Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I don't own any of the brands mentioned either.
Someone Wake Me Up
5th Chapter: Love & Regret
-part 1-
"Sakura-chan, the concert was awesome!" Naruto screamed, lifting up a fist in the air, which was his normal way of expressing his joyful self whenever he had a real reason to feel so happy. He had just arrived at the school cafeteria, where the rest of his friends were already seated at their usual table.
Sakura felt the stares that came from the other students and even though she was supposed to get used to the attention, she could not stop the uneasiness that crawled up on her. She waved a hand at the hyperactive blonde, almost ordering him to take a seat and hopefully shut his big mouth. Honestly, it was already too much that so many of the students in their school approached her during the last two hours and kept telling her about their impressions. It became clear enough that the entire school had been at the concert, regardless of the fact that some had come not as her fans but merely hoping that she'd make a joke out of herself — clearly, Sasuke's fan-girls, who were extremely jealous of her success.
"And, look at this!" The brown-haired girl lifted up a magazine and pointedly spoke of the headline that was written over the cover where Sakura's picture was spread out. It was a perfectly good picture of Sakura on stage with the microphone in her hand, while she sang with evident energy. The words that reached the eyes of every occupant on the table were "An exalting concert fit for a Pop Princess!".
Whispers could be heard from all around them; clearly Sakura was far too much an interesting topic at the moment to be left alone. Their common sense had completely deserted them, making way for their excitement — they seemed oblivious of the fact that she was there and could obviously hear everything.
Sakura huffed hopelessly at the situation, especially since she could not find a way to keep them from talking about it. So, she choose to sink low in her chair and just covered her face with her hands. However, she could still hear everything that was said about her; it was really unbelievable how she was still not hyperventilating because of all the attention.
"Tenten, read it so we can all hear it!" Kiba shouted by using his usual ear-splitting voice and not even noticing the annoyed looks that were undoubtedly being directed at him.
Tenten started reading out loud. She felt immensely proud of Sakura's success and her smile said it all.
"Sakura's concert in Tokyo was a spectacular show, down to the tiniest detail. The opening was magical in it's own way, with the fire as an added effect, while the beautiful teen star outshined even the starlit sky with her get up, rumoured to have been personally chosen by her. Apart from showing us her incredible and distinguished sense of style, she presented a better show than even her most devoted fans expected that night. All this speaks volumes of her true dedication to everything she does as a professional musician. Her lively energy radiating from her, reflected upon every single person watching her perform live, singing along to her each and every song. Whichever word we choose to describe her vivaciously beautiful voice would never be a sufficient praise." Tenten took a small moment to regain her breath, while Sakura, who was blushing at the written words, seized the opportunity to protect herself from further discomfort.
"Okay, Tenten, I believe that is enough," Sakura spoke timidly, but still was very fast to react in desperate attempt to stop the brown eyed girl from reading the complete review. She tried to take the magazine out of Tenten's hands, as she reached for it from across the table. Her embarrassment was stirred up by the fact that her friend read it out loud in front of the whole gang. The fact that some of the other students that were in hearing range could hear everything made things even worse.
Tenten, who was as fast as ever, lifted up the magazine and effortlessly didn't allow it to be taken away from her. She shook her head at Sakura, which was a sign that she did not intend to stop what she had started. In all honesty, she was enjoying herself, not just because her friend was being glorified in one of the most prestigious magazines, but also because the girls in the school were clearly teeming with jealousy.
"No, no! Let me finish... There were moments of pure magnificence and liveliness, where even her powerful vocal performance added only a little to the wonder felt by everyone present. We can only imagine how her fans felt like throughout the whole show — our best guess is that it must have been one of the best nights of their lives. What we saw this Saturday night only makes us more anxious to see her performance for the long awaited Music Awards, which is certainly going to be something grand. In attempt to make this report worthy enough for what Sakura Haruno represents today — the brightest teen star in all Japan, we choose the following line as the closing line... It is completely undeniable that the Cherry Blossom has bloomed into a magnificent flower and what we desire is for her to continue following the brightly lit road she has chosen and we fervently hope to witness her rise toward the highest peak of her career, which will certainly be something tremendously worthy of our attention." She finished reading, but she had a very interesting expression plastered on her face. When she lifted her head to look at Sakura, she just mouthed 'whoa' and flashed a blindingly beautiful smile.
"Sakura-chan, you deserved every word of it." Naruto tried to whisper this time but it came out in his normal tone, as he reached out and placed a hand over hers. Then, he smiled affectionately at her, attempting to convey his friendly admiration for her success. She could not stop the smile that spread on her lips — seeing the kind of looks her friends gave her made her heart flutter violently.
"Oh, guys, thank you!" she said softly and squeezed Naruto's hand in return.
"My youthful flower, I will cherish the memories of you singing on that stage for the rest of my life." Lee enthusiastically flashed a beaming smile at the pink-haired girl, which made her smile genuinely. Sasuke, however, was releasing a deadly aura, as he glared at the over-zealous boy.
"Oh, I can't wait to see you perform at the Music Awards!" Ino clapped her hands, before leaning toward Sakura to whisper something in her ear, "Will Takeshi be your date for the night?" The mischievous look in the blonde's eyes made the teen star blush slightly.
Sasuke heard everything and he was unpleasantly surprised by what Ino had just asked. He could not imagine Sakura being someone else's girlfriend, not in a million years. Even the idea of having some asshole, just like that Takeshi guy, escort her — or worse be her date — was making his blood boil. The fact that Sakura blushed when Ino mentioned him, made him feel awfully tense.
"No, I am sure we will receive separate invitations," Sakura answered shortly, as she started chewing on her salad.
"Too bad, and I was hoping..." Ino trailed off into a world of daydreams; she thought that a love between two teen stars would be like a dream come true or more like a fairytale where a prince and a princess fall in love.
"So, you'll be going alone?" Tenten asked, curiosity getting the better of her when she heard where the conversation was leading to.
"I don't know, Tsunade says that my invitation will be for me plus one." Her answer was said in a nonchalant way, but then her thoughts led her to something that made her feel very confused. Realisation downed on her that she'll have to choose which one of her friends she would walking down the red carpet with. The whole idea put an immense pressure on her, as she felt completely incapable of making such a decision.
'If the teme was still her boyfriend, it would've been him,' Naruto thought, but never considered saying it out loud, mostly out of consideration for his two friends and their feelings, or fearing that they might bring back unwanted memories. He looked at them with a sad expression, wondering what kind of a relationship they shared now. He made a mental note to himself to arrange a little talk with Sasuke.
"As much as I want to take you all, it just has to be one. The others will get VIP passes." The pink-haired girl held a tinge of apology in her soft voice, as she looked at her friends. She felt bad for saying that in front of them, because she could never put one in front of another and the way things were she just knew that she was going to have to do just that.
Everyone in their group fell silent in thought for a short while, until Tenten almost jumped out of her seat with a victorious look on her face.
"Oh, I know, we can have a draw!" the brown-eyed girl spoke so abruptly that she managed to surprise everyone. She ignored their reaction and looked expectantly at Sakura for a confirmation.
"That's a great idea, Tenten." Naruto's words just left his mouth, before anyone else could react. He got really excited because the proposed idea just build a foundation for his incredibly wicked plan that involved Sasuke and Sakura. His determination to help them realise the one thing they both failed to notice reached it's highest peak.
Sakura did not lose time thinking about it, she just accepted, with no other thought in mind. "I like that, it seems it's the only way, since I can't possibly pick just one of you." Her smile grew considerably, mostly because she felt relieved for finding a way out of her internal struggle. She was utterly thankful of Tenten and her knack for finding a solution to almost everything.
"Last year we were gathered up at your place to watch the show and now you will be attending as one of the invitees and on top of everything perform on stage. This is just so exciting." Hinata surprised everybody with her long speech, but mostly because she did not show much of her timid self. This time, for some reason, the girl was smiling delightfully and enjoying the time she shared with her friends.
Naruto, who was sitting right next to her, was mesmerized by her and stared at her for a moment. That was of course, until he noticed the glare that came from Neji; the stoic Hyuga was not very pleased by seeing the blonde ogling at his cousin.
"Honestly, I am very nervous, Hinata. I feel like I'll freeze up on that stage and embarrass myself," Sakura whispered the last words, as she squinted her eyes at the food in front of her, feeling quite unnerved by the thought.
"Don't worry about it. You'll be great!" Ino spoke while casually flipping her hair out of her eyes, feeling that her words were the very truth and nothing else.
"How can you not be? You were born to be a star," Tenten agreed with much sincerity, while her admiration for the pink-haired girl was the primary note in her tone.
"I agree!" Naruto shouted, while nodding his head several times in total approval of the words said by the girls.
Lee joined with a nod of his own, for he was unable to speak with a full mouth.
"They are right, you know." Sakura heard Sasuke's deep voice whisper right at her ear, making her shiver slightly. As she moved her head a bit in order to be able to look at him, his words finally reached her mind. She noted the pure sincerity that was readable in his onyx eyes, with a sudden satisfaction warming her on the inside.
"Thank you, Sasuke-kun." She smiled a bright smile at him, making him smirk in response.
They all enjoyed the friendly chattering about unimportant things until the lunch break was finished. When the school bell rang to announce that the class would start in five minutes, they all stood up to exit the cafeteria. Sakura was waiting for the moment when she could be alone with Sasuke in order to talk to him about something important. They were out in the hall and he was just few steps ahead of her, so she took that as the perfect opportunity.
"Sasuke-kun, wait!" Sakura called after him, while reaching out to stop him from walking away. She took his hand in complete unawareness. If by any chance she was in control of her own actions, her reaction would have been totally different. "Could you do me a tiny favour?" The pleading in her voice stopped him in his tracks, as he instantly turned to look at her.
Sasuke's curiosity was perked up significantly, making his insides turn upside down in nervousness. He wondered what kind of favour she could need — for her to ask something from him the way she did, he noticed that it must be very important to her. "Hn. What is it?" His tone was devoid of any emotion, which was a complete cover up for what he truly felt by just looking at her. If that was not causing him enough strain, then her innocent expression would always make her his weak spot.
There was a moment shared between them both, as they choose the same second to take notice of their linked hands. When he looked up, he took in the slight blush on her face, and he realised that her thoughts were obviously directed at the action she did without thinking. He thought it over shortly, before accepting that her discomfiture must have been because she wasn't meaning to do it. The mere thought pained him a little for some reason.
When she finally looked up and their eyes clashed in a whirlwind of hidden emotions, he felt a slight tingle go through his body. The whole hall seemed to shrink around them, making them only aware of one another. She choose to ignore the strong sensation that was pulling her toward him and she let go of his hand with a swift motion.
