Day Five
Wildflowers
Maybe the best thing to do had been to keep her mouth shut, and just let him brood, the way he always did. She should have just ignored it, and went on with her business, just as he did. She should have not let her temper get in the way, and should have not her emotions get the worst of her.
She should have kept in control.
She should have not have gotten angry. Or hurt.
...she should have just quit that stupid bet while she still could.
But what happened has happened.
And there was no turning back now.
That morning, Sakura had woken up early—at a time when the sun was still far away from rising, and the coldness was like a blanket that would freeze you up if you kept in it for long. She had woken up, and gotten dressed, and gotten out—out of the place that was choking her up, suffocating her in a way that it hadn't before. She got out, and went to the one place that she had always gone to whenever she felt too lonely, or whenever things in her life were at odds with the concept of something called happiness.
She was lonely.
She wasn't happy.
...and she had no one to blame but herself.
And him, Sakura. And him.
She couldn't really think about that yet, because she didn't want to think about...him.
Sighing, Sakura wrapped the heavy blanket around herself, and stared on in almost-contentment at the fields surrounding her place (she had always called it that).
Her place, which was the cemetery.
It should have freaked her out, to stay like this in the dark, where people had died, and bodies were buried—with only their spirits and souls left, either mourning or restless, or happy or relaxed. Not that she had seen one, of course. But the idea was there. Still, the truth was, she wasn't really scared of it. Ever since her parents had died, two years ago, on a freak accident that most civilians (a proud papa and a simple, loving mama) should not have experienced (a stupid, fucked up travel mountain-vacation-climbing accident), she had been coming to this place whenever she could find the time—and that time was found almost always, despite her busy schedule. Despite her strange way of life.
This was the one place that always, always calmed her.
So she stayed there, until the sun rose (and what a beautiful sunrise it was). She stayed there, even when she saw her own ex-sensei venture there (a tiny dot among the carved stones, and very far away from her), to visit his own precious people, as she knew he did every day he was here in Konoha. Because she saw the look on his face, and saw that it was something that she should not be seeing, she had kept her chakra hidden, and had turned her back on him—as she did every time she encountered him in this place, because he was a grieving man (even after all these years, Kakashi-sensei?), and a grieving man was always, always entitled to his privacy.
When she had turned back around, he was gone—probably off to a mission, or off to train. She knew he knew she was there (as he always did, however much he ignored her), but like before, no words were exchanged. She respected his privacy, and so did he. Maybe someday, they would speak and acknowledge...but not now, not yet.
She stayed there, until the wind warmed, and the blanket was already useless.
And pretty soon, she finally felt her heart calm down. Her hurt mellow.
It always, always worked.
"...Sakura?"
The voice was familiar. The footsteps were light, and not what she expected of a man his built, and his size—but then again, he was a shinobi. Most things were usually unexpected when it came to a ninja.
Sakura's face flitted into a ghosted smile. It was already past noon, and the sun was at its high.
She had been there for almost nine hours.
"Hello, Juugo."
She didn't turn to look at him, but instead kept her gaze on the thing she had in her hand—the thing she had been holding since sunrise. She smelled it for a while, before turning to finally look at the big man, who was standing quite hesitantly behind her.
She gave him a soft, small smile.
"Wanna sit down?"
He smiled back, and gently (gently, because he'd always been a gentle man, and Sakura had never changed her opinion on that, even when most people doubted) walked the path, to sit beside her.
"Thanks, Sakura."
They stayed in silence for a moment, looking at the view, at the fields, at the flowers...at the carved stones. He tilted his head when he read the carved names on the little gray stone right in front of them—almost as if regarding it solemnly. After a while, he turned to gaze at her.
"When did they die?" he asked.
"Two years ago. Accident," she replied softly.
He nodded his head, and didn't ask further questions. Juugo's gaze drifted from her face, down to the soft, yellow object she was thoughtfully holding.
"I'm glad you like the mangoes."
