I need a (Wo)man
Summary: Being a Cancer and so utterly sentimental, one would have thought that they would have had Sasuke Uchiha all figured out. He was an emotional crybaby with a brother complex and an arguably irritating need to be the best of the best. So why was it so damn hard for him to love a woman? Maybe his brother knew and had an idea on how…
Chapter Seven
Sakura knew that fleeing was a rash decision.
Even though she knew that she wasn't necessarily in the wrong, Sakura couldn't help but feel like a criminal. She had punched Sasuke square in the face, and while her action was a sign of power and blatantly informed her former lover that she didn't give a single fuck about his ego, she had immediately canceled out the emphasis of the action by running away.
Sakura knew that Sasuke wasn't going to come tailing after her though. It would be beneath him to trail her and deliver a blow in retribution. Besides, if he did, Sakura was more than willing to commence a fight with him. She wanted to beat the irritating, smirking, egotistical bastard to a bloody pulp! She would shove her fist in his face over and over again, and she would even beat up Itachi too if he dared to interfere with her disfiguring of his beloved younger brother's face. By the time she would be done with him, she would have to escort him to the hospital herself and put him in a full body bind!
Sakura smirked at the thought, a maniacal grin spread widely on her face.
She clenched her fists excitedly and sat on a large rock parallel to the creek beside her. She had dashed here to cool her face, and the faint quacks of the little ducklings in the water assisted in calming her. She wasn't aware how long she had been sitting here, furious and vengeful, but she was certain that today's training session with Itachi was over.
" He is gone."
Sakura didn't so much as move a muscle when she heard Itachi's voice this time. Truly, she had grown accustomed to his shadowy behaviors, so she was no longer surprised by his sudden appearances. It was what made Itachi..Itachi.
Sakura scoffed in reply, slightly bewildered by the elder Uchiha's appearance.
She was certain it was beyond one now. What was he still doing here?
" I would apologize on his behalf, his words were cruel and senseless, not to mention unnecessary," Itachi began. " But I trust you already knew that, and you know how he is."
That she did.
" You stood up for yourself, I don't blame you. I admire you, actually," Itachi admitted slowly.
" W-What?" Sakura sputtered at the unexpected confession.
What exactly was Itachi telling her right now? What did he mean by that? Why did it sound so weird? Why was Itachi being so weird?
" It's true," Itachi confirmed. " Not everyone has the gall to punch my brother, beyond Naruto and myself. Not only that, you really left an impact on him."
Sakura's ears perked up at the new tidbit of information. " How?"
She was curious, especially since she hadn't stuck around the training grounds long enough to discern his reaction. If Sasuke had actually let a little fury slip, well, Sakura wouldn't deny herself the satisfaction.
" He was shocked, to say the least. Angry, even. For a moment he looked like he wanted to go after you, but he hung back and his teammates for his mission came and he left with them."
Sakura's lips were lopsided. So he had, even for a moment, considered her enough of an adversary to go after. Either that, or Sasuke Uchiha had some semblance of a remorseful bone in his body.
Doubtful, Sakura thought to herself.
He was the man that had unashamedly used her out of convenience and offered a very unpretentious apology for it, after all.
Itachi sat down beside her, startling the pinkette further. His long legs dangled off the rock, and even though there was a visible space between them, Sakura couldn't help but become acutely aware of the distance between them.
"...I am aware that my brother has not treated you well," Itachi began.
That's a shocker, Sakura thought sardonically.
" ...He told you?"
The elder Uchiha shook his head. " I could tell right away from the moment I returned that not everything is alright between you two."
Sakura cringed at the thought of everyone in the village gaining the same knowledge Itachi had about the two. It had become a widespread rumour that she and the younger Uchiha had split ways, but the very thought that their dislike for one another was so obvious irked her. Breaking up in the way they had seemed immature to Sakura. They were adults, they shouldn't be playing this game.
She wouldn't take back the moment she punched him though.
Not for a second.
" I know my brother is not well just from being around him," Itachi added. " That's why I approached you, perhaps you knew something regarding what was troubling him,"
" I don't know a thing," Sakura insisted. " I mean we just broke up, and I barely saw him. He barely spoke to me for me to gain any real knowledge about him besides what he likes to eat for dinner."
That part was true.
Sasuke always had a ubiquitous mask of displeasure on his face. He could be beaming inwardly and Sakura would not have known. So if he had been acting grouchy, Sakura had no way of knowing what the reason could be. Maybe, just maybe it could be her? The thought occurred to her, but she quickly dismissed it. The way Sasuke had basically renounced her in the examination room...well that said enough about what he felt of their "relationship", right?
" He seemed very unhinged after you left the household," Itachi watched the girl carefully, gauging her reaction.
" Is that so?" Sakura appeared unfazed by his words, but inwardly, she was smirking gleefully at the thought of the younger Uchiha miserable following her exit.
" He was quite cumbersome and depressing," Itachi continued.
Sakura smirked, although the look on her face indicated that she was anything but smug. " Naruto would say that he was always like that. He was all depressing and moody."