"Well..." the cool facade he decided to put on was making her hesitate. If it was something that she could accomplish without asking for his help, she would have never chosen to go through this. "...you know, since Naruto's birthday is in two weeks, I wanted us to throw a surprise party for him." She then looked at him expectantly with her expressive jade eyes.
His first reaction was to stare at her, as he never let his eyes move away from her face. It surprised Sakura to a great extent, making her narrow her eyes questioningly. "You think it's an awful idea." Her cheery mood was dropped instantly; her best guess was that he said nothing because he thought it was stupid.
The instant she looked down in utter defeat, Sasuke decided to snap out of his daydream. He hated that he made her feel that way, when in reality he was spacing out for a different reason. He would never admit it out loud, but he was mesmerized by her at that moment to the extent of making him loose total grip of reality.
"No, I like it!" His tone was much louder than it was usual for him. The anger he felt with himself is what evoked the heated response.
It took Sakura by surprise, but when she realized what he just said, a huge smile spread on her lips. "Really?" she asked him, with pure happiness dancing in her jade orbs.
"Hn," was his answer, before he smirked at her in slight amusement. It was nice to see her so happy.
Sakura had no difficulty in understanding what that grunt meant, for she knew him very well. However, her reaction to his consent shocked them both.
She jumped to embrace him, making him freeze on the spot. The beautiful smell he knew so well that he could conjure it up in his dreams, engulfed his senses. He smiled a real smile, which she did not see, as he placed one hand on her back almost hesitantly. Sakura did notice that small gesture and was very much pleased to see that he was comfortable with them being friends. It hurt her a bit that his feelings would never develop in something more, but she willingly ignored it. If she could possibly know that it was nothing like that, and that the feelings he harboured for her were already unbelievably strong, her thoughts would have been much different.
When she pulled away from him she did not feel the need to apologize, because even when they were friends she was allowed to hug him. It was utterly bizarre to her why was she the only person to do that, when at the same time it represented a forbidden action for everybody else. True, Naruto was allowed to go near Sasuke to a limited extent, but a full hug was always a no.
Sasuke looked at the watch on his wrist and noted that their class would start any minute now, so he nonchalantly motioned for her to follow him toward their classroom. She just nodded and they both started walking down the hall.
"I'm am so excited, Sasuke-kun. I have arranged a meeting with the party planner for this afternoon, since I want to make a huge celebration. After all, Naruto deserves it." She was walking beside him, with that pleasant smile ever present on her lips. "Would you like to come with me?" She leaned a bit in order to look at him, as she placed both of her hands behind her back. It was an action she did quite often, making Sasuke smirk in sheer amusement.
"Sure," he shrugged with his shoulders, looking as if he didn't care much about it. Nevertheless, Sakura saw it in his eyes that he was as willing to go with the idea as much as she was, which made her even more enthusiastic.
The rest of the way toward their next class, Sakura was the one that chattered with vigour, while Sasuke was more than enjoying himself as he just listened to her exceptionally sweet voice.
The last class, which was P.E. with Guy-sensei, had just begun and while Sakura was inside, her bodyguard was standing outside of the school gym. It was the only class the whole gang shared together, and they were already doing some of the excessive warming up sessions Might Guy gave them. Lee might have been the only one eager enough to accept them with enthusiasm, while the rest were plainly irritated by the severity of his classes.
In the meantime, Eiichiro received an update from the other bodyguard of a situation that took place outside of the school building. He was immediately making an assessment of the whole situation, already having several plans in store. It was only a matter of question which approach Sakura would prefer.
Eiichiro, along with the other bodyguard and the driver were constantly conversing about the changes that occurred, while patiently waiting for Sakura. When the teen star finally exited the girls' changing room — with Ino, Hinata and Tenten by her side — he approached her in a very stealthy way. The girls were completely taken by surprise by his sudden appearance, as Hinata could not even suppress her staggered gasp. On the contrary, the pink-haired girl was not taken aback by this, being already used to his presence.
"Miss, we have a situation outside," he addressed her in a strictly professional manner.
Sakura nodded with her head, as she asked him, "What is it?"
"The press is waiting for you outside and no signs of any paparazzi. What should we do?" His question was not answered right away, because Sakura was taking her time to think it over. "We can still take the emergency exit," he suggested one of the possibilities they had, which was to evade the whole mess with no single obstacle in their way.
"No, that won't be necessary, Eiichiro. Just stay by my side and I'll handle the rest," she said that in a thoughtful manner, with her elegant eyebrows scrunched up in concentration.
"Sakura-chan, is everything okay?" Hinata asked in a very quiet voice, ushering Sakura to turn to look at her three friends. She immediately met with the worried expression on the girls' faces, understanding their silent questions.
The look on their faces made Sakura consider a wholly different idea. She started to contemplate if it would be better for her to call Tsunade and get a first hand info on what the press could possibly want with her. Without paying too much attention to that thought, she immediately put it aside. Her best guess was that it might be because of the concert. Whichever way she looked at the current situation, she figured it was best for her not to ignore the press. 'At least, they are not like the paparazzi,' she thought, with a tinge of relief making her less uneasy about the whole thing.
"No, it's only the press. They will only ask some questions, "she gave them the reassurance they needed by smiling slightly in a fairly positive way. It was clear enough that they couldn't simply forget the terrible incident with the paparazzo, so their worry was justified and Sakura knew that very well.
The girls' faces lit up and they all nodded at her in response to her reassuring words.
"Okay, we'll wait for you at the parking lot," Tenten said in a calm manner, before they started walking away from Sakura.
Sakura also started walking, while Eiichiro was right beside her doing his job as her personal bodyguard. The other students were already used to the sight, so they were no longer staring at the teen star.
Besides being used to the attention and the pressure that came from the press, she was still nervous about some things. When almost at the exit, she exhaled a huge gasp of air in utter attempt to calm her nerves. "Okay, here we go." Those words were said in a faint whisper, just as she pushed the heavy door open.
In a flash she was surrounded by so many cameras and reporters, making her dazed out of her mind. Her ears were filled with so many voices, practically abusing her mind with the many questions asked. She couldn't possibly distinguish one from another, so she just nodded her head at Eiichiro, silently telling him to settle the commotion.
"Please, could we do this in a calmer way." His strong voice changed their approach in an instant, so Sakura took the opportunity and pointed at one of the reporters, urging him to ask the first question.
"How do you feel after being nominated in so many categories for the Music Awards?" There were microphones in front of Sakura's face, right after the question was asked.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sakura answered without knowing what else to say. She was taken aback by such a question. As far as she knew, the nominees weren't announced in the public yet.
"The nominees were announced this morning and you are among one of those nominated in the most categories. Haven't you seen the official declaration by their spokesperson?" The same reporter addressed her, looking at her expectantly while waiting for the answer.
"No, I have no knowledge of the official nominees' announcement." Sakura's voice was portraying a slight shock, as she was feeling a bit stunned by the information she just received.
"Well, you are nominated in six different categories, one of them being Song of the Year!" Another reporter that finally choose to speak, intentionally gave accent to that award, already being aware of its meaning. "So, how do you feel about that?" he added.
The teen idol couldn't believe what she just heard, as it all sounded too surreal. After all, her career has just begun and she was already nominated among the best of the best in Japan. "If it is as you just said, and I am nominated in so many categories, then I am honoured. I don't know if you'll believe me or not, but my heart is already beating erratically, just from hearing all you have just said." She smiled lightly, making all of the reporters 'Aww...' in response, at which she could only blush. Sakura felt as if everything around her started to move at a very high speed and she was having difficulties grasping the reality. To her, it seemed as if all of it was just far too incredible to be happening to her.
"What if you win all those awards?" one of the reporters asked while smiling at her in appreciation, which she only noted because it was rare to see someone with such a positive aura among the press.
"Oh, wow... frankly, I don't have an answer to that. I guess I will be more than overwhelmed if that happens," She smiled, but her expression said it all. She was too ecstatic already. '...which I doubt it will.' However, she was still as humble as ever, almost not finding the strength to believe in herself.
"Do you think that you deserve to win?" one of the women among the press decided to be bolder by asking such a direct question.
Nevertheless, Sakura stood her ground and answered in a very refined way, "I couldn't be the judge of that, but I am sure that the competition will definitely be tough and I wouldn't count on my luck when it comes to awards with such great importance." She finished her answer with quite a serious expression on her face, since she felt it was much too dreamlike to be talking about such a thing. Never in a million years would she have thought that she would be nominated in so many categories in the very first year of her career, when in reality she should have only been part of the new artists and nothing more.
"I shall only wish you good luck, then!" The nice reporter gave her a warm smile, while nodding his head at her direction in encouragement. Apart from his obviously pleasant character, he also had pleasant facial features. His hair was red and his light brown eyes looked really innocent.
Sakura just nodded her head in thanks, as a small smile spread on her rosy lips.
"What about your performance at the Awards? Are you getting ready for that?" some woman asked, who by the elegance in tone and outwear looked exactly as if she were coming from a prestigious television channel.
"As a matter of fact, I am. The whole performance is already planned out and I am rehearsing with the team of dancers every day," Sakura spoke in a professional way, recalling all of those hours spent in the rehearsing room with the other dancers.
"Do you plan to do a spectacular show as was said in the newspapers?" The same woman continued with the questioning on the same topic. Apparently, she came from the house that bought the rights to air the Music Awards Show live on TV.
"We are working hard to achieve that and I hope for nothing more than to make everybody satisfied with the performance." Her answer was truthful to the last word, because she and the rest of the crew were completely devoted to the dance choreography.
It appeared that the reporters were in a good mood that morning, since there was another that was willing to praise the teen star. "After the show you presented this weekend, it is difficult to doubt such a thing. Will you be singing some of your hit songs?"
"That is going to be a surprise. I guess you'll just have to wait and see." Sakura smiled playfully after saying that.
"You're still full of surprises, Sakura." She finally noted the softness in the eyes of the nice reporter. It seemed that he was truly sincere. However, his next words managed to make her blush in embarrassment. "We can definitely see why you deserve to be called a star." He winked at her while saying that. It looked exactly as if he was making subtle advances toward the beautiful teen idol, besides being couple of years older.
"Thank you," she uttered the soft words in truthful gratitude.
"No... thank you." His reference was unclear, but it seemed that he was thanking her in the name of the whole press that was gathered there for being nice enough to answer their questions.
After the press left, Sakura was still rooted to the spot without even considering to make a move. The questioning may have been very short, but it was certainly significant. The moment of shock finally reached her, while she was trying to rein in every thought that was making her mind spin.
Eiichiro's voice brought her back from her slight moment of spacing out, by asking, "Miss, are you alright?" He was standing a few feet away from her and there wasn't a single emotion written on his face, as he was acting utterly professional.