She blinked at his sudden shift of topic.
"Huh?"
"Sasuke asked me to buy it. When you guys were...on a date."
"...oh." Somehow, she hadn't expected that.
But what did you expect, then? That bag of mangoes suddenly just magically appeared out of nowhere?
Yes.
He wasn't supposed to be considerate.
He had never been considerate.
To keep her thoughts away from him, she simply smiled at Juugo, and kept the mango near her nose again. "Thanks, Juugo. I've always loved the smell of mangoes. They're really nice."
"He's been looking for you."
Sakura blinked again, once more not expecting the sudden change of topic.
But then again, Juugo wasn't really the type of person who strayed from the point.
"Not that he's been saying so or anything," he continued, eyeing her calmly. "But I know Sasuke."
She remained silent, and kept on smelling the mango.
"Sometimes, he doesn't really mean what he says. It's a defense mechanism. He's never let anyone in, because he's always believed that that is the way of getting stronger."
"And he's always wanted power, doesn't he?" she wanted to say, coldly. But she restrained herself, as Juugo kept talking.
"He's a good person. He just...doesn't know how to show it. None of us know how to. But he's always taken care of us, and he never let us down, Sakura."
She knew that. Did nobody think she knew that? Did people really think she didn't care, she didn't love him—
Whoa. Back up.
Her thoughts stopped abruptly, and her head snapped up, at the last few words that had just...popped out of her brain. She considerably paled. Where the hell did that come from? Of course it wasn't love. Of course. This, whatever she was feeling, was just infatuation. Just attraction. It was undeniable, considering how handsome the man was, how attractive, how good with kissing and touching and making her feel—
Stop, Sakura. Stop.
—like she would burst with too much emotion, too much unexpressed want. Considering how she wanted him to let her in, even for once—
Dangerous ground. Stop treading on dangerous ground.
—so she could finally see the real him.
So she could finally heal him.
Because inside, he is just a boy, waiting to be loved.
But what was she doing, thinking that she could be the one to give that love?
Panicking slightly at where her thoughts were heading, Sakura let the mango drop from her hand, and fall on the soft grass with a dull thud. Her fists unconsciously clenched, hanging on to the fabric of the hem of her skirt, as if for dear life. She looked up, and saw that Juugo was giving her a worried gaze.
She looked back down, and closed her eyes.
"Sakura, what wro—"
"It's all pretend," she blurted out. She felt silence beside her, not the condemning kind. Sakura glanced up—he was still looking at her, his eyes showing a bit of surprise.
She sighed, and began to tell him everything.
"He wants to get rid of his fangirls. And what better way than to have a pretend girlfriend to ward them off? It's—listen, whatever you think, the sweetness that you see, it's not for real—"
"What's in it for you?"
She stopped talking at his question, and gaped. Then she nearly, very nearly blushed.
"What makes you think there's something in it for me?" she mumbled.
"I didn't mean it that way," he started to say gently—but she cut him off.
"No, no, you're right," Sakura muttered, shaking her head. She took a deep breath, steadily keeping her eyes on the fields. "I had a bet with a friend. A harmless bet. We were drunk, and were just being foolish. That's what's in it for me. He doesn't know about it. Nobody knows. Only me, and you, and...my friend. But I—I'm not going to hurt him."
Silence.
Sakura looked away from the fields, and looked straight into his staring, silent eyes.
"I'm not going to hurt him," she repeated, "if that's what you're worried about. So...don't worry."
Silence. He simply regarded her, his expression thoughtful. Sakura didn't feel uncomfortable at all, and she supposed she could thank the sort-of bond the two of them shared for that. It was kind of relieving, to finally get to talk to someone about it.
At least then, she wouldn't be thinking about it too much.
You wish.
After a while, he finally spoke.
"You say it's not for real. The sweetness...what you guys show us in public."
She smiled a bit. "No. he proposed the idea—well, actually, Naruto proposed it. And he had to accept, if he wanted to...live a fangirl-free life."
