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Four

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Sakura's flashback…

"Sasuke-kun… What's wrong?" Sakura stood up and walked away from a group of kids in Hinata's team. She looked at the man standing a few feet away from her, breathless and gaunt. "What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to train your students today?" Yes, Uchiha Sasuke was a teacher and now leads Team 4 for the upcoming Chuunin exams. It was one of his prerequisites given to him before he could sign up on A or S-class missions.

Sasuke's hand swiftly took her wrist and began to drag her away. "We need to talk." Was all he said, ignoring the stares the genins were sending them.

Trust Sasuke to manhandle her like this. It was actually part of his personality. Sakura would probably literally jump off a cliff if he would turn into some kind of a chivalrous prince on a white horse.

"Where are you taking me?" She demanded angrily as she was dragged to the far corner of the academy. The next thing she knew, she was standing in a narrow alley with Sasuke standing close to her. Close as in invading personal space. She felt a blush coming and her heart couldn't stop pounding inside her chest.

"Sasuke-kun…"

"Marry me."

Her eyes widened like saucers and her mouth fell agape, "What?" she dumbly asked.

Sasuke looked straight into her eyes and repeated his impromptu proposal, "Marry me, Sakura."

A lot of things processed in the young girl's mind. Like, why was Sasuke-kun asking her to marry him? Or why was he proposing to her in an alley? There was only one conclusion she could think of; this must be a joke! But then again, this was not something he would easily joke about. And knowing Sasuke, he never jokes. Oh no…

She felt herself bubble out with amused laughter, "What are you saying? We're still dating and we're not even exclusive yet so…" A few weeks ago, Sasuke finally asked her out on a date and she willingly accepted. It was fairly obvious that she was still smitten by the gorgeous Uchiha. And when they started dating, Sakura never felt so happy. Even her best friend, Ino couldn't help but to express extreme happiness for her. Only two weeks had passed and now Sasuke was proposing to her. It was all surreal; that's why she couldn't force herself to believe it.

Sasuke's eyes hardened with what could've been the coldest glare she had ever received from him. Like something inside Sasuke was tearing apart when she brushed off his proposal and laughed.

He didn't even ask her to marry him.

He demanded it.

"Does this mean you refuse to marry me?"

Sakura shook her head, "Sasuke-kun… We're talking about marriage here. I just turned eighteen… " She nervously laughed and then reached out to rub his tense shoulders. When the scowl on his face remained, her smile faltered, "What's wrong?" She was stunned when he removed her hands and turned away.

And just like that, he walked away from her.

It had been three days and Sasuke still made no effort to see her. Sakura tried to reach him but he seemed to always find a way to avoid her. As if her emotion weren't enough, the weather was horrible. There was a storm coming and rain fell non-stop since morning. It effectively weighed down everything, including her dampening mood.

Ino was worried while watching Sakura punched holes through the walls of their shared apartment. They may not be your average best-friends, since they mostly fight rather than actually confide like true friends do, but she's the only one whom Ino could actually relate with. And she hated the fact that she couldn't do anything when Sakura was the one who needed a helping hand.

Ino followed her, argued with her, and resented her. Sakura forgave her resentment, even after cutting each other's long hair. Forgiving suited her. It was her hobby. Perhaps that's why she liked to argue so much. In the same way that Sakura forgave others and continued to love them, she was apparently able to forgive her own weakness and to continue to love herself. When Naruto and Sasuke progressed and gotten stronger, she refused to be left out and trained in her own field.

It was a trait Ino envied and tried to do unsuccessfully, as she did with many of Sakura's traits, to emulate.

They were both bossy, but Sakura was bossy in an abundant, inclusive way, while she tended to be merely imperious. There was no subject safe between the two, no statement, no observation. They debated for weeks, marshaling their tautological (1) arguments with increasing passion and certainty. It didn't matter who won. It was a game they would never get tired of playing.

"This is bad," Tenten muttered breathlessly as another hole was punctured into the once pristine wall.

"I know," Ino whined, "We might have to move out again…"

Hinata looked nervously at Sakura's odd behavior, "Did he try to call her?"

Ino shook her blond head, "Not a sign of him for three days. It's taking a toll on our pink monster." She immediately called reinforcements when situations like this got out of hand. Tenten cringed at the sound of the crumbling brick and mortar.