"Yes, I'm okay," she said in a quiet tone, before blinking a few times in attempt to clear her head. She abruptly turned to walk in the direction of the parking lot, while addressing her bodyguard in haste, "We should go, my friends must be waiting." She scolded herself for making the girls wait for her, especially since so much time has passed and she was wasting time on insignificant thinking.
The girls, after seeing that Sakura was walking in their direction, immediately took note of her facial expression that undoubtedly portrayed a set of mixed emotions. Wondering about it was all they could possibly do at that moment, and they waited patiently for her to tell them what happened.
As she stopped to stand right in front of them, she opened her mouth attempting to say something. However, not a single word was uttered after she caught herself unable to formulate her own thoughts.
The pale-eyed girl noticed that Sakura was going through some kind of an internal struggle and instantly reacted in order to help her out. "Sakura-chan, how did it go?" she timidly asked, her shyness evoked by the look on her friend's face.
"Normal, I guess, but it seems I am nominated in six different categories for the Music Awards," she spoke in a thoughtful manner, while staring at one single dot on the asphalt. Her mind was still trying to process the fresh information and she was finally grasping the severity of the whole situation. Sakura was fully aware that the Music Award nominations made a huge impact onto anyone's career — it was a frightening thought, thinking how it would influence hers. Just by thinking about it she started having difficulties controlling her own emotions. Everything going through her mind caused a jumble of feelings and she was unable to settle her own thoughts.
"Oh. My. God., Sakura, are you for real?" Tenten asked, totally dazed by what Sakura had said, as was fairly noticeable by the flabbergasted expression on her face. The other girls were also shocked, they just stared with their eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. They had not expected anything of the sort, for the news were so abrupt and best described as a huge boulder that came crashing down on them.
"I... think... so?" she slowly worded her answer as if in question, mostly because she was still unable to hold onto the reality.
"Whoa, those are like major news!" Ino screeched a bit more loudly than it was her intention. Her facial features never changed from the moment her mind processed the information and were one of true astonishment.
"Tell me about it," Sakura whispered in obvious disbelief. If receiving the news that she would officially become a singer was huge for her, then this would undoubtedly classify as colossal news.
After a moment of complete silence was shared among the girls, Sakura finally added the other thought that came to her mind, "I still haven't heard from Tsunade."
"Maybe you should give her a call," Hinata suggested.
"You are right, I should," the pink-haired girl agreed and was already reaching for her cell phone she kept in her shoulder bag. The second she grasped it in her hand, the device started ringing. "Speak of the devil!" she joked and pressed the answer key.
"Moshi Moshi," she greeted, after placing the small gadget on her ear.
"Sakura, you are not gonna believe what I am about to tell you!" Tsunade's ecstatic bark was heard on the other line of the phone. She was undoubtedly in a wonderful mood, which was a rare occasion in her career as a manager.
"Is it about the nominations?" Sakura did not wait a single second and went on with the issue at hand. Her best guess was that the reason Tsunade sounded so content must be something major and this was definitely something that would fall under that description.
"How did you know?" Judging by Tsunade's tone of voice she was seriously taken aback and there was a slight disappointment latched to it also. She wanted to be the one that would surprise the girl and for some reason someone beat her to it, which exasperated her quite a bit.
"You are the first one to officially confirm it to me, but the press was waiting for me in front of the school, and that is how I found out," Sakura spoke in haste, unable to contain her excitement because of the tingly shivers that flowed through her whole body. She realised that it was a new feeling and nothing even close to any familiar experience.
"How did it go? Were there any paparazzi?" the woman asked with evident worry expressed through her usually strict tone of voice.
"No, everything went well, I will tell you later." The girl decided to leave the prolonged conversation for later, when they would be able to talk over everything with settled feelings .
"Okay, then I will wait 'til later to congratulate you in person," Tsunade said and smiled slightly, a gesture that was complemented by the buoyant tone in her voice. After all, she felt extremely happy for Sakura, but even more so proud as a mother figure should be in moments such as this one.
Sakura smiled slightly in response, before speaking, "Sure thing, but I still can't believe that this is happening to me."
"If you believe me, I have a mayhem to deal with here at the office. People are going crazy, literally," Tsunade almost joked, but it was obvious that she was being particularly serious about it.
"I don't believe it," Sakura joked, before adding, "I think that I am about to come out of my own skin, " Her voice was slightly shaken, which was matched with the mix of emotions that suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks.
"Okay, try to calm down. I know that this is amazing news, but right now you have other things to concentrate on." Tsunade acted like a true manager most of the time, focusing on the girl's work agenda a bit too much, sometimes more than it was usually necessary.
"I know, you should really stop worrying," Sakura huffed in slight aggravation, already used to being constantly reminded of her packed up schedule.
"I have a call on the other line." Those words reminded Sakura that she was not the only one with loads of work on their back. There were many times she felt sorry for Tsunade, especially since the woman had gone through many sleepless nights for the sake of her career.
"Just go already, I know you're busy!" Sakura shouted in attempt to scold Tsunade.
"Fine, fine," she sounded especially weary, most probably because she did not want to take the call that was waiting for her. If she were to chose, she would rather speak with Sakura than with one of those business suckers. "I'll see you on Saturday," she added a second later.
"Okay, bye!" Sakura bid her goodbye, suddenly being reminded of the photo shoot that was planned for the following weekend.
"Bye, Sakura!" were Tsunade's last words before she hung up.
"So, what did she say?" Ino could not wait any longer, she just had to speak her thoughts out loud. It was enough of an anticipation to wait for Sakura to finish talking and she could no longer contain her curiosity.
"She confirmed it, I really am nominated," Sakura said with a huge smile spreading over her lips.
"Oh. My. God! These are the best news ever," Ino chirped excitedly and immediately jumped to envelop her best friend in a tight hug.
"I am so excited, it's so hard to believe it!" Sakura said, while returning the hug with the same intensity.
"I am really happy for you, Sakura-chan!" Hinata exclaimed, pure happiness dancing in her lavender pools. "Congratulations," she added a moment later when she also gave an especially warm hug to her friend. Tenten joined the action with that ever present smile on her face.
Then, she remembered that their group was not complete and lifted herself up on her tiptoes in attempt to spot them, but to no avail. Nonetheless, she turned toward the girls and spoke animatedly, "Wait 'til the guys hear about this. They'll flip!"
"Where are they, anyway?" Sakura asked in wonder, already attempting to spot them by using the same approach Tenten used a minute ago.
"I have no idea, they should have been here by now," Ino answered, all the while looking at her watch and realising that they were late for some reason.
"Oh, here they come." Hinata lifted herself up on her tiptoes and pointed at the direction where she spotted the guys. She was the first that had noticed them approaching from the distance, all the while taking note of Naruto's forlorn expression.
"What took you so long?" Tenten asked, as Neji came to stand beside her. He placed his hand on her lower back, as she kissed him on the cheek.
"Naruto had an accident in the showers," Shikamaru spoke lazily, not showing much care about the whole thing that happened. He wanted nothing else but some peace and quiet after all of the school activities that bored him out of his mind.
"He slipped on a shampoo bottle," Sai thought that a further explanation was needed, as always acting totally ignorant to everything that happened. Naruto did not want to be anymore embarrassed than he already was and the emotionless boy just ruined everything with his mouth. To make things worse for the blonde, Kiba started laughing so hard that it was probable that almost the whole school had heard him. He could not help himself after imagining Naruto spread out on the tiled floor.
Hinata instantly came by his side and looked at him with tender eyes. "Naruto-kun, are you okay?" she asked in a gentle tone.
"I'm okay, Hinata-chan," he replied, but blushed furiously, utterly embarrassed. 'This is so embarrassing!' he thought and pouted cutely, while making a sad face. He felt completely uncomfortable after being so humiliated in front of the girl he had a serious crush on. However, the lavender eyed girl felt nothing of the sort. She was actually very worried for his well-being since the fall might have been much worse and have got him seriously hurt.
Afterward, his pink-haired friend came to stand right in front of him and placed her hand on his cheek in a loving way. "Naruto, be careful next time," she spoke in a motherly fashion, before changing her expression completely. "What were you thinking? You could have seriously hurt yourself!" she shouted harshly in a scolding manner. "I swear, if you don't stop acting like a fool, I will pummel you through the ground!" she finished with a threat that sounded quite serious, even though it came from someone as unmenacing as her .
"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan," he apologised and looked down in order to avoid her reprimanding stare.
"It's okay, just try to be more careful," she finally softened her tone of voice and lifted his chin to look at him. Her wide smile made him smile in response and after seeing his change of expression, she joked very quietly, "Hinata is really worried, you know." In addition, she winked at him in effort to make him realise the obvious, but it was a failed attempt.
Her words made him blush slightly, so he nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess she is," he chuckled uneasily.
Apparently the whole exchange was witnessed by the Uchiha, since he muttered under his breath, "Dobe."
"Ino, why are you so jumpy?" Chouji asked the blonde girl, while munching on some barbecue-flavoured chips. His favourite activity did not stop him from noticing that she looked much more happy than usual.
"Oh," she gasped and instantly proceeded with her excited chirping, "we have great news." The questioning look the guys shot her with, ushered her to elaborate further, but she did not feel like she was the one that was supposed to give them the news. So, she stood beside Sakura and playfully nudged her with her elbow, urging her to speak, "Actually, it's Sakura's news!"
Said girl felt a certain amount of self-consciousness envelop her. She could not stop the feeling, since it was the first time that something like this had happened to her. It was its huge importance that brought the heavy weight of uneasiness. She was silent for a long moment, her hands behind her back, expressing her nervousness.
"Well, what is it, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, unable to hold down his curiosity or suppress the sudden feeling of anticipation. He somehow felt that she had something very important to say.
"I am nominated for the Music Awards," she timidly spoke, a rose tinge of blush dusting her cheeks. She almost fidgeted in place, while staring at her friends waiting for their reaction.
Naruto looked dumbly at his friend, before realisation finally downed on him. All of a sudden he jumped to embrace her in a tight hug and in the process lifted her up in the air. She screeched in surprise, but he did not intend to let her go. He was just so happy for her, already aware how much it meant for her to be acknowledged by such important people from the music business. Noticing that he did not intend to set her down on her feet, Sakura smiled sweetly.
Sasuke was suddenly enveloped by that same burning feeling inside of him, but with much smaller intensity. He felt a bit jealous after witnessing the whole thing, even if it was Naruto the one that lifted her up. His feeling was mostly caused by the wish to be able to do the same without the wall that she had built between them.
"Dobe, let her go," he spoke coolly, trying to cover his true feelings.
After letting go of the girl, Naruto addressed her with an excited tone of voice, "Sakura-chan, this is really great news, I am so happy for you." A broad smile spread on his lips.
"Naruto, thanks and it really is something," she said in return to his friendly appreciation.