"You were just a fangirl. You cared only for my looks, you never saw who I was."
Her smile faltered, but she tried very hard not to let the words affect her. "It's only for a few days, anyway. Pretty soon, we're gonna go our separate ways, and things will be back to normal."
"Sakura?"
"Yes?"
"Are you sure it's not for real?"
Her heart pounded. Her smile faded.
Is it not real, Sakura? Inner Sakura piped up, uncharacteristically soft, and not yelling.
Kisses in the dark. Touches that ignite. Murmurs that make you forget everything. His voice, his eyes, his lovely, lovely hands.
Emotions that never failed to stir something inside of her.
No. It couldn't be real.
It couldn't.
She shook her head, to convince him. To convince Inner Sakura.
To convince herself.
"No, Juugo," she whispered softly. "It's not for real, on both sides."
"But...you're friends, right?"
"We were never friends, Sakura."
A pause.
A deep breath.
"Yes, Juugo. We're friends."
Liar.
Juugo still remained silent.
But after a while, he finally nodded.
"Alright."
They became quiet again, him thinking, her contemplating.
"So stop pretending that you know me. Because you don't. You don't, Sakura. You never have. You never will, so stop trying."
Since when have you ever quit, Sakura?
Suddenly, a determined light came into Sakura's eyes. Inner Sakura was right.
Since when has she ever stopped trying in anything?
Maybe they weren't going to be anything special to each other. Maybe after this, they would be back to becoming strangers.
But she'd be damned if she just gave up this easily.
"Juugo?"
"Yes, Sakura?"
"Where are his parents?"
Juugo stared at her in surprise once more. "What?"
"His parents. They're not anywhere here. Where are they buried?"
He kept on staring at her some more, his face a picture of hesitance. Then he sighed.
"The Uchiha Compound," he replied softly, a moment later. "He never goes there. None of us does. It's...he doesn't want it. He tried once and...he couldn't."
Something in her heart ached at the thought—but she shut out that particular emotion, and tried to think of this as a step, towards becoming his friend.
They were going to be friends. They were going to be.
Friends. Just friends.
Even if she had to beat him up senseless until he finally relented.
Or kiss him senseless, until he moans out our name.
Inner Sakura giggled, high spirits renewed.
"Alright," Sakura murmured, mostly to herself. She stood up, bringing her blanket with her. She held out a hand.
"Where are we going?" the giant of a man asked.
She smiled. "To pick some flowers."
Silence.
Slowly, Juugo smiled back. Then he took the hand she offered, and together, they walked out of the graveyard, and into the fields, where they found themselves out of troubled thoughts, for the first time that day (because Sakura had been troubled, and Juugo, a friend—yes, a friend—had been worried).
Nobody saw the pair of smug, malicious eyes behind a tree, contemplating. Nobody felt the concealed chakra.
And nobody saw the smirk gleam from satisfied, triumphant lips.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"Dobe."
"Teme! Where the hell have you been? Training has started hours ago and you damn well know—"
"Have you seen Sakura?"
The blond's speech (for it was going to be a speech, that was for sure) stopped, and he began staring at his calm, raven-haired friend-enemy-rival.
Slowly, blue eyes gleamed, and a Cheshire cat's grin appeared.
"What, you wanna go make out with your girlfriend?" he asked loudly, voice taking on a teasing tone. "Because I bet you would just enjoy that—HEY! OUCH! THAT WAS MY FACE YOU WERE HITTING!"
"I know."
Naruto glared, and pretty much snarled. "IF YOU THINK YOU'RE GONNA GET AWAY WITH THAT, YOU ARE DEAD WRONG—"
"Kakashi."
From his perch up in a tree, Kakashi didn't look away from his orange book.
"Yes, Sasuke?" he drawled lazily.
"Have you seen her?"
A pause.
Kakashi's eyes remained on his precious pages.
"...no."
"Why are you looking for her, Sasuke-san?" Sai asked, pleasantly.