"I think someone should stop her." Hinata suggested. Then her gaze as well as Tenten's fixed on the blond standing between them.

Ino glared, "Don't look at me. The last time I did that, she punched me." Her hand absently fondled her face, "I almost lost my nose."

Tenten irritably scratched her cheek, "But we have to do something!"

"I can't believe she's letting Sasuke affect her this way." Ino was annoyed. Actually, she's angry with Sasuke for rousing the monster within Sakura for the nth time!

"I know… it's not like she expects him to strut in here and shower her with sweet nothings." Tenten said. "That guy's the coldest, meanest, most arrogant person I've ever known."

Silence stretched at her spat of negative adjectives.

"Strut?" Ino lifted an eyebrow. Hinata sighed.

"What?" Tenten squawked.

"You do know she's here, right?" Hinata asked as she noticed Sakura glare in their direction from the living room.

"Oh shut it," both Tenten and Ino said in unison.

"I'm just telling the truth." Tenten shrugged her shoulders, "I really don't see why she went out with that bastard. What's so special about him anyway?" Tenten scrunched her nose to emphasize her distaste.

"Oh I don't know," Ino humored her, "maybe because he's extremely handsome, smart, sexy and undeniably gorgeous? And… oh yeah, he's a prodigy too!" Who could blame here for spouting such adjectives about Sasuke? She used to be the president of his fanclub for heaven's sake!

"So what? They call Neji a prodigy too."

"And you think Neji's any better?" Ino said.

"Hey... stop right there." Tenten blushed and quickly looked away. "But still… she should've dated Neji when he asked her."

"I'm right here," Sakura shrieked from the couch, "Don't talk about me as if—" And yet she was gloriously ignored.

Ino smirked slyly at their brown-haired friend, "Dear, your words are laced with bitterness."

"Shut up."

Hinata couldn't help but to join in the conversation just to have the opportunity to tease Tenten, "Do you think nii-chan would've been a better boyfriend for her?"

"Yeah, I guess." Tenten shrugged her shoulders again.

"BITTER."

"Damn it, I'm not!"

Hinata laughed, "Oh Ten-chan, you're so predictable."

"Hinata!"

"You guys are horrible." Sakura muttered dejectedly as she approached the group.

"S-Sakura-chan?" Hinata greeted as Sakura took the chair next to hers. "I know this may sound silly but… How are you feeling?" Her tone was laced with sincere concern and worry.

They waited for a good fifteen seconds until she replied, "Fine." And then her head dropped on the table with a thud. "Ow…"

The three shared a look.

That only means one thing.

Haruno Sakura was a mess.

Ino pitifully sighed, "Alright, that's it!" She stood up hastily and dropped her hands on the table, "I have to do something before our apartment falls down around our ears."

"Ino, please," Sakura mumbled, which was smothered by the mahogany table.

"No. Enough is enough." She grabbed her jacket and umbrella and headed towards the door.

Sakura raised her head, "Where are you going??"

Ino grinned, "You'll see. I swear you'll thank me when I get back."

And then the door was shut behind her.

That night, Sakura waited patiently until she heard the front door open and make a familiar creaking noise. Her eyes drifted away from the window and onto the blond girl who walked across the room through darkness.

"Where have you been? Its late." She reprimanded Ino, who was stunned to see her lying on the couch. Ino unfortunately collided with the coffee table. "Turn on the lights, idiot."

"Oh yeah, ha-ha. Damn that hurts…" Ino sounded flustered as she groped for the switch near the front door. "I thought you were in bed already." When the light was on, Sakura saw a nervous, disheveled looking Ino standing in front of her. She looked like she had been attacked by a mob of cats.

Sakura frowned, "What happened to you?"

"Nothing!" Ino squeaked and then hastily headed towards her bedroom.

"Have you seen Sasuke?"

The question brought Ino in an abrupt halt. She didn't dare turn and said, "I—well, no… err." Finally taking a deep breath, she faced Sakura and smiled, more like forced herself to smile, "… It seems he's on a mission…"

"Oh…"

The depressed look on Sakura's face made Ino feel absolutely awful. She sat next to her and gently patted her back, "Come on, stop moping. You're not gonna cry are you?"