Afterward, everyone of her male friends congratulated her and Lee looked especially pleased for her success. She felt more able to accept the news, finally getting the right feelings coming back to her. They made her remember her dreams and that one in particular had just came true. It meant the world to her, and she felt so filled with excitement and joy that she could only think of celebrating. However, the joyful feelings left her the moment she noticed Sasuke propped up on his Ferrari, looking terribly aloof. She started to wonder why he had not said anything to her and distanced himself from everybody. She decided to approach him nonetheless, even if she was enveloped by a thick veil of hesitance.
In the meantime, the others decided to leave, feeling the not-so-small amount of tension in the air. They figured that it would be best if they left the both of them to talk alone without having to worry over anyone's unwanted presence. Ino and Tenten were the only ones that had difficulty leaving Sakura with Sasuke, but still decided to go, figuring that it is what their friend wanted since she was the one who had approached the stoic Uchiha.
Sakura leaned on the car, and looked at him worriedly. "Sasuke, what's wrong? Is everything okay?" she asked with a tinge of softness in her tone.
"Hn," he stoically ignored her worried questions, but smirked in addition. His eyes were closed and Sakura could not decipher his reasons for his moody behaviour even if she tried to. She could feel the sudden tightness in her chest, an emotion that was brought on by his rejection. She could not understand why he was always so cold and distant, never allowing himself to open up in front of anybody.
Realising that she had made a huge mistake in trying to talk to him, she spoke almost inaudibly, "Okay, I will go then. Goodbye, Sasuke-kun." She took one step away from him, but the very next second he stopped her from walking away by taking her hand in his. When she turned to look at him, she noticed a very familiar look in his black eyes, something she used to witness quite frequently. It was the soft look he always gave her while they had still been together as a couple.
He leaned in and kissed her on her cheek, his lips lingering there for quite some time. He then pulled back and looked at her with an honest expression and a beautiful shine in his dark eyes.
"Congratulations," he whispered softly, before flashing a gentle smile only for her.
"What is this all of a sudden?" she asked, surprise written all over her face. She was taken aback by his gentle gesture, her mind barely processing the whole thing.
"Don't you remember?" he lifted his eyebrow in question, his smirk widening at the same time. He appeared highly amused by something. Seeing that she was cluelessly staring at him, he decided to remind her. "I promised I would congratulate you in a very special way when you reached this kind of success." Afterward, he looked her expectantly, as if waiting for her reaction.
She could not believe that he had remembered something that she thought was just a stupid joke on his side and a meaningless conversation. Never believing that he was serious about his promise was her mistake. But, what surprised her so pleasantly was the fact that he considered his gesture as something special. She thought that he couldn't be any kinder in his expression of feelings toward her. "Oh, I remember that promise," she gasped in utter embarrassment that she had forgotten all about it. However, she pushed that feeling away and lifted herself on her tiptoes in order to give him a hug. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun, you are really sweet," she whispered kindly, unable to suppress her delight.
"Hn, just don't call me sweet," he said, barely managing to say the word, with his eyebrows scrunched up in slight irritation. "I hate it," he added, being completely honest.
"Aww, Sasuke-kun," she cooed in a joking manner, which only served to bring a disgusted expression on his face. She laughed at his reaction, and tried to reassure him that she was just joking. "I won't, I promise," she said, but continued laughing.
"Annoying," he muttered under his breath, before smirking in amusement, unable to help himself after having seen her so happy and at ease.
Itachi Uchiha was a man that kept many things for himself, not wanting to let any of his family members know about his outdoor affairs. That rule was especially applied when Sasuke was concerned . His biggest secret was that he was a leader of an underground organization that completed special kind of tasks, some of them particularly dangerous. The good thing was that his team never did things that could be considered as criminal activities. On the contrary, they worked as undercover agents who dealt with the most dangerous of criminals in Japan.
Being the leader of that organization gave Itachi an incredible power. He had many connections that could do pretty much anything he wanted, so he choose to use them and help his little brother. Itachi contemplated over all the possibilities in order to successfully complete his new goal and in the process fulfil Sasuke's request. So, he made a decision that involved some of the members of his organization; not the most exceptional ones, but formidable people nonetheless.
At the moment he was seated in his office at the base of the organization with some of his men there, all of them ready for a brief meeting. They were all waiting for a certain redhead who was sent to execute the first part of their task. After a couple of minutes of silent waiting , the door swung open, revealing the man they were all waiting for.
"I don't like to wait or keep others waiting, so... lets make this short," Sasori spoke with a somewhat commanding tone, right after he had entered the meeting room. His comment was perceived with an indifferent set of reactions, with only one exception. After all, Deidara was famous for always having something to say, as his remarks only served to irritate and nothing else.
"You didn't seem to mind waiting for the Cherry Blossom, yeah," the blonde commented as a means to joke with the redhead, but he was doing it intentionally while not caring even in the slightest for the damage he was inflicting. Sasori was not a person that accepted jokes with an open mind, not even in the slightest.
Kisame was the only one that reacted, as he chuckled amusingly at Deidara's witty little remark. He always enjoyed watching the both quarrel, which in reality happened quite often.
"Deidara, shut your mouth." Sasori was occasionally far too irritated to even make an effort in forming a suitable comeback. He just shot the blabbermouth with a fierce look of warning, before turning his head in the opposite direction with the intention to ignore him.
However, Deidara was taking far too much pleasure in teasing Sasori, as he persistently proceeded with his mockery, "Ohh, touchy subject for you, yeah?" Afterward, he just grinned wickedly for emphasis, while being completely ignored by his favorite victim for playing games.
Itachi paid no attention to their small showdown and proceeded with what he considered to be the most crucial issue at the moment.
"The first part of our plan is already finished. Sasori's infiltration among the press was successful," he spoke with a steeled look in his eyes, while his facial expression concealed all traces of emotion. He then directed his full attention toward the papers on his desk.
"If you ask me I'd say that he did infiltrate... successfully!" The blonde was once again unable to stop himself from commenting, seeing that he had a perfect opportunity for that. Sasori only scowled in response.
"Deidara, I suggest you stopped this nonsense at once, so we could go on with the matter at hand." The only woman among the men decided to speak, mostly because she could not take anymore of his unnecessary observations. She was usually silent, rarely feeling the need to speak her mind, but that was only when she could actually contain her hidden temper.
Itachi choose to stay silent, since he always acted in a strictly overassertive manner, never ceasing to change his approach. His reputation of being always cool had to be maintained no matter what. However, the look in his eyes changed considerably as he glared at the papers he held in his fisted hand. He was practically burning the white sheets that were stuffed with information on the paparazzi, with how intense the look in his eyes was.
"Ryoga Takayama!" The Uchiha seethed the name through gritted teeth. Apparently, the type of information he just read was making his blood boil in anger for some reason. He spoke the name he had chosen as their target and he knew that everyone in the room was waiting for that decision.
"So, he's the one we're after?" Nagato asked in an almost polite manner. He always had an appearance of a well mannered person, even if in his career as an agent he did things that could be hardly considered as sophisticated.
"He is definitely the most suspicious among the lot," Itachi answered while gliding his eyes along the lines filled with information, before adding irately, "with the kind of background he has." He was very upset by the information he had just received as was quite obvious from the look on his face. The interesting thing was that he did not even try to conceal his anger.
"What sort of background?" asked the woman with much curiosity, while Yahiko stared at her with hidden admiration. She had quite an appearance with the blue colored hair and the labret piercing. Her attractive features made her a sight for sore eyes for any man, but Yahiko and Nagato were the only ones she allowed to get near her. However, Yahiko's feelings were very strong and could very easily be considered romantic, but he had chosen to stay silent about them.
"See for yourself," Itachi spoke and tossed the documents across the desk.
After reaching for the papers, she immediately proceeded to read the material. A minute later, she gasped in utter revulsion, "This is awful!"
Her reaction invited the attention from everyone in the room that was unfamiliar with their target, which of course excluded Itachi and Yahiko. After all, the auburn-haired man was the one that brought the information, being the one responsible for gathering intel on their targets. The other ones, however, seemed to be pretty curious about that man and silently asked for the document in order to read the contents.
"Yahiko, we only have a small amount of information from his past. I want you to dig up any activity he has partaken in, even if it is just an insignificant robbery," Itachi addressed the man he considered to be his right hand in command. The strong character was the greatest trait Yahiko possessed, but he was also a great leader. Maybe that was one of the reasons Konan and Nagato followed his every move with unfaltering loyalty.
"Okay, give me until tomorrow," he spoke. He expected the instruction, already being aware that the information was not that thorough. He always gave the most significant background information for the first assessment, being aware that it was Itachi's decision if they would need more information on the targeted man.
"Konan, Nagato, the both of you will follow Sakura wherever she goes. I want you to protect her if things go wrong. Yahiko can join you as of tomorrow!" Itachi gave that order with an exceptional forewarning, feeling responsible for Sakura's safety after finding out that the paparazo was a high-ranked criminal.
"Deidara, you will pose as a paparazzi, starting today," Itachi spoke, without looking at the blonde, who was standing in front of his desk. A minute later, after assessing some other important thing, he looked up and continued with his order. "I believe that you already know your role in this. This is all the info you'll need for now." He gave him a pretty large envelope that most probably contained a profile for a whole new identity.
"Nice, yeah!" The youngest among the lot was far too excited for his own good, which was not an unusual thing. He always acted that way when receiving a mission, enjoying every minute of the upcoming battle; he particularly enjoyed blowing up things, considering that as a work of art.
"Try to not blow the camera up!" Kisame mocked him aloud, being completely aware that whenever his art was being ridiculed the blonde reacted in a particularly angry way.
Deidara was ready to bark a retort, but Itachi's voice interrupted him, so he just growled beneath his breath.
"Kisame, I trust you will do the task I appointed to you effortlessly." He shot him with a stern look as a means to give him a meaningful warning. After all, that particular task was the most crucial for the whole mission.
"Consider it done, Itachi-san." The tall brawny man nodded in respect. He partnered with the Uchiha on every mission they accomplished, so during the time they spent working together he started to feel immense admiration for him.
"We can't do anything in public, so we'll have to corner him somehow," Konan choose to speak, after a long moment of thought. She considered their possibilities and came to that conclusion.
"It will be a difficult task, since the only time he is dangerous for Haruno, he is with other paparazzi," Nagato mused aloud, with the intention of giving a fair warning.
"There is always a way!" Itachi announced with determination. "Find out all you can about him... where he lives, what kind of car he drives and most importantly, his whereabouts."
All six of them nodded in acceptance and perceived that statement as the final announcement of their meeting. They all had all sorts of tasks to finish, so they instantly turned to take their leave.
"Sasori!" Itachi called after the redhead, his voice edged with a meaningful harshness. "I should warn you about something..." He stared down at the young man with a fierce glare that was supposed to convey the unruly message, before adding , "Lay your hands off of Sakura." Everyone that witnessed the interview took note of the way Sasori interacted with Sakura. The real intention behind his behaviour certainly did not escape Itachi's eye.