"It's none of your business," was the cold, short answer.
Then he was gone, in a puff of smoke.
"TEME! TEMEEEEEE!"
And Naruto was pretty much left yelling to himself.
And cursing all over the place.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
When she arrived there, with a bouquet of colorful, lovely wildflowers in her hands (flowers that Juugo helped pick, before he went off to meet Suigetsu for training), and a small, nervous smile on her face (because this was the first time she would ever set foot on his place, his sacred place), the sight beholding her wasn't what she first thought she'd see.
First off, the place was clean.
And it wasn't empty.
Hadn't Juugo said that nobody set foot here anymore?
"Pinky, what the hell are you doing here?!"
It seemed he was wrong after all.
Her smile fading, Sakura turned to the familiar voice in surprise. Karin, who had earlier been kneeling in front of a dark gray headstone, face peaceful and serene, was now standing up, hands on her hips and a glare on her red eyes.
It wasn't, to say the least, something that Sakura expected to witness (the serenity, not the glare). Ever.
There were flowers all around the little Uchiha family graveyard. Colorful flowers, arranged in such neat and attractive (and painstakingly so) fashion. No dead leaves, no dead grass. They looked like they've been weeded recently.
They looked like they've been weeded for months.
"You've been coming here all this time?" Sakura asked, a bit awed and more than a little shocked. The truth was, she would have expected Juugo to do something like this. Or Kakashi. Heck, even Naruto.
But...Karin?
"Since when, Karin?"
Karin stiffened, and only kept on glaring.
"It's none of your business!" she snarled. "And what are you doing here, anyway? You're not supposed to be here!"
Sakura raised an eyebrow. "You're not supposed to be here, either."
Karin appeared flustered at that—but she quickly recovered, and stalked over towards Sakura, hands fisting at her sides.
Suddenly, before Sakura could react, said hands came up, and quickly snatched the flowers from the her hands. Without warning, Karin threw them on the ground, and proceeded to viciously stamp on them.
They became crushed in a matter of seconds.
With a snap of her head, Sakura's shock instantly became a very, very different emotion.
"Hey! What are you doing?" she demanded angrily, her own green eyes now glaring back.
"Getting rid of you!"
"That was rude!"
"I don't care!" Karin bellowed petulantly.
"You don't—"
"Shut up! Shut up, Pinky!"
"PINKY! Why the hell do you always—"
"I said SHUT UP!"
"Do not tell me to shut up—"
"SHUT UP, SAKURA!"
Sakura was so surprised with being called by her first name (and not Pinky), that she actually shut her mouth for a while. But then, frustration quickly kicked in, and she opened her mouth again.
"Why the hell are you being like this?!"
She had expected a snarl, or a scream, or a very evil glare. She had expected an insult, a sarcastic comment, or a slap on the face, just like before. Heck—she'd even expected to be told (or ordered, more like) to shut up again. She readied herself, and her own fists, just in case, because no way was this red-haired know-it-all going to do those things and get away with—
"Because you took him away from me!"
Sakura stopped.
She stopped completely.
Not because of the words.
But because of the completely shattered look on Karin's face.
...Karin?
The anger was gone now, easily so. Karin's chin trembled—though she steadied it quickly, stubbornly. But there was no denying the hurt in her red eyes. The misery.
Slowly, Sakura's own anger dissipated, as she could only stare at the other in shock.
"You took him away from me!" Karin repeated, her voice unsteady now, but still loud. "You—you stole him! He cared for me! He cared! And—and—you just—you just..."
Her voice had gone softer, quieter.
"You just...messed it all up."
Smaller.
"He's all I have. He's all I've ever wanted—and you just had to take him away."
Barely even heard.
They weren't the words of a fangirl. They weren't the usual declarations of adoration, or infatuation, or attraction.
They were the words of a girl who was in love.
With none other than Uchiha Sasuke.
What was she supposed to say?