"Shut up." Sakura mumbled weakly.

"Hey, forehead girl…" Ino called, earning a scowl from the other. "Why don't you try dating again?"

Sakura looked at her as if she had just grown two heads. "Are you crazy?"

"Hasn't it ever crossed your mind that maybe… just maybe you and Sasuke-kun…" Ino swallowed hard, "Aren't meant to be together?"

Sakura laughed dryly, "You're kidding right?"

Ino looked like she wanted to say more but ended up biting the inside of her lip, "Yeah… sure."

"Your consoling skills amaze me, you know?" Sakura grinned and Ino was forced to smile back.

A few days later, Sakura had enough of Sasuke's silence and decided to confront him at his apartment. Knocking on the front door, she waited impatiently, shifting from foot to foot. After a few minutes with no answer, she turned the handle checking to see if it was locked. When the door sprang open beneath her fingers, a sense of dread came over her. Sasuke-kun never leaves the door unlocked.

Walking through the darkened apartment, she quietly called his name. "Sasuke-kun…"

Noticing his bedroom door closed, she walked up to it and knocked softly. Maybe he's sleeping. Opening the door, she called out his name again. "Sasuke-kun…"

What she saw inside that dark room killed her… literally. Her grip tightened around the knob, her blood run cold and a strange feeling came over her.

"Sakura!"

"Shit."

"Oh god!—This isn't what it looks like!" She could see a blond head rousing from the bed while the other gathered some scattered clothes from the floor.

Her eyes blurred with silent tears. This is not… I can't believe it… how could they! Her chest tightened, she couldn't breathe. It was as if every ounce of energy within her was drained.

And when green eyes met onyx, the dam burst and she couldn't stop the flow of tears.

"Sakura, please!" Ino, now known as her ex-best friend clutched the blanket around her tightly. "Let me explain."

Sakura sharply turned and made a move to run when suddenly, a hand shot up and grabbed her wrist. She turned and glared at Sasuke who looked calm with the sudden turn of events."

"We need to talk."

It hurt her that they betrayed her… but it hurts more because Sasuke looked like it was no big deal to him. There was no hint of sadness or fear on his face. He was just stunned at her appearance in his bedroom and that was it.

Sakura was strong and it wasn't surprising when she easily tore her hand free from his vice-like grip. "You disgust me." She spat venomously before dashing off.

And that's when everything started. Friendship and trust were ruined. Anger and betrayal ensued.

The very next day, Sakura left the apartment she and Ino shared. She moved back into her parents' house uttering not a word to her mother when she asked what happened. She knew for sure every person in Konoha already heard what happened so what's the point of telling. Embarrassed and extremely disappointed, Sakura locked herself inside her room for days, and this troubled her apprenticeship with the Fifth.

A week was all Tsunade could tolerate. Sakura was literally dragged out of the house and was forced to endure painful training under the Fifth. It felt more like a boot camp.

Eventually that made her forget somewhat and the incident actually drove her to work twice as hard than before. She tried her best to avoid the two as much as possible. And so far, she was successful. Sasuke remained as the bastard that he was and made no effort to console her. Ino's apologies however were thrown straight to the trash bin.

No one could describe the relief she felt when she heard about the year long mission in Sand that was assigned to Sasuke, Ino and Kiba. She profusely thanked Tsunade, for she knew she's the one who was responsible for this.

"You're clearly mistaken, my dear apprentice." Tsunade drawled lazily while idly watching her hand sign yet another document. "I didn't do it because of you. I think those three are capable for this mission. Don't flatter yourself." But despite that, Sakura couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. She still thanked the blonde Hokage before leaving her office. She could've sworn she saw a hint of a smile on her mentor's face before she closed the door.

Their disappearance wouldn't be permanent. Oh well, I still got a year to deal with it. And for the first time since that awful incident, Sakura felt like grinning like there was no tomorrow.

TBC

AN: Thanks for the review guys and don't hesitate to leave on this one! And to my wonderful betareader, thank you so much for helping me on this. This would probably the hardest chapter I've ever written in this story. I'm trying my best not to make OOC (I'm crossing fingers now). I hope I reached your expectations. Please do wait for the upcoming chapters!

(1) Tautological- unnecessary repetition within a statement of the same thing in different words.