"Is that a warning, Itachi?" he asked, slightly amused, not feeling threatened at all.
"It's more than a warning," the dark-haired man spoke nonchalantly, but with a noticeable glint of harshness in his eyes. It appeared that Sasori took the message, by the way his expression changed into one of disappointment. He then smiled sourly, and exited the room, following after the others that had already left.
"This should be amusing," Kisame smiled mischievously at Itachi, who was the only one still in the office with him. The Uchiha just smirked in response, already standing up to take his leave, because they had business to attend to.
Sakura was at her home, already ready and waiting for Sasuke to arrive. He was supposed to pick her up, as it was planned. She was really excited that Sasuke accepted to help her plan the surprise party for Naruto. It was giving her some hope that she might get used to the idea of being just friends with him. However, she did fear for her own feelings or that she would not be able to get him out of her heart. She was afraid of the possibility that her heart might be broken once again because of the unrequited feelings. Nevertheless, for now, she decided to let everything flow normally without her fearful thoughts getting in the way.
When she heard the doorbell, she stood up from the couch and excitedly walked toward the front door. After opening it, she smiled slightly since she was unable to hide her contentment. In spite of her cheerfulness, just by seeing him standing there at her doorstep, her thoughts were suddenly overwhelmed by old memories. She hoped that her face did not portray the feelings that were evoked by the images that flashed inside her mind.
"Hey," he said with a tinge of a smile spreading on his lips. That small gesture helped her get past the unpleasant feeling that was spreading throughout her whole being. She felt a bit more secure all of a sudden and she was especially thankful for it.
"Hey!" she greeted back with an almost shy smile spreading on her face. She did not know why the unexpected feeling of nervousness weighed down on her in his presence. Hating the feeling, she willingly tried to suppress it.
"Are you ready?" he asked nonchalantly, while eyeing her from head to toe. She was dressed casually in dark skinny jeans that reached just above her calves, white shirt with some black printed out patterns and a black leather jacket. However, her shoes were something special.
"Of course I am," she answered and shut the door behind her, but the unfamiliar look in Sasuke's dark eyes interrupted her from walking further.
"What?" she questioned quietly, looking at him in a calculative manner.
"Hn," was the only sound that came from him, which made her slightly irritated at his behaviour. She noticed that he was lost in his own thoughts while staring at her in a peculiar way.
"Why are you staring at me, Sasuke-kun?" The moment he cast a small glance at her feet, realization struck her, but she was surprised that he was actually expressing something. She started to ask herself if her shoe choice was okay, even if the design was the reason she bought them in the first place. The high-heeled Louboutin shoes were black sling-backs with a squared bow right above the peep toe. The spikes that were embellished all over them is what gave a special edge to their design. Sakura even choose to colour her toes with red nail polish to complete the look.
"No reason," he simply stated, but continued to eye her with no shame at all. He liked it when she was as tall as him, because the way he saw it she looked even more alluring when her eyes were in his line of vision — he felt as if she was closer to him in a way. If he did not recall the promise she made him make, he would have kissed her right then and there.
"Is it because of my high-heels?" she asked with her jade eyes slightly widened in wonder. She was truly bemused by his stare.
He could not bring himself to speak the truth that he actually thought that her legs looked sexy in those high-heels, so he choose to stay silent and offer his smirk as response.
"You don't like them?" she continued her questioning, not expecting him to answer. She refused to decipher his reason for smirking, because of the intention he might hide behind it.
"Hn," he grunted, trying to sound indifferent. He really hated it when she was this stubborn and nowhere near intending to stop her imploring. Suddenly, he just turned to look away from her and just stood there like a statue on display.
"Well, I like them!" She huffed in an almost proud way, which was her indirect way of telling him that she did not care what he thought, before taking a step toward his car. Making a gesture with her eyes, she silently told him that she was waiting for him to open the door for her. He just chuckled in response out of amusement because of her behaviour. He stood very close to her and looked at her with a piercing stare while smirking sexily at the same time. She could feel her insides melt because of his purposeful provocation. He finally opened the door and she was able to snap out of her trance. His smirk widened, evoked by her actions.
He then entered the car and drove off, while Eiichiro was following behind them with the big SUV. As her bodyguard, he was not authorized to let her out of his sight. Nevertheless, she was allowed to live her life the way she wanted and was not obliged to drive in the same car as her protectors.
The two teenagers were enveloped by comfortable silence for a whole minute. Sakura did not mind it at all, being contented in the presence of the one person that meant so much to her, besides being the one that broke her heart. She was already past that and was now enjoying the time she spent with him, in the process being reminded of the past moments they shared together as friends along with Naruto. If their blonde friend was here with them, their group would have been complete. She smiled affectionately when she recalled all of the times the three of them would fool around doing nothing in particular. She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost jumped in surprise when Sasuke spoke.
"What is your plan? Where will the party take place?" Sasuke couldn't contain his curiosity, so he decided to break the silence that started to progress between the two.
"Naruto's house. I already spoke to his mother and she was thrilled by the idea," she answered wholeheartedly out of sheer satisfaction with herself for a job well done. Besides, she was truly excited that Kushina gave her the approval to organize the party at their home.
Sasuke chuckled in enjoyment at her answer, since he had not expected it. Afterward, he spoke while giving her a sideways glance, "Okay, I trust you've already planned every detail." The look in his eyes indicated that he already knew what she was thinking before even saying anything . He smirked after recalling every other time she acted like this over some incredibly exclusive idea — she had the tendency to plan major things and never found any of the tasks hardly achievable.
"Yeah," Sakura agreed hastily, before continuing, "the whole concept is in my head, but I really need the help from a party planner." She was giving much thought about the whole idea for the past week and she realised that she could never organize a huge party all by herself. Without noticing his amused smirk, she proceeded to muse aloud.
"I haven't decided on the music choice and if it would be a good idea to hire a DJ," she pouted cutely in thought for a short moment, "so, I was hoping that you will help me with that." It was then that she finally looked at him with that pleading spark shining in her eyes. It was a look that he could never possibly ignore.
Whenever he would witness such a soft shine in her jade eyes, he would feel incredibly powerless in front of her. Her expressive eyes were his weak spot and he could never find a possible way to escape from it. He needed a few seconds to snap out of his thoughtful trance and willed himself to be as nonchalant as possible in his answer.
"I think that hiring a DJ would be a great idea, since I already know that you plan a huge party," he succeeded to speak in an almost calm manner, but it was just a desperate attempt to cover up his true feelings. At the moment he felt incredibly nervous in her presence, for some unknown reason. He just knew that just by looking at him she managed to awaken the feelings that he believed he had buried in the past.
"Oh, you know me so well, Sasuke-kun," she joked in response, before releasing a sweet giggle.
"Hn," he finally relaxed and smirked in reaction to her antics, before giving her the response she hoped to hear, "As for the music, we can work on a list of songs together," he finished talking, but did not expect her reaction even in the slightest.
"That sounds awesome!" she chirped excitedly. She was taken aback by his response that was not just a simple agreement. By giving a suggestion of his own that involved spending more time with her he made her confident about the development of their relationship as friends. "We should also think of a way to distract him for the whole day," she added a few seconds later.
"I'll take care of that, so don't worry," he said to her, not having a reason to mind spending time with Naruto in order to successfully surprise him. Even Sasuke wanted to do something that would undoubtedly make his best friend happy.
"Thank you." After whispering her gratitude, she looked at him with a very gentle look in her jade eyes.
"What for?" he simply asked.
"For helping me." She smiled pleasantly, while never averting her eyes from him.
He finally turned his head to look at her, before speaking, "Don't forget that the dobe is my best friend, even if he tends to piss me off sometimes." A flicker of a smile was barely visible on his lips, making Sakura wonder if it was only her imagination.
"Yeah, how could I forget?" she sarcastically spoke. Afterward, when they looked in each others eyes, she smiled affectionately at him, a gesture he returned with a small smile. The action made her insides flutter in nervousness, for she was especially pleased that he enjoyed this as much as she did. Actually, she admitted to herself that she hadn't felt so at ease in months.
The next couple of hours they were forming the details of the party with the help of a professional party planner. The woman, who was apparently very good at doing her job, was recommended by Tsunade. Sakura felt thankful after noticing that the woman had a visionary's talent for organizing celebrations. After the meeting finished, she just knew that it would be the best party ever, seeing how things went along.
They exited the office that was located in a huge store that was also owned by the woman; she also had a business of selling things that were needed for any sort of celebration. Feeling very excited with the accomplishment, Sakura was very slow to notice that there was a number of paparazzi waiting for her outside, but thankfully Sasuke did. He realised that the ones that called the paparazzi must have been some of the people that saw Sakura enter the store. The raven-haired boy asked himself why would anyone want to do such a thing and with what goal in mind. Nevertheless, he willed himself to react fast and try to take them to his car as fast as possible. He also noted that Eiichiro was already aware of the situation and ready to take action if needed.
The moment he and Sakura stepped in front of their line of vision, a chaos started to form with the sheer number of cameras that flashed right at their faces. It didn't take Sasuke long to stand very close to Sakura, positioning his body as a shield from any harm. Eiichiro was instantly on the other side of her, also guarding her from the paparazzi.
The privacy intruders already started asking their questions which were meant to provoke a scene.
"Sakura, who's your friend?" one asked, and his voice was so sickeningly detached of any emotion, as it was apparent that he had no feelings concerning what was happening whatsoever. That had to be the reason why he was capable of doing such a heartless thing as trespassing into someone's privacy.
"Is he your boyfriend?" another asked, as he approached far too close for her liking with a very fast movement. Everybody noticed the frightened look in her eyes the moment his camera flashed in her eyes. If it weren't for Eiichiro's fast reaction, Sasuke would have definitely done something to make the idiot regret taking a step closer and frightening her in the process.
Sasuke and Eiichiro were extremely worried for the pink-haired girl by that point. Thankfully, the well-built bodyguard did his job in protecting her by stepping in between the paparazzo and Sakura, — he was ready to push him aside violently if it was necessary — while Sasuke tried his best to calm her down.
"You seem to be spending a lot of time with him!" Sasuke barely contained his temper, which was already on a short leash because of their presence. He could not stand them, but he was enduring the temptation to send them all to hell and back, for the sake of the girl beside him. It was very obvious to him that she was scared, especially since the bastard that almost brought her a death sentence was there among the mass of flashing photographers. Still, for some reason he was taking his distance and kept his mouth shut, a fact that pleased the Uchiha tremendously.
"Are you cheating on Takeshi with him?" another question was thrown at Sakura, as it made her flinch visibly; it seemed that she was disturbed by such a suggestion. Sasuke could not contain the intimidating growl that left his lips, getting particularly angry after the mention of that bastard. However, Sakura asked for his utmost attention with the way she shook in apparent fear. He noted that she was still having some difficulty dealing with her own distress.
