Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Chapter 10: Sakura's Heart
I had originally planned to do two chapters before the last one one after this but I decided to just make it all one chapter. But, single handedly this chapter has completely reworked the ending. I hope I did alright with this one, I get too many ideas sometimes, but the one I used for this one seemed to work out the best in my mind. Again, thanks for the reviews, makes me smile when I get such great input. Next Chapter: Happily Ever... Vegas? Enjoy.
Sakura sat, reading Sasuke's e-mails to her, and feeling more idiotic by the minute.
Dear Sakura
I saw you crying today, but you left before I could ask what was wrong. Is someone making you cry? Who is it? I'll kill them for it.
Sasuke
'You were. But I was the idiot.'
Dear Sakura
Why did you leave so early this morning? I thought your first class wasn't till 8. But when I woke up, you were gone. I missed not seeing your smiling face.
Sasuke
"Why was I such an idiot? We didn't fall apart because of him. We fell apart because of me. I didn't talk to him, I didn't listen to him. I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!"
She screamed the last part out at the top of her lungs.
'I'm such a fool, such an idiot. I've lost him; the only man that I've ever loved, and who probably loved me too, but I was too stupid to realize it. I'm an idiot.'
"As stupid as Naruto. No! Stupider than Naruto. Look at him, he's married and I'm…"
She slammed her hands down on the desk in frustration. The vibration from her strike knocked a box to the left of the laptop over. She looked down to see a jewelry box collapsed on its side.
'No… Don't tell me…'
She slowly started to reach for the box, her heart rate racing more and more.
"He couldn't have…"
She recognized the box as she picked it up. Sasuke had picked it up on the day they had gone to the spring festival.
She opened the box and her jaw dropped.
"Oh look! A street vendor! Oh, what a great purse!"
"Ino-pig! We are suppose to be going to a festival. You're the one that made us all go, and now you are holding us up!"
"Oh hush yourself Forehead-girl. It'll only be a minute."
"I'll be right back."
"Where you going Sasuke?" Naruto asked as Hinata dragged him over to the purses.
"I need to go in here for a minute. Come and get me if you guys plan to leave before I'm done."
"Alright."
Sakura looked at the store Sasuke entered.
Hatake's Jewelry
'A jewelry store. Well, his mother's birthday is a week away.'
And with that, Sakura began to turn back towards the table with the cheap-knock-off purses, when she noticed Sasuke talking intently to the man behind the counter.
The man had silver hair and a mask covering the lower part of his face. He wore a diamond incrusted eye patch that screamed 'Tacky' to Sakura.
She could barely tell that the jewelry owner was happy, except for his upturned eye.
'He must have brought something expensive.'
Sasuke quickly came out with a red velvet ring sized box.
"Oh, Sasuke." Naruto said, nudging Sasuke with his elbow. "That something special for Sakura?"
"My mother."
"Oh." Looking slightly defeated, he turned around to pay the street vendor for the three purses Hinata wanted to buy.
"You didn't have to buy those for me Naruto."
"Just because you're rich, my love, doesn't mean I can't treat you once in awhile. Plus, it's our anniversary tomorrow, consider that a pre-present."
"You guys are so cute, it should be illegal." Ino said, also paying the man.
"Ino Yamanaka, paying for her own stuff? Has hell frozen over?" Sakura said, eyeing Ino with a sarcastic eye.
"Chouji couldn't come, so he gave me some spending money."
"Figures."
She gazed at the diamond earrings that lay in the box. It wasn't a ring like she had half expected/hoped, but they were still beautiful. There were three clusters of diamonds on each, ranging from small to large. The clusters were arranged like cherry blossom flowers; each flower having five small pointy oval sized diamonds in each. Surprisingly the earrings were very light.
'He was going to give his mother these?'
Suddenly she noticed there was a small folded card on the top inside part of the box.
She lifted it out, opened it, and read:
To Sakura:
I know we aren't celebrating any special occasion, but when I saw these earrings, I thought of you. I hope whenever you wear them, you think of me.
Always yours, Sasuke
Small tears started to trickle down her face.
'He got these… for me.'
"He got these… for me!"
She touched the diamonds; they were smooth and had a cold touch.
"I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!"
She closed the box and started flicking herself on the forehead. She resisted the urge to pick up the phone and call him that second.
'I want to, but I don't know what to say.'
She mimicked Naruto and said:
"Hello Sasuke. I'm sitting here in your house, at your computer, reading all these e-mails you never sent me. Also, I found the earrings you said you bought for you mother, but actually bought for me."