" I guess that would be my fault," Itachi replied. " When Sasuke was a child he was actually quite happy. After he became the sole Uchiha in the village, his tears only bolstered his reasoning to locate me."
Sakura didn't say anything, recalling how she had unsuccessfully attempted to convince the younger Uchiha to stay in Konohagakure ten years ago. He had been at his wit's end, and despite the distance of time, she remembered the day clearly as if it was yesterday.
" You're not useless though," Itachi said, returning to the beginning of the conversation.
Sakura sucked in her breath, not keen on hearing condolences.
Seriously, she was getting tired of everyone apologizing to her or offering her sympathy because of Naruto and Sasuke. She knew she wasn't useless! She was probably contributing more to the welfare of the villagers than the two of them combined. Who cares if Naruto saved the village a couple times from mass destruction? And what did it matter that Sasuke protected the village from the outskirts? He caused more mayhem than mirth.
" I know you are aware of it, but there is something truly unique about you, Sakura Haruno. My brother was a fool to have let you go."
Huh? Since when did Uchiha's stick up for anyone else besides themselves?
Sakura glanced at the elder Uchiha, trying to decipher the meaning behind his blunt yet strangely comforting words. Not only was him consoling her uncharacteristic, the extra effort to repeat her value just straight up threw her for a loop. If Sakura was being honest, all of their interactions after his return were..odd. The more she saw him, the weirder she felt.
" Do you mean that?" Sakura asked wryly. " Or are you just saying that to make me feel better about Sasuke using me and tossing me out like the trash?"
It was after all, in Uchiha practice to always protect your clan's best interests. After witnessing Itachi's odd behavior, she actually wouldn't have been surprised if he just told her that he was telling her that to make up for Sasuke's actions.
Itachi turned, staring at the pinkette peculiarly. His lips parted, uttering the confirmation.
" Yes. I do."
It was rather vexing.
Sasuke and his team had returned from the three day mission in merely a day and a half. While it did seem dangerous when the Hokage had presented it to him, Sasuke didn't have the patience to trek with his team for three whole days. He had done it when they had been together as Team Taka, but Suigetsu and Karin's banter was getting on his nerves this time around. Surprisingly, the younger Uchiha wanted to do nothing more but to go home. He had been going on multiple missions back to back, and despite him being in peak condition, all Sasuke longed for was a day to himself.
When they had arrived home, Sasuke had decided that he would spend the next few days sleeping in and eating tomatoes to his heart's content. It was a simple desire, but a desire nonetheless.
Yet when he returned to the compound, he was greeted with the irksome sight of pink hair and green chakra glowing in the distance.
His brother was beside the pinkette, sitting on a rock comfortably with his forearms crossed loosely, staring at her luminous hands. The pair hadn't noticed him, or rather, didn't bother to make notice of him.
Sasuke bit his cheek.
It wasn't like he was out of their line of vision. They weren't in the same spot they had been when he last saw them together, but rather they had made themselves acquainted with the fields merely twenty five feet away from the Uchiha compound.
Shouldn't his elder brother greet him home?
Why was he still lollygagging with troublesome Sakura?
Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows and entered the compound in a huff, making sure to slam the door as loud as he could.
This was the third time that they were together. Or rather, the third time that he had been made aware of. Sasuke wondered if they scurried like rodents behind his back to meet, although he couldn't fathom Itachi's reasoning for doing that. Sakura was a lovesick woman. Just as she had squealed over him in their academy and genin days, he was certain that she was doing the same to Itachi. He had broken her heart recently.
Sasuke shuffled to his room to change, intensely trying to figure out the reason for their companionship.
Was Sakura trying to shove her way into his heart by using Itachi?
That made sense. That way, after fabricating a friendship with her brother, she could once again have access to the Uchiha compound and harass him to her heart's content. If that wasn't her motive, maybe she thought that he would get jealous of the time they spent together?
Ha.
As if he would get jealous.
The pinkette sure did resort to the most pathetic options when it came to vengence.
Sasuke entered the bathroom, opting to take a shower before he went to sleep. He wiped the back of his hand along his mouth, and became annoyed at the slightly raised bump on the corner. The foes he had faced on his mission were few, and he quietly took them all out on his own without even needing the help of his teammates. None of them had been skilled to land a hit on him, so why was he bruised?
Ah. It had been from Sakura.
She had punched him in the face after he had evaluated her abilities. She hadn't liked it, so she took her anger out on him like a child. Sasuke thought of being petty momentarily by approaching Sakura once again, to stir her emotions, but he dismissed the idea. She was weak, she wasn't worth his time, nor effort.
Just as he was about to step into the shower, he heard Sakura's voice, high pitch in the distance.
" Bye Itachi-san! See you tomorrow!~"
Sasuke didn't know why, but the high pitch in her tone irked him. She sounded happy, excited even, to see his brother. She had only sounded that way when she was with him.
Wait, what did she mean by 'see you tomorrow'?
Since when was his brother and Sakura so close?