"Where are your other friends?" one of the paparazzi spoke, intentionally pronouncing the suggestive meaning behind his question. His attempts in receiving some interesting material were ruined since he was being ignored to the maximum.
Sasuke gently took Sakura's hand in his, bringing her closer to himself in utter need to calm her even if it had a small effect on her. Feeling her form, clearly shook-up, made his insides grew cold. Just by feeling how tenderly he intertwined their fingers, Sakura was instantly able to feel soothed, which also managed to warm him up.
"Calm down," he spoke tenderly at her ear, but he felt her shiver slightly in response. He placed his hand on her waist in attempt to give her the reassurance that she wasn't alone, before whispering softly in order to relieve her from the stress, "I'm here."
The moment his voice reached her, everything seemed to shrink around her, as if nothing was there anymore to make her distraught. She felt the shattering feeling suddenly and completely disappear from her system. She exhaled deeply and leaned on him, feeling utterly at ease having him beside her. Somehow he had that wonderfully comforting effect on her, so she finally let herself drift into a state of serenity without paying attention to what went on around her.
In the meantime Eiichiro did not allow any of the men to approach Sakura for even a second. He was constantly shielding her and it seemed that his strong posture gave them a bit of a fright. They were still asking questions, but intentionally holding their distance.
Sasuke managed to get her into his Ferrari and while walking toward the passenger side of the car he completely ignored the persistent paparazzi and their annoying questions. Eiichiro, seeing that Sakura was safe, followed after him and got in the big SUV. A moment later both cars drove off, leaving traces of tires on the asphalt caused by the speed they used to start the engines.
As Sakura watched the objects and people pass in a fast pace through the car window, a strange feeling enveloped her. The strong sensations gripped her heart and made her insides melt. She knew the feeling of love, but this was somehow stronger, much more passionate and expressive. Realising that it was all because of Sasuke and the sudden affectionate gestures he displayed toward her, she could not deny it any longer. Her love was way too deep to ever be erased or ignored.
As she stared at him with too much feeling expressed in her jade eyes, he turned to look at her. It might have been a small glance, but the tenderness his eyes displayed only for her, gave her new hopes she had never anticipated. She finally found what she had been searching for the past couple of months. The feelings he stirred in her always brought the most wonderful inspiration within her. In that instant she knew that she found it in him.
No words were exchanged between the both of them until they reached her house. He was first to exit the car and went to open the door for her. After leaving the car, she did not take a single step to leave his side. While she stood there, he stared at her with that same tender look in his eyes.
"Will, you be okay?" he asked in a hushed tone, his deep voice ringing in her ears. She just smiled warmly and took his hand in her smaller one and squeezed it tenderly, which made his skin tingle with a familiar sensation.
"Sasuke-kun, thank you..." she trailed off, meaning to speak further, but caught herself before she could reveal more of what she always kept secret from him. Instead, she slowly released his hand and took a step away from him. 'For being my inspiration.' with that thought floating through her mind, she walked toward the entrance of her home. Before completely removing herself from his sight she turned to give him a small bright smile, which awoke some unexpected feelings within him.
The following Thursday, what happened at the lunch break seemed to amuse the whole gang, apart from the totally oblivious Sakura and Sasuke. The way they interacted the whole time, apparently paying attention only to each other , made everyone else wonder what had changed between the two.
At the moment, Sakura was cheerfully talking to him, and he didn't even attempt to act cool about it, he was actually quite enjoying it. He was listening intently to what she had to say, even responding now and then, which, not at all strangely, made her even more giddy. They were so enveloped in their own world, not noticing the silence around them or even the looks they received.
"What the hell are they doing?" Kiba's pretty loud way of asking did nothing to affect them, but caught the attention of his other friends.
"This is just so strange," Naruto said in response, without taking his eyes off his two friends. He was tilting his head in utter curiosity, as if trying to figure out what was happening, or better said, what had happened between them to make them so comfortable with each other.
"If I didn't know any better, I would say that they were back together," Sai commented with no emotion on his face. However it was quite clear that he was trying to evaluate the situation by staring intently .
Sakura and Sasuke never realized that they looked like a couple exchanging such hidden affections. They were very comfortable in each other's presence , exactly because they used to be involved in a romantic relationship and now their friendship was more intense on a different level.
What happened next, made everybody and surprisingly even the stoic Neji gaping at them.
Sakura reached out to wipe a small tomato stain off of Sasuke's lips, acting as if it was the most normal thing to do. Their friends could not miss the small gesture she did when she licked it off of her finger as well, at which Sasuke didn't even blink as a reaction. After staring at each other for a short while, they abruptly turned at the exactly same time. Reaching to take the cans of iced tea that were placed in front of them, followed by the opening sound that was heard at the same second, they took a sip and left the cans on the table with what looked like a mimicked movement. They did the whole thing, without even noticing the real meaning behind that action. It looked exactly as if they mirrored their movements, which made the whole situation even more bizarre.
"This is not happening for real, is it?" Ino spoke in complete disbelief, finally being able to form her thoughts into a coherent sentence. Being completely aware of how two people in love would act when in close proximity to one another, she was literally struck by the whole thing. What surprised her most was that Sasuke looked exactly as if he were in love with Sakura. However, she could not be convinced just by one sheer moment of proof. Everything she just witnessed disturbed her for a reason, which was heavily written all over her beautiful face.
"I can not believe it either," Tenten whispered softly, almost hesitant to say it. She was obviously sharing the same feelings as her blonde friend, noticed by the look she exchanged with her. Their feelings were somewhat justified and they were mostly concerned for their friend, who already had her heart broken because of Sasuke.
The only girl that had a dreamy look in her eyes, while looking at the pink-haired girl and the Uchiha, was Hinata. She, on the contrary, was quite positive about the outcome of the new development, which was also exactly how Naruto felt, his thoughts obvious by the look in his eyes. He was even planning to make everything right between Sasuke and Sakura, no matter what, only he still did not know how to accomplish that. While thinking about it, he realized that there was an unbearable silence settling among the group that was too aggravating for his liking.
All of a sudden, the blonde loud-mouth decided to try and divert the attention from his two friends, since the uneasy atmosphere was disturbing him. "Hey, guys, are you up for clubbing this Saturday?" he asked, with notable eagerness in his voice. He hoped that his intentions would go unnoticed, but he had captured Sasuke's and Sakura's interest.
"What do you have in mind?" Kiba asked, sounding not too expectant. He was willing to hear what Naruto had in mind, then evaluate the idea and finally accept it, only if it satisfied his wishes. There were times, which happened most of the time, when he felt as if he was the only one in the gang capable of choosing the best place for a night out.
"We can go to Icha Icha Paradise!" He wiggled his eyebrows while saying his suggestion out loud with a noticeable glint in his eyes.
"I'm totally up for that idea!" Kiba shouted enthusiastically, knowing what kind of club Naruto's perverted godfather owned. It was just too good to be true and he expected to meet many hot girls there.
"I don't really care where we go, as long as there are girls there," Sai added his comment, feeling the necessity to do so.
"My manager knows the owner," Sakura finally averted her attention to someone other than Sasuke, by looking at Naruto with a knowing look. "Could Jiraiya, by any chance, be the owner of that club?" she asked, already recalling the conversation when Tsunade mentioned that she was a friend of his.
"I don't like the sound of that," Ino said, sharing a knowing look with the other girls.
"I have the same feeling, Ino." Tenten agreed with the blonde girl, recalling the perverted man's behavior, and especially his taste. However, their curiosity won over in the end and they accepted to go to the club at least once and see what had been done to the place. After all, Jiraiya had an exceptional taste, mostly in a negative sense.
It was not surprising that all of Naruto's friends had already met his godfather since he was a person that wanted to hang around young people. He would gladly accept any chance to converse with the teens and preferably use the opportunity to give them advices about the opposite sex. Most of the guys liked him, except for the Uchiha and the Hyuga, since his way of talking annoyed them almost every time they were in his presence. Unlike them, Kiba was the most enthusiastic one to hear what Jiraiya had to say.
"Yes, he is," Naruto answered nonchalantly, but his face spoke of his sudden curiosity in relation to Sakura's question. "Why do you ask?" he finally added, after deciding not to bother himself with the insignificant thoughts on the matter.
"Well, Tsunade once suggested that we visit the club, but I totally forgot about it," she answered with no expression on her face, as she focused her attention on the meal in front of her.
"Oh, and is your manager like his girlfriend or something?" Kiba worded out the question Naruto wanted to ask, but in a particularly teasing way. He was thinking about the huge chest of the older woman and how she must be the type of women the perverted Jiraiya would prefer.
"I don't think so, but I really have no idea," she said thoughtfully. She was trying to think of something that Tsunade said and might have indicated what sort of relationship she shared with Naruto's godfather. Her best guess was that they were just acquaintances or maybe friends, if they shared any sort of a close relationship at all.
"I bet they are more than friends, what with the size of her breasts," Kiba was not paying any heed to his own words, not minding the girls present. He was always one to speak his mind openly, without caring what the others thought. However, the girls shot him ferocious looks, feeling totally offended, being female; he really acted as if had no respect for women.
"Hey, don't talk about her that way!" Sakura snapped at him, feeling a need to defend the woman that was like a second mother to her.
"What? It's the truth," he simply added, while giving her a look that was supposed to state an obvious fact.
"Whatever, just keep your thoughts to yourself next time," she said in quite the normal tone. After all, she figured it would be best if she never took Kiba's words as foul since she knew he meant no harm by saying them; it was just the way he was.
"Your wish is my command, princess," the tone of his voice had a sarcastic undertone, but nevertheless he smiled at her, before taking a huge bite of his sandwich.
Sakura couldn't believe how stupidly he sometimes behaved and just rolled her eyes at his dim-witted antics.
Afterwards, they all fell in a comfortable friendly interaction, most probably leading an unimportant conversation, which seemed quite exciting to them. Sakura and Sasuke, most of the time, were engaged in their own little world while making plans for Naruto's birthday party. They had no other time for having that sort of conversation due to Sakura's packed up schedule, so they had to manage right then and there. Since it was supposed to be done in absolute secrecy, their interaction appeared to be very intimate.
The admired looks Sakura received from Sasuke, the whole time she was in his presence, were angering his fan club even more. They could not believe how she of all people could get that kind of attention from the handsome Uchiha, because to them she was definitely not worthy of his attentions. The one that was especially angered and seething with pure jealousy was already shooting daggers at Sakura's back.
Karin was watching every little interaction between Sasuke and Sakura with a scrunched up face that portrayed her inner rage. She desperately wanted everything that Sakura had, most of all Sasuke's love and devotion. The hours Karin spent daydreaming about her Sasuke and the affections he showed her in those dreams could not just go to waste; she wanted all of it to be real and she was definitely willing to do anything to make it so.