"Yeah, that would go over well."
She clicked open the next e-mail when she realized it was the third from the end.
'Only three more and I'm done… Wow… go me!'
She couldn't help but smile to herself for reading so many e-mails. But the smile disappeared when she began to read:
Dear Sakura
Where has my smiling cherry blossom gone? Where is my flower among the many thorns? I'm lost in this sea of despair and my life boat known as Sakura has left me.
We are falling apart aren't we? I've been trying to ignore it. Pretend it wasn't happening, but pretending won't stop reality from continuing its course. I don't want to lose you Sakura.
You're very precious to me.
Sasuke
"WHY DIDN'T YOU EVER TELL ME THAT? Why do I have to find out from an e-mail? I love you, that's all you had to say, I love you. I love you Sakura, I want to be with you Sakura, I want to marry…"
'Marriage. Do I even want to marry him?'
Tears were pouring down her face now; she couldn't keep them back any longer. After several minutes, she regained her composure and opened the second to the last e-mail.
Dear Sakura
Can you ever forgive me?
Sasuke
She had to admit to herself, she was slightly confused.
'Forgive him for what?'
She glanced at the date of the e-mail and it was one week before the break up. She racked her brain, trying to figure out what it might have been.
"Nothing comes to mind. What the hell does he mean?"
It had been the worst week of her life, as far as Sakura was concerned. She had intense studying to do, extremely hard exams, figuring out where to stay for the summer, and worst of all, boy troubles.
"You've never really experienced boy troubles, like I've experienced boy troubles."
"And that's a good thing. Or else I'd be in a mental hospital."
"Ah! I'm offended."
"No you're not."
"Well, I could have been offended, if I wanted too."
"You're suppose to be helping me Ino, so can we drop this and get back to studying."
Ino was lying on Sakura's bed in her dorm room, gazing into a huge medical book.
"Why are medical books so freakin' big?"
"Don't ask me. I'm not a writer, I'm a doctor…"
"In-training."
Sakura was at her desk, legs crossed, tapping the lower foot on the ground.
"NO! In-waiting. Waiting for her friend to ask her another question."
"Why am I always the one to do this?"
"Because you're the only one smart enough to read the words and you're always around."
"Sasuke is smarter than me, and he would be around more if you let him."
"I told you not to bring up that topic."
"You lead to it."
"I did not." Sakura said as she spun back around to face her desk.
"Next question, please, Ino!"
"Alright… What is the gene that…"
Later that night, after Ino left, Sakura was packing her stuff in her pink suitcases. Ino had offered the spare room in her apartment to Sakura for the summer. She was too engrossed in her packing to notice her phone vibrating on the desk; until it fell off.
"Shit."
Without looking at the caller id, she answered the phone. She regretted it a second later.
"Hello."
"Oh, hi Sasuke."
"What you up to, beautiful?"
"Just packing. Want to get all the small things out of the way before terms over."
"Where you staying?"
"Ino's."
"Why don't you stay with me instead? It's a lot closer to work than Ino's."
"Thanks for the offer, but I already told Ino I would stay at her place."
"Ah. Well anyways, the reason I'm calling is because I was hoping you'd like to go to dinner this Friday. Sort of a celebration for exams being over."
"Sure, I'd liked that."
Sakura rolled her eyes at this. They would never make to dinner. They hadn't in almost a year.
"Good. And I'd love it if you wore that black dress I picked out for you."
"I'll leave it out."
"Thanks. See you Friday."
"Bye."
She looked into her closet as she closed her phone. She walked over and pulled out the black dress Sasuke had mentioned. She loved this dress. It made her look like a goddess, according to Ino.
She stepped in front of her full size mirror and placed the dress in front of her. She loved how she looked in it. When Sasuke had first gotten it, it had meant something. He had gotten it for her to wear to his parent's Christmas dinner party when they had first started dating. He wanted her to impress them with her beauty and he told her the sales lady said it was the sexiest dress they had.
She didn't have many extravagant dresses in her collection, but she treasured this one the most.
It was only Tuesday when Sasuke asked her to dinner and rest of the week was not a breeze like she had hoped. She aced all her exams and decided she had studied enough for the final few she still had left. Her checklist was almost clear, except for: boy troubles.
Ino had been talking to her all week about her need to talk to him, but she couldn't bring herself to commit to that idea, instead she opted for, a break up.
She traced back the days in her mind, trying to think what this e-mail could be about. But coming up with again, nothing, she turned her attention the last and final e-mail.