"Karin—"
Karin turned away, wiping her tears viciously. She quietly faced the gravestones. "I see the way he looks at you. The way he touches you. You took his love, you bitch. You—you just damn well took it away."
Sakura's heart pounded. Her head spun. Not because of the insult—the insult was barely even registered.
He doesn't look at me in any way.
He doesn't.
You're wrong.
"Karin, I—it's not what you think."
Karin laughed bitterly. "Shut up. Just shut up. I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to see your fucking face." Her voice was determined. "This is my place—I take care of this place!" Her voice was cracking. "Go and fuck him for all I care—" Her voice was trembling. "—because I won't! I won't care! I won't—I won't—"
Her voice was gone.
And the moment of weakness had finally. Burst. Through.
The dam had broken, as Karin, the ever-bitchy, ever-whining, ever-annoying fangirl, who was always so tough—
—always so courageous—
—always so determined to get her way—
—because that's who she was, and she, Karin, in the end, always got what she wanted—
...sank to the ground. Covered her face with her hands.
And cried, very, very softly.
"I need him," she whispered quietly. Pleadingly. "I want him."
So, so brokenly.
"I love him. Please, Sakura...don't take him away. Don't take him away."
Karin rocked silently into her hands.
And Sakura felt her heart squeeze so, so helplessly.
What was she supposed to do?
Is it not real, Sakura?
It wasn't. It isn't.
Sakura didn't love him.
She didn't.
Who are you trying to fool, girl?
"Karin..."
I'm giving him back.
He's all yours.
I don't want him.
"...I'm sorry."
Silence.
"I won't give him up."
Not yet.
Say not yet.
"I won't."
I can't.
"Why?" Karin asked, through her tears.
Because I might be in love with him, too.
Sakura's heart pounded, all over again. Her eyes widened.
...am I?
Was she?
She didn't get to answer, because all of a sudden, a whizzing sound was instantly heard, and pain radiated, slick and fast.
And a kunai was suddenly embedded on her shoulder.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"Suigetsu."
"Oi! Sasuke! Where the hell have you—"
"Where is Sakura?"
At the question—and the interruption—Suigetsu merely shrugged. "How should I know? I'm not his boyfriend—not that I don't want to be, considering how super hot she is...erm, I mean, I didn't see her," he amended, when he saw something dark flash in the Uchiha's eyes. Jeez. Talk about possessive.
In an instant, Suigetsu's hasty expression became a wide, wide smirk.
"You miss her, don't you? Damn lucky man, getting to fu—er, I mean, make out with her all day long and—heeey! What the hell—why did you just toss my sword??"
The raven-haired man didn't reply—he merely scowled, and walked away.
Suigetsu sighed, and grumbled about abuse and his beloved sword.
But his complaints stopped at Juugo's next words.
"She's visiting your loved ones."
Slowly, the Uchiha stopped walking.
Slowly, he turned around.
"What?"
Suigetsu nearly winced, at the cold harshness of the tone.
Quietly, Juugo repeated his statement.
"She's visiting your loved ones."
Silence.
Then in a whizz, Uchiha Sasuke vanished, leaving a shocked Suigetsu and a rather calm Juugo behind.
"Shit, Juugo—do you want Sakura dead?"
"He's not gonna kill her."
Suigetsu could only sigh again.
He sure as hell hoped not.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
It happened too fast for her to comprehend what was actually happening.
First, there was suddenly a kunai deeply attached to her shoulder—there would have been more, even, if she hadn't moved at the last possible second.
She was bleeding pretty badly. But it wasn't as bad as the wounds that Karin had gotten from the multiple shurikens stuck on her legs.
"AAARGHH! AAARGHH! Who the hell hit me?! AAARGHH!" The red-haired kunoichi was screaming like a banshee.
Next, there were suddenly three chakra presences behind Sakura. She turned around, and saw that it was the same three girls who had followed her to the bar, just a few days ago—the night she had declared (or rather, Naruto had declared) that Sasuke was her boyfriend.