Why were they in the training grounds together?
Had they been assigned to some sort of team?
Why did she sound so happy?
Why were they meeting so frequently?
Angrily, Sasuke shoved the shower curtain to one side as he stepped in.
He didn't know what was going on anymore, and that irritated him immensely. He scrubbed his body harshly, resolving to find out what exactly was going on by sundown.
It was just twenty minutes shy of sunset, and Kakashi couldn't wait to head home.
Every day usually was long and treacherous as Hokage, with the constant flurry of the townspeople coming in to voice their complaints, as well as a mix of ninja coming in looking for missions to partake in. Not to mention the perpetual amount of paperwork that threatened to topple over his desk at any given moment. After filling in the position of Hokage himself, Kakashi rightfully warned Naruto of the pains that came along with the title. It wasn't something that he wanted to do for several years.
Today however, had been slightly more pleasant.
Many ninja were in the midst of missions, and he saw few returning teams. Villagers had few complaints, and for some reason, even the paperwork had seemed small in comparison to the stacks he usually went through. He hadn't taken the opportunity to minimize the amount of work he had though. Instead of toiling away on his papers, Kakashi had decided to spend four hours of his day taking a nap on his chair. No one had come in, after all. So things were good and nothing required his attention.
Just as Kakashi was ready to get up and leave the office, he felt the familiar presence of his former pupil.
The copy ninja let out a sigh, knowing that he wouldn't be home in twenty minutes now.
" I expected you to be on that mission still, Sasuke," He drawled, closing his eyes.
" It was easy. It didn't require me to stay there for another day and a half." Came the curt reply.
Kakashi slowly opened his eyes, staring plainly at the formidable ninja before him. " Your team didn't come earlier to report it,"
" I had other duties," Sasuke replied. " I will return again tomorrow with the rest of them to verify the mission has been completed."
" Very well then," Kakashi agreed. " Is that all?"
" What have you made my brother do?"
The sudden question perplexed the sixth Hokage. He furrowed his brow quizzically at his former student's harsh and biting tone.
He didn't think that teaching medical ninjutsu was a sin. In fact, the elder Uchiha seemed delighted to be taught and take on the role as teacher soon.
" What do you mean?" He asked.
" I've noticed him on the training grounds, sparring with Sakura."
Ah.
Although Kakashi was busy fulfilling his duties as sixth Hokage, he was still aware of the tension between his former students. Normally, the tension was on the rise between Naruto and Sasuke, but now it seemed the tables have turned. He was aware that the two had been living together, but he didn't meddle much. He had also learned that Sakura had recently moved out, but the two of them had remained cool and professional when they entered his office, focused on missions and projects at hand rather than romanticisms. He hadn't thought that there was any bad blood between the two, but the way Sasuke had barged into his office looking practically venomous, Kakashi realized that things were not amicable between them.
" What have you made my brother do?" Sasuke repeated, his agitation apparent.
Kakashi sat back, amused. " I didn't think you would be so outraged at the idea of your brother training, Sasuke."
" That's not what I'm worried about," The younger Uchiha retorted.
" Ah, then what are you worried about?" Kakashi gave him a wry smile. " Is it that he is training with Sakura?"
Sasuke glared at his former teacher, lips pressed tightly. " Doesn't she have duties at the hospital?"
Kakashi nodded. " I gave her some time to off to train with Itachi."
" Why?" Sasuke demanded. " She is not competent nor of my brother's caliber. You're just wasting their time by pairing them up together. Why are they together anyway? Have you created some sort of team?"
Kakashi looked up at the ceiling. " You could say that. But they'll only be together for two weeks."
" Why two weeks?"
Kakashi made eye contact with Sasuke. " You see Sasuke, many on the council have suggested that we implement medical ninjutsu as a requirement for all ninja. There aren't really any negative outcomes of shinobi becoming more knowledgeable in this field, and you and I both know that Sakura is the most efficient medical-nin in all of the five nations."
" So you're making Itachi learn Medical Ninjutsu?" Sasuke asked incredulously. " Are you planning on sending him on missions?"
" Maybe," Kakashi admitted. " But that won't be anytime soon. For now, we thought it best to teach him and then help him implement the requirement amongst ninja for now. It hasn't been a week since he's returned, after all."
" How long is this supposed to go on?" Sasuke asked.
Kakashi shrugged. " For about two weeks. Sakura will return to the hospital then and Itachi will be fulfilling his new duties."
"Hn." Sasuke's face returned to the expressionless mask Kakashi was used to.
" What, don't tell me that you want Sakura to teach you too?" The sixth Hokage couldn't help but jest.
Sasuke glared at his former teacher before wordlessly leaving the office.
Kakashi laughed awkwardly. Man was his former student scary when he was angry.
He stood up, glancing at the now darkened cityscape out the window.
Damn.
He didn't know what was going between his former students, and frankly, he really didn't care.
Besides, if he didn't hurry, he would be late to the premiere of his favorite book turned movie, Icha Icha Paradise.