It was then that Karin made a final decision considering Sakura and her spotless reputation in the press. Apparently, what she witnessed a minute ago made her temper explode and she was very determined to ruin Sakura Haruno.
The red-head girl decided to wait until she could distance herself enough, and in the process make sure that no one could possibly hear her, in order to accomplish her plans. She was determined to ruin the career of the girl that undoubtedly captured the heart of the one guy she harboured strong feelings for. Those feelings did not allow her to give Sasuke up, especially not to someone like Sakura.
She grasped the red device in her hands and typed in the number that was written on the small card that was given to her by that scary looking paparazzo. She waited only a few seconds before a man's voice was heard on the other line, a voice that sounded incredibly hoarse.
"Hello."
"Ryoga Takayama?" she asked in a weak voice, a result of her hesitance. She started to feel terribly bad for acting like a mean person, when in reality she never did anything of the sort.
"Yes?" his creepy thin voice made her hesitate yet again, but she intentionally dismissed that feeling after a few seconds of thought. She felt ready to do the unforgivable deed and spoke before loosing all the courage she had managed to build up during the past couple of hours.
"I have information about Sakura Haruno." The hastiness in her manner of speaking gave off her nervousness at the cruelty of the action she had decided to do. Considering doing something of the sort was not the only thing that bothered her. The unpleasant feeling was what made her realise the severity of her decision. In addition to being completely aware that it was very wrong, she believed that she was not to be blamed at all, since she was only being lead by the very honest feelings she had for Sasuke. After all, there had to be a reason why people believed that a woman was ready to do anything for love.
"Oh? Is that right?" he inquired with, not intending to hide his immoral thoughts as they became quite clear in the tone of his voice. "You have my utmost attention, then."
Karin needed a moment to speak, since her mind was suddenly plagued by an unpleasant thought. She realised that he did not remember her. She started to wonder whether he was so determined to ruin Sakura as to not remember everybody he had asked for help. It scared her to even consider the things he was capable of.
"Well, what do you have, girlie?" he ushered her to answer, since she had been silent for almost a whole minute .
Deciding to dismiss her thoughts, she finally spoke, "I know where she'll be this Saturday night."
That Thursday afternoon, Sakura had a date arranged with Takeshi. At least, he thought of it as some sort of a date, when in reality it was a meeting to discuss their collaboration. The teen star had just finished her daily rehearsal with the dance crew and was exceptionally tired, but still accepted his offer since she didn't have time for him any other day.
She arrived at their meeting place with Eiichiro and the rest of the men that were constantly by her side. Even when she exited the SUV, the muscled man followed her every step. Takeshi was with his Maserati and he parked it right in front of the famous café, completely irresponsibly, being an exception to the rule. He did not have to worry about the fact that parking a car at that exact spot was forbidden — he was privileged and had a special permission from the owner of the café.
As he walked towards Sakura in order to greet her, he exuded such utter conceit that his ego was noticeable form afar. Sakura did not pay attention to it, but nonetheless greeted him with her usual polite smile. Ever since the dinner when they signed the deal, she started forming a much better opinion of him. His constant calls apparently served their purpose — he had really managed to get under her skin.
However, she was not the only one harbouring positive feelings for the other. Takeshi started changing his attitude toward her, his initial plans with her were now almost erased from his mind. They would have been completely gone, had he actually found the strength to push his ego aside and finally allow himself to genuinely care about someone else other than himself.
The instant he reached her, he leaned in to greet her with a kiss on the cheek, feeling that the gesture would appeal to her immensely. He was not far from the truth, but Sakura accepted it as a friendly greeting and nothing else. Moreover, he wanted to do it to get closer to her by all means possible. His wish to make her his girlfriend grew by the day, especially in the moments he had the chance to talk to her. The feelings he started to develop for her were becoming more sincere than he initially thought.
He eyed her up and down, noting that she had quite a unique sense of style. She was dressed in dark jeans, bright yellow tank top with a bright blue cardigan on top that reached her mid-thigh. There was a very thin yellow belt on her waist, and she had the sleeves of the cardigan tucked up to her elbows. She wore Versace shoes on her feet that were paired up with the whole outfit exceptionally well, with the edgy colors making them quite eye catching. Her bag was mostly made out of patent leather, but on the sides it had some material that matched well with her blouse and cardigan. To top that look, she wore two necklaces that were made out of thin chains and some very small pendants.
"Hey there, beautiful," he spoke, using the tone of voice he believed was charming to any girl. And it worked, even on Sakura. She was really fond of his voice, not just because he sounded so wonderful when singing, but she also enjoyed listening to him when he talked.
"Hey, Takeshi," she answered, before politely asking, "How are you?"
"I'm great now that I have you by my side," his attempt to flirt casually was awarded by a small smile from her. He then suggested, "Let's go, I reserved a great table for us inside."
"No, please, let's just sit outside. I could really use some air," she said in an almost pleading way, something that he, surprisingly, caught on instantly.
"Why? Are you feeling okay?" he asked, even sounding a bit worried, being surprised by that rare feeling evoked in him by people other than himself.
"Yeah, I'm okay, but I feel very tired," she honestly confessed, as he placed his hand on her lower back.
"I know the feeling. It'll pass, don't worry," he attempted to comfort her, as he led her toward the small entrance of the café.
She smiled slightly at his comforting words and added softly, "Thank you, Takeshi. I am glad you understand."
When inside, they were instantly recognized by the man assigned to welcome the guests and present them to an available table. He approached them in a very polite way, "Welcome to Hanabira*! We have a table ready for you." (A/N: *flower petal)
"Actually, we would like to sit outside, on the terrace." Takeshi used a commanding tone, which was his usual behavior when talking to people he considered beneath him.
"Of course, Yuroichi-san." the man bowed in respect and turned to lead them toward the best table on the terrace, one in a secluded area. The place was decorated with so many flowers, each with petals in different colors, and something clearly hinting at the name of the café.
After they were seated in the chairs at their table, Takeshi immediately spoke to her, "Congratulations on your nominations, Sakura!"
She nodded with her head, her smile expressing her friendly appreciation for his thoughtfulness, before returning the gesture with her words, "Congratulations to you, also! You've nailed five this year." Sakura was referring to his three nominations from last year, all the while indicating that he must be very satisfied this time.
"Thank you, but having you as competition, I wouldn't count on wining," he said in a nonchalant way as if not caring about the awards, but internally he was not that happy with the fact.
"I should be the one to say that, you have much better chances than I do." She was being honest, her thoughts led by the minute possibilities of her actually winning any award. Well, she figured that she might win the Best New Act Award, but the competition was more than tight even in that category. She allowed herself no hopes for the other categories, especially the ones where she was nominated alongside him.
He chose not to comment on that thought, not wanting to agree with her and thus seem selfish. Sometimes, even he knew that he was acting a bit too conceited than necessary, but it could not be helped since it was part of his personality. Instead, he decided to skip to a different topic.
"I have something that might cheer you up a bit," he said, wishing for her to be pleasantly surprised. Then, he added in a joking tone, "at least, I hope it will." He slid a folded piece of paper along the table in order to make her see the contents.
"What is it?" She looked at him questioningly, at which he just smiled in return and ushered her to open the sheet of paper with a nod.
She started to skim over the written words and realisation downed on her. "Oh. My. God! I can not believe it!" she screeched in utter delight.
"The music is still not completely finished. There are some parts of it that need to be worked on, and I am planning to do that with the help of my producer," Takeshi explained, feeling the need to do so.
Sakura was totally blown off, not expecting him to write a song for them to sing together. She read the words he wrote for her to sing and she instantly loved them, and all she could do was compliment his work. "Well, the lyrics are certainly amazing!"
"I am so relieved that you like them." It was a rare thing for him to be truly honest about his feelings, but he really wanted to get that out of his chest.
"Why do you say that? Of course I would love them!" She was also being honest with him, already having a certain respect developed for his talent for writing songs.
"I thought that it might be too much unlike your own style." He truly feared she might not agree to sing the lyrics, that she would think them far too bold. After all, she never sang something that had double meaning and had sexual reference.
"Your lyrics are different from what I usually sing, but it fits your style, so I have no problem with that." She really did agree to singing those lyrics, but she also made a mental note to speak with Tsunade first and make sure the record company wouldn't have anything against her singing the song. However, the matter needed no immediate attention. After all, the whole thing was planned for December.
"Okay, I am glad you think so." He smiled after saying that, but suddenly remembered to ask her something, "But, what about you? Have you finished your song?" He felt compelled to ask her, after her complaints on the phone over her lack of inspiration.
"Almost, I brought the lyrics though. I was working on them these past couple of days, but I am still not completely satisfied." Her being nervous about the whole thing made her speak more hastily than usual. She reached in her bag and took out a small notebook and after opening to the right pages, she gave it to him.
He took some time to read her work and then spoke reassuringly, "The way I see it, it sounds perfect!" He looked at her in a serious way, displaying his satisfaction with the lyrics.
She reached to point at something in the notebook and tried to explain it to him, "Look at this part, I feel like it's not exactly what I want to say." She huffed, irritated with herself and her too demanding brain.
"Why don't you try talking about it? You might figure out what you want to say. That usually helps me." His attempt to give her advice urged her to express her thoughts about the thing that bothered her most.
"I don't know, I want to say that it feels like I am suffocating without his love, but the word is just so... unappealing! I need something better, something like... it's hard to breathe if he is not by my side..." she trailed off. She expressed her thoughts hastily, all the while not noticing that she sounded as if she were speaking of a real person. Hearing her speak in such an intense way of another guy took Takeshi by surprise.
After the short moment of spacing out, she suddenly screamed in satisfaction, "Oh my god! No breathing... No air!" The words she said were exactly what she had needed to perfect the lyrics, even though she was aware that she would have to make some huge changes after this new idea. "I got it!" As she said those three words in an almost triumphant way, she smiled in satisfaction.
"You see, it worked out!" He gave her a smile in return, feeling satisfied that he actually helped her. The feeling was completely unfamiliar, but he realized that it was a very pleasant emotion.
She smiled thankfully at him and reached to take his hand in hers. "Oh, thank you, Takeshi. You really are amazing!" She squeezed gently and he decided that this was the right moment to ask her the question he'd been meaning to ask her ever since they sat down. Suddenly, he felt much closer to her.
"Sakura, I wanted to ask you something..." The look in his eyes was surprisingly softened and he blamed her appealing characteristics for this sudden change of emotions.
"Yes?" She nodded, urging him to continue. But, before he had the chance to speak she noticed a sudden movement in the distance. After realising what it was, she asked absolutely horrified, "Are those paparazzi in the bushes?"