Fangirl number one had a very wide smirk on her face.
Fangirl number two and three were glaring.
And they each had a kunai in their hands.
Instantly, Sakura was on defense mode, and shielding Karin with her own body. She glared in return at the fangirls, and removed the kunai from her shoulder, healing it at once. She grasped the bloody kunai hard.
"Are you alright, Karin?"
"I am NOT alright!" Karin screeched. "I have multiple weapons stuck on my damn leg!"
"But you'll live?"
"I said I have multiple—"
"Karin, answer the damn question!" Sakura snapped.
Karin appeared startled. But she finally nodded her head.
"I'll live," she mumbled.
Satisfied with the answer, Sakura nodded back (though she wasn't even looking at the red-haired girl). Then she finally turned her full attention to the three triumphant females.
Green eyes considerably darkened.
"If you have something against me, don't take it out on her," Sakura stated, quite coldly.
One of the girls shrugged. "She was annoying. And her crying was so lame."
Karin snarled. "SHUT UP! I WASN'T—"
"Don't hurt her," Sakura said, ignoring the other. "I said if you have something against me—"
She was interrupted by a rather cruel laugh. "You? Why would we have something against you? Why do you always think it's all about you, Pinky? You're nothing to us. Just a piece of trash, really. A stupid slut."
Sakura's temper went up at that. "Then if I'm nothing, why are you doing this?! What are you trying to do?! Kill us?!" Sakura demanded angrily.
They didn't answer. Instead, they aimed the kunais straight for her chest. Sakura easily dodged, taking a screaming Karin with her.
"No," another fangirl said, almost sweetly. Victoriously. "We're just putting the blame on you."
And Sakura, despite her readiness, didn't anticipate what happened next.
BOOM!
She should have.
There was an explosion—so loud, and so strong, that the force almost sent Sakura reeling backwards. She didn't fall down—but she did manage to accidentally drop the red-haired girl from her arms, sending her tumbling down on the ground.
Karin cursed, and clutched her wounds in pain.
Sakura stumbled, but held on to her feet. She steadied.
She stared.
Not at Karin.
But at the damage that was suddenly, inevitably around her.
Oh, Kami. Oh, Kami, no...
The graveyard was completely destroyed.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
He ran as fast as he could, at the sound of the explosion.
He stopped.
He stared.
And what he saw made his blood run horribly, horribly cold.
Pretty soon, Sharingan eyes blared wide open.
And there was no mercy present in them.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The fangirls had vanished, even before the explosion was finished. Even before Sakura could retaliate.
And the next instant, before Sakura could decide what to do, she was suddenly grabbed on the shoulders, and pinned so brutally against a tree that it got her breath for an instant, and a gasp escaped from her lips.
Then the gasp died, and her throat went dry, when she finally saw who it was pinning her.
When she saw the cold look (too cold, too cold) in his dark Sharingan eyes.
Something in her became very, very scared.
"Sasuke-kun! What the—"
"What did you damn do?"
She was so startled at his question, she could do nothing but stare at the moment. Then, realization set in, and her startled expression immediately became one of defiance.
"What? I did nothing! How could you think I—"
"She placed explosive kunais on the tombstones."
Her protests died, at the sudden sound of a voice.
No.
It couldn't be.
But Karin, eyes on the ground, and still lamenting over her injuries, continued speaking.
And what she said next had Sakura's defiance shifting to unbidden, all-out shock.
"I tried to stop her," Karin said quietly, tears running silently down her cheeks. "And—and she tried to—she tried to kill me."
Sakura became instantly numb.
"Karin...what—Sasuke-kun—you can't—"
"Why?" he merely said coldly, cutting her off.
I didn't do it.
"Sasuke-kun...I—"
"You hurt her. You fucking destroyed this place. My family's only memory. Why?!" The cold look was gone, and in their place was nothing but fury. And hurt.
She couldn't speak.
