bothersome. I think I'm going to hide it.

Gosh, this chapter is strange. But I'm starting to think this is a weird story anyway.

Ah, the sweet teenage nightmare that is a good old-fashioned divorce. Been there, done that.

I got incredible feedback for this story from the previous chapter! Oh my word, you people are amazing. I wish I could thank you all in person. When I get home from holiday I'm climbing on my computer and never getting off! But I really want to get up to chapter eight before school starts in January.

All I do these days is read fanfiction. It's not that hard to find some good stuff on here. There really are a few talented writers out there.

You know what's frustrating though? All the useless grammar and typing mistakes. You know what's even more frustrating? The fact that I make them.

Cookies for the side pairing Neji and Tenten! They are actually my favourite, I won't lie.

By the way, my friend was reading the first chapter and they asked me where Shino was. Well, he's coming in a bit later. He's a big part of the plot . . . the evil plot . . . of which I am the evil mastermind.

I'm not sure if I made any mistakes here. Sorry if there are. Once I finish the story I'll go through it all again and fix it until it's perfect. It's hard updating because my internet access is limited. Also, sorry for the long Author's Note! :D

I got a fantastic quote from a fic written by an author on this site named teresa. The fic's name is Study of the Heart. It's a Sai/Sakura pairing (oh, yeah, Sai's coming in here later too!) and there's this one part where Sai says this AND. . .LAUGHTER.

"I don't think it's fair to discriminate against myself and Sakura on the grounds that we are not gay."

MEGA SUPER ULTRA LOL!

Haha, check it out. It's pretty well-written.

So, any comments you guys have on this chapter. You know, I don't want to say no flames, cause I'm scared I won't get ANY reviews whatsoever but . . . it's two in the morning so I don't care. No flames.

Back . . . hurts . . .

By the way, in case you guys didn't know, I don't own Naruto or any of the characters.

Review Responses:

TeenageCrisis: Aw, come one, you don't want me spoiling it for you now. ;-)

Animeluver101: And that is why I've written more! Glad you enjoyed it. :D

ChanouChan.: Gosh, I know how you feel. I hate them too. Mostly because they're all suckishly written. I'm glad this one seemed to impress a few people. I'm happy it didn't put you off!

Wickedlovely: All will be revealed in due time. (",)

laLala: Well, now it has four. I'm ecstatic that you like it so much. Thanks for your support.

Hotoki-Chan124: Hehe, you're weird. I can tell we'd be good friends. Thanks for the feedback!

Meiko-chan12: Sorry, it took a bit long! Hehe . . .

Love you guys!

(^^,)