Takeshi had to turn around in order to look in the direction she was staring at. He noticed that three men were flashing their cameras at them and cursed them for their stupidity. He did not tell them to come there to take pictures of him and Sakura and make themselves known so easily.
"Yes, I wonder how they found us," he lied and turned to look at her, hoping that she wouldn't mind their presence, but to no avail.
She was really disturbed and instantly stood up. "Takeshi, I am really sorry, but I have to go." Her voice was almost weak and the look in her eyes wasn't nearly as pleasant as before. It appeared that she was still affected by the incident with the paparazzo.
"No, please, stay," he tried to make her stay by pleading in a desperate way.
"I really can't. I am so sorry, I will call you tomorrow," she apologized, clearly anxious about the whole unpleasant thing. She already had her bag in her hands and took a step to walk away. "Bye!" She waved in goodbye and left the café in haste.
"Bye," he whispered to himself as he watched her leave. At that moment he regretted his stupid decision to call the paparazzi to get publicity, not liking having lost his chance to ask her out.
It was one in the morning, the streets of Tokyo were almost deserted, the street lights glowing strongly in the darkness. However, some secluded areas in the city made everything feel eerie even without the darkness, easily terrifying just about anyone. That was not the case with Itachi and his gang, who were working on a very important part of their plan, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. They were currently divided into teams, all of them dispersed throughout the city.
Itachi was once again partnered with Kisame and they were situated in a car near the apartment that was owned by Ryoga Takayama — but under a different name. The task Kisame was appointed to do was already accomplished, but he had no luck in finding anything that could be of actual importance to them. Breaking into the apartment was fairly easy for the experienced man, having dealt with much more difficult assignments in the past. The worst thing was that the place looked exactly as if it had been deserted a long time ago, a fact that clashed with the information Yahiko had obtained. It was, however, not their first time to witness something of the sort; there were many criminals that lived under the same conditions in hope that they wouldn't be found or targeted. Itachi and Kisame already assessed the situation and were sure that he had only recently left the apartment and it was expected that he would eventually show up.
Konan, Nagato and Yahiko had just arrived in front of a bar that was visited by many small criminals, one of the regulars being Ryoga. They had just finished their turn guarding Sakura, who was now safely sleeping at her home, after a whole day of work filled agenda.
Nagato, with his exceptional eyesight, instantly spotted the vehicle that was owned by their target. "His van is parked in front of Raito*!" he exclaimed, while pressing a button at the small device that was placed in his ear. He wanted the message to reach everyone's ears. (A/N: *Light)
Itachi was the first to speak, with a strong commanding voice, "Do not enter the bar, we'll wait until he shows his face!" He wanted to take no risks in regards with this mission, but above all he wanted it executed in complete secrecy. That place was just too grotesque for their style and filled with people that did low class activities. Their stealthy ways of dealing with things was like a trademark they were known for, and he didn't intend to sully their reputation. Also, they were not sure that Ryoga was there and they could not afford to let him get away. So, there they were, still waiting at different places, all of them regularly visited by the awful man.
"Right, we are ready and waiting!" Nagato said in response.
"Alright, just give us the sign and we'll be there!" Sasori spoke through his device, announcing that he and Deidara were also ready and waiting for any command.
A few minutes later, a man that fitted the description exited the dreadful place that was used for many illegal activities. Its name was the complete opposite of what it represented, especially given it's location. The bar was situated in an alley that looked dreadful, with all the filth dispersed on the asphalt and the stench coming from just about everywhere.
"Itachi, the target just exited the bar!" Konan's voice was a bit higher than usual, given that it was the moment they had all been waiting for.
Those words made all of them prepare for the next move, going through the already planned strategy in their minds. Their intention was to chase him down, capture him and make him talk.
Itachi started the car, already feeling the fury racing through his veins. The angry glint in his eyes indicated that he was prepared to destroy the man that almost got Sukura killed. He cared for her as a big brother would and he was ready to do anything to protect her.
"You seem awfully riled up!" Kisame chuckled in utter amusement, but he meant it in a good-natured way.
"Hn," the Uchiha grunted, while speeding off into the distance. The sound the engine created was exactly like air being compressed and then instantly being released with a mind-blowing noise. The Audi RS5 was a machine that was worth every praise, and it had served them well in many missions.
Sasori was behind the wheel of another Audi RS5, while Deidara was seated in the passenger seat, but they had been quarrelling over some insignificant thing or other. The second they heard Konan's voice, they both forgot their ranting and Sasori instantly started the engine. He was already too irritated, so this whole thing was more than welcomed to him, while Deidara practically fidgeted with pure excitement.
The blue-haired girl was ready and waiting for the van to move, the engine of her car already roaring to life. Her foot was placed over the gas pedal and the moment the van drove off, she pressed on it and was instantly in a state of complete control of her own actions. She expected to get noticed, intentionally making herself visible. She counted on receiving a certain advantage in the situation, expecting the man to panic once he realised he was being followed.
Pure adrenaline was taking control of Itachi's senses as he gripped the steering wheel and drifted through the crossroads, tires screeching loudly as they left black imprints on the asphalt beneath. He had no intention of letting the bastard get away, when they had the perfect chance to corner him without anyone witnessing their actions.
The atmosphere was tense, as the three cars speed through the almost empty streets of Tokyo. It was unbelievable how they manoeuvred the fast machines so effortlessly, all the while displaying such incredible control, even at such high speed.
Konan was right behind the van, ready to push the driver into a state where he wouldn't be able to decide which road to take. He was practically being led into the trap they set for him, and outmanoeuvred by a girl nonetheless. She was constantly informing the other two of the situation, through the devices they used for communicating.
The navigation device installed in their cars was giving them all the needed information in order to follow Konan's movements throughout the city. They had to reach her position and corner their target simultaneously.
When Itachi and Sasori ultimately joined the more exciting chase, Konan screamed, "Finally!" with a small tinge of eagerness evident in her tone of voice.
"Now, this is exciting!" Yahiko commented from the sidelines, already knowing where their game would take them.
"Konan, corner him from the right, yeah!" Deidara spoke, making the girl angry to the maximum with his attempt to guide her.
"Deidara, shut your mouth!" she seethed through clenched teeth, concentrating on taking a swift turn to push the van toward the edge of the road. "Let me do the driving!" Her hand was gliding along the steering wheel, as she distanced herself for a few seconds only to slam right into the left side of the big vehicle.
"Nice one, Konan!" Yahiko said admiring her driving skills, feeling no stress from the previous collision.
It took them a few more attempts, especially on Itachi's side in order to lead him toward a dead end. He was trapped in a alley that had only one exit and it was blocked by them. All seven of them instantly exited the sleek limousines, but Itachi was the fastest to reach him, feeling more eager than the others to capture the guy.
However, the moment he got him out of the van and squeezed his throat in a tight grip, he realized something. The man in front of him was definitely not the one they were after. He was not Ryoga Takayama, even though he had similar appearance.
"Who are you?" Itachi shouted angrily and after receiving no response in return, he literally growled his next word, "Speak!" His eyes held a vicious and threatening glare. The men covered in fear, already sweating in uneasiness, especially after Itachi tightened his hold on him.
Konan, after noticing the deadly aura that came from Itachi and the affect it had on the man, she choose to speak with an exceptionally sweet voice, derision dripping in every word she uttered, "Itachi, you are scaring the shit out of him. Let me talk to him."
Itachi immediately gave her the chance to release some anger on the man, already knowing her ways of interrogating.
The instant she stood in front of him, she gripped him by his throat and clenched her fingers in a ferocious way, digging her nails in his skin. "You'd better speak now," she seethed through her teeth in a sinister way, and leaned in to whisper slowly, but in clear admonition, "or I'll make you wish you were never born."
"She's real subtle, Yahiko, yeah." The blonde, who was the youngest among the gang and the only one with no scruples, joked once again. He was really enjoying himself when picking on Yahiko and his feelings for Konan. "Is she always this gentle?" he added for good measure, eagerly awaiting a heated response.
The look in Yahiko's eyes was a very dangerous one. "Deidara, you are really asking for it," he warned in a quiet, but strong voice. It was a sensitive topic for him, after all.
Deidara just lifted his mouth in half a smile, and huffed in exasperation, before turning his attention to the woman and her victim.
"What is your connection with Ryoga Takayama?" she asked, a glare forming in her eyes. She was not that easily fooled and she knew he had a strong connection with their target. He even looked so much like the man they were after, she was positive they were related.
"I don't know him, I just bought this van from him," he tried to lie, once again. The calculating look she gave him apparently scared him immensely, so he added in a considerably weak voice, "It's the truth, I swear."
The woman ignored his attempt of being deceitful with her. "Where is he now?" she shouted the question right in his face, feeling fury because of his foul attitude. She was ready to make him kneel in front of her and beg for mercy, but even she knew that this was not the place for that.
Nagato, after noticing her slight distress, approached her from behind and whispered to her, "Konan, let me search him, I also have a feeling that he's lying to us." His manner of speaking made it very clear that she would eventually have a chance to make him suffer, much later though, when he would be taken to their base.
Nagato was a very ruthless man when it came to dealing with criminals. He possessed no feeling of remorse for them, always bearing in mind that they were too cruel to be treated in any other way. As always, he was showing his vindictive side, while the man shook in utter fear.
After leaving the man in his hands, Konan walked toward Itachi, wanting to have a word with him.
"Itachi, he's Takayama's brother, I just know it," Konan addressed Itachi in a detached way, without looking at him. She was occupied with her own thoughts, while trying to decipher the whole situation.
"Hn, I noticed the resemblance," his answer was casual and his voice cool and devoid of any emotion. He was constantly observing the man and already had a plan formed in his mind.
"He carries no documents with him," the claret-haired man turned to look at their leader, waiting for further instructions. However, he already knew what the decision would be, so he gripped the man fiercely and forced him into the side of the van with his face pressed tightly to the cold metal.
"Take him to the base!" Itachi shouted angrily, all the while glaring at the man that dared to lie to them. His words were easily understandable, since they always meant severe interrogation methods. Afterward, he just casually commanded, "Deidara, you know what to do," before swiftly leaving the scene without batting an eyelash. He knew that they would catch Ryoga soon and after that make him regret every foul action he had ever done in his life.
"You just made the worst mistake of your life!" Yahiko threatened the man that was being led by Nagato, his hands tightly bound with a special rope that made it impossible to escape .
After obtaining some things that could serve them, Deidara placed a small device in the van and started distancing from it. "You have to feel art. And true art... is a BLAST!" he bellowed the last word of his trademark line at the same time the explosion happened.
"You clean up the mess!" Sasori said to him, with utter disrespect latched to his tone of voice. He could not stand his bragging about art, it never ceased to annoy him. He then went and sat in the driver's seat of the car.
TO BE CONTINUED...