"Is this your way of trying to get into my life? Are you trying to mess with me?!"
She still couldn't speak—even when his one hand left her shoulder, and settled around her neck tightly.
Something in her was breaking, breaking slowly.
Surely.
"Stop fucking with me, Sakura. Stop lying."
His hand tightened even more.
"Stop pushing yourself where you're not wanted."
I didn't do it.
I didn't.
I care.
I care, Sasuke-kun.
But she couldn't say the words, because something in her was suddenly frozen.
Sakura could only watch in a daze, as Sasuke's grip on her neck loosened. As his Sharingan eyes disappeared. As he let her go, and strode quickly to Karin, to carry the red-haired girl (woman), carefully making sure her wounds weren't touched.
He didn't look back at her—instead, he spoke on his back, his front facing the now-crushed gray stones. The upturned soil.
The burned flowers.
I didn't do it.
"Get out."
The kunai dropped from her hand, unconsciously.
Why won't you believe me?
"I didn't..." Sakura murmured quietly. "Sasuke-kun, I didn't—"
"Get out. I don't ever want to see you again."
A tiny crack.
"Pack up your bags. And don't ever come back here."
A bigger crack.
"It's over...Haruno."
And then...he was suddenly walking away.
And she couldn't help, couldn't stop her numbness from vanishing. Her knees from weakening.
Her heart from painfully, painfully cracking.
Breaking.
No.
Don't break.
Don't you dare break!
She didn't know what made her say the next words.
"You're a monster."
He stiffened, and stopped.
"You're a monster, Uchiha Sasuke," Sakura said silently, her pulse racing.
Then steadying.
Then...dulling.
"And you're right. We were never friends. And I don't care. I hate you."
Liar.
"I hate you so, so much," she whispered, her voice still steady. "I will hate you for the rest of my life."
"I don't care," he replied.
I do.
But there was nothing else to say anymore, really. There was nothing more to do. So Sakura remained silent, watching as Sasuke cradled Karin in his arms, and still did not look at her.
Before he could disappear completely (I don't want to look at your back anymore, Sasuke-kun), she turned away first.
I'm not in love with you.
Then she quietly walked away (just like he does, Sakura. Just like he always will).
I don't want to be.
And she never looked back.
I will never be.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
He had no reason to doubt Karin.
Because throughout all their years as a team...she had never, ever betrayed him. Never ever lied to him.
Never been anything but a fangirl, yet a good friend to him.
Then what does that make Sakura?
He didn't want to think anymore. Not about it.
Not about her.
He didn't care about her.
He didn't.
Why couldn't he believe it?
He was so angry. So mad. At himself. At his emotions. At his weakness.
At her.
Why did you do it, Sakura?
Why?
"Sasuke-kun..." Karin whispered, burying her head in his shoulder. Her hands on him tightened. She was holding back a sob. She was hurting.
"Hn."
"Sasuke-kun..."
Sakura...
Why?
"What, Karin?"
The hands on him tightened even more. The body trembled.
And the voice, and what it said next, was enough to have Sasuke's thoughts disappearing completely.
The thoughts, and the anger.
Numbness took over.
"...I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It wasn't her. She didn't do anything."
In an instant, Karin went hysterical in his arms.
And Sasuke was already too numb to care, as realization set in. Too fast. Too deep.
Too late.
"You're a monster, Uchiha Sasuke."
He was.
"I hate you so, so much."
And Sakura had every right to hate him for it.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
a/n: Well...I passed on one exam, and I failed on another. Sigh. I guess that means more studying. Wish me luck!
Anyway...day five! I know Sasuke is still such a bastard here (for just jumping to conclusions like that), but please don't fret...coz everything has a purpose here. I'm just building up their emotions, for the next chapter.
Next chapter...day six! Someone's going to break there. Care to guess who?
Thanks for your awesome (super cool! amazing! wow! i'm speechless!) reviews in the previous chapter! Happy reading on this one. And finally...review! :)