Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 7: As Long As He Loves You Back
"Ah! Is Sasuke really not going to eat?" The pinkette asked as she watched Mebuki slide into a chair, rubbing her forehead.
"The only thing I like about him is his good looks. Otherwise, he's just a selfish kid." Mebuki sighed, then reached over for her bowl of rice.
Sakura gave a light laugh. Mebuki's eyes trailed off to their family picture of the three Harunos – Kizashi and Mebuki, with Sakura in the middle.
"You know, Sakura… you used to say all the time that you'd marry someone like Kizashi – your father." Mebuki drifted back to her memories while Sakura watched her in silence, not knowing if she had wanted a reply. "And as you can see from the picture, Kizashi's not the most handsome man… but he managed to charm both of us."
Mebuki broke free from her gaze and rested her eyes on Sakura. "Kizashi's on a mission now, and it's pretty hard to see him… But even now, he loves me a lot."
There was a faint sound of a door creaking open. Immediately, Mebuki stopped, and the two Haruno women looked up at Sasuke.
"I'd like some water."
Surprised at such a simple request, Mebuki smiled as she took out a jug of cold water from the fridge. "Here, and nice timing too."
Sasuke raised his eyebrows in question, while he poured himself the ice water.
"So, Sakura." Mebuki shifted her attention back to Sakura, her voice loud enough for Sasuke to hear.
"When you love a man, I don't care if he's stupid, ugly, poor, a traitor," Mebuki stole a quick glance at Sasuke as she said this, "or… a jinchuuriki."
Sasuke abruptly stopped drinking, gazing at Mebuki with a curious stare. By jinchuuriki… She most possibly meant Naruto, and hearing a mother talk about Naruto as a possibility of her daughter's future husband sounded definitely… strange.
"Sakura, I don't care about any of this, as long as he – "
"Loves me back." Sakura finished quietly, then her green eyes widened, surprised at what she had just said.
"You must have told me a lot of times if my response is this… immediate." Sakura tried to explain, while Sasuke noticed a strange look of surprise and happiness in Mebuki. Perhaps she was happy Sakura remembered her words, Sasuke assumed.
Anyhow, he would have to be careful with his words, Sasuke thought, if he didn't want Sakura to go remembering something he had said.
It was as Sasuke was walking back to his room that he had realized: Sakura was no longer a fangirl – this much he expected – but she was oddly quiet and careful. Something didn't feel right.
Hurriedly, Sasuke stormed off to the dining room once again, and he gripped Sakura's wrists, forcing her to stand up.
She was clearly confused by his action as she squeaked out, "Sasuke?" Meanwhile, Mebuki stepped closer to the two like lightning, in case he tried to hurt her.
"You."
Sasuke's black eyes glared into Sakura's with contempt and suspicion.
"You do remember, don't you? You lied about having amnesia."
Sakura only looked back helplessly, unsure how to respond.
"I-I'm sorry, but I really don't remember."
Sakura looked into his eyes, unafraid but confused. "If there's something I should remember, but I don't, I'm sorry…"
Her eyes were sincere, and Sasuke let her go, his sudden anger dissipating away.
"Don't apologize." Sasuke said harshly, and he turned to go. As he caught Sakura's eyes though – her innocent and brilliant eyes – he quietly added. "It's not your fault."
'But is it mine?'
"Sasuke."
Mebuki's voice took him by surprise – he had forgotten she was also here.
"If you expected Sakura to go crazy over you, don't. She's changed, so don't ever expect to see the Sakura you used to know."
"Hn."
Deep within Sasuke, the Sakura before him was the same Sakura he knew – innocent and so, so pure – with of course, her lack of memory and fangirling ability.
As Sasuke walked off, Sakura caught his ears a shade of light red from having made a wrong accusation, and Sakura lightly laughed. It was like a distant melody to Sasuke, before he lost himself in the shades of the dark hallway again.
a/n: Thank you for the lovely reviews as always xD Not much Sasusaku interactions yet, but it'll come, slowly...
