A/N: SURPRISE!! I'm BAAACK! Thank goodness too cause I was just about to shoot myself! My internet has been giving my hell for so long. It hasn't let me upload anything at all! But I've still been writing. I've been dying to post for you guys! So I'm going to try and keep this short and let you start reading the real fic because I know you've been waiting for so long!
(By the way......prepare yourself for a small, SasuSaku moment. I figured it was time to make one happen :D But don't get too excited...it doesn't last XD XD Evil much?)
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!! THIS WEEK IS THE MOST IMPORTANT WEEK TO ME BECAUSE OF SEVERAL REASONS! 1) because I haven't posted in so long and I have been dying to read some reviews! 2) This is the chapter you've all been saying you've been waiting for and I tried really hard to make it good. 3) THIS IS THE LONGEST CHAPTER/PIECE OF WRITING I HAVE EVER WRITTEN IN MY LIFE!
Disclaimer: I don't own! I only spend sleepless nights wishing!
The Road To Recovery
9. Feel free to flirt or date whenever you want to. If a young man asks you on date or shamelessly flirts with you, feel free to return the favour. Before, when you were in love with Sasuke, you would consider this unfaithful and unnecessary. But now that you have made the choice to let go of your infatuation, it is still unnecessary but the fact is that you are now free to enter the great, big world of dating. (I heard Kiba's available). This also demonstrates to the Uchiha that you are over him.
***
"Sakura. Sakura."
Sakura could hear someone calling to her and could feel a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes were still closed but she was awake. She winced as she shifted in bed, the pain in her lower body returning to her.
'That didn't feel very nice.' Her inner grumbled. She tried to sink farther into the pillows and away from the pain.
"I- I think she's waking up! Sakura!" Again with the voices. But this was a different person, the first voice was an older man's voice; deep and gentle. This one was higher and definitely more feminine. Louder too. Sakura was still disoriented and couldn't place them. Curious to see who they were, she popped her eyes open quickly. The sight she was met with was certainly enough to surprise someone who didn't even know her own name at the moment. The first thing she saw were two pairs of enourmous, piercing blue eyes, staring at her. She could feel her own eyes widen in surprise. Soon she began to recognize everyone.
Kakashi stood at the foot of her bed with his hands in his pockets. His visible eye was crinkled upwards and she knew that he was smiling at her. He didn't even have his book in his pocket and she knew he must have been worried about her, to the point where he wouldn't even read Icha Icha.
On her left, near her head sat one of her best friends. Ino had her hand on Sakura's shoulder and was smiling largely. It looked as though she were trying the hold back a few stray tears. Ino laughed happily and reached over to grab one of her hands. She was just happy that Sakura was awake and alright.
On her other side stood another of her closest and oldest friends. Sakura was a bit taken aback by him. His reaction was not very typical for Naruto. Normally, the man would call out her name loudly and obnoxiously before crushing her small figure in a tight hug. He'd make jokes and laugh and smile, happy to see her doing better. But now he was just standing there, fists tightly clenched at his sides. She could see him shaking slightly and wondered if he was angry at her for some reason.
Suddenly he moved forwards and enveloped her in a hug, but this was still different from his usual. Instead of breaking every bone in her body, he was hugging her gently, stiffly as if afraid she'd shatter. She could feel something wet in the crook of her neck. All of a sudden, the reason he'd been shaking became painfully clear. She slid her arms out of his gentle grasp and wrapped them around him, trying to comfort him, show him that she was okay.
He pulled away and wiped his eyes quickly on his sleeve.
She turned away from him to see Kakashi wave at her. "I'm going to go home quickly. I'll be back soon." His eyes crinkled even more and she could see a knowing look upon his face.
Ino looked up at him and nodded, understanding what he was doing. Naruto and Sakura needed a bit of time to catch up. "Yeah I should probably go home and clean myelf up a bit...Oh Forehead! I'm just glad your okay! I'll be back in a little while. Okay?" She said while hugging her gently, but still lovingly.
Once they were both gone, Sakura was determined to figure out Naruto's problem.
The thing was that Sakura wasn't exactly sure how to start. She'd just woken up, she didn't know exactly how long she'd been out for nor how serious it had been. She hadn't seen Naruto in a few weeks and their parting hadn't entirely embodied a friendly one. Also he just wasn't acting like himself. How should she approach this serious and mysterious Naruto, who was so different from the one she was used to?
"Na-" She began
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Sakura-chan" Naruto whispered. She could see him struggling with his words. He looked more upset than she'd seen him in a while.
"Naruto, it's okay-" She tried to assure him that she wasn't angry at him. She coughed, her throat feeling as though it were coated in three layers of dust. It was hard to push the words out of her mouth.
"No it's not! We left you behind Sakura! If you'd come with us, you wouldn't have gone on that god damn mission!" He shouted. Sakura was slightly taken aback. He seemed so angry with himself. She wondered how badly he'd taken it when he'd first seen her in the hospital.
"I-I was just so scared Sakura-chan. I thought we'd lost you, and that the last thing I did was leave you behind. I couldn't live with that fact that the very last time we saw each other, you-you hated me." He said with his hands clenched by his side again. It didn't even look as though he were talking to her anymore, he was just staring into space. Tear were welling up again and he fiercely wiped them away again with the heel of his hand.
Sakura smiled softly. She spoke quietly, still tired and sore with a dry throat and a parched mouth that stll hadn`t gotten used to speaking again. "Naruto, I didn't hate you. I could never hate you." She said gently. "Jeez Naruto! You're my teammate and one of my best friends. Did you really think that my last thoughts of you would be about how much I despised you...?! You weren't even the one that I was mad at."
He looked back down at her with soft eyes and a sad look upon his face, showing her that that was exactly what he had been thinking.
"I was angry and really hurt, yes. But I knew that you were just looking out for me. Stop beating yourself up about this. You'll always be my friend. Always Naruto. And besides, I'm okay. It's not like I'm dead now, so quit it with this 'serious Naruto' thing. You're freaking me out.... Where is the happy Uzumaki I'm used to...?" She said with a meager smile on her face. Sakura leaned back onto her pillows, because the action of saying just a few words had made her ready to go to sleep again. Her eyes were only half open and she fought to keep them open.
She looked up at Naruto and could see his face changing. She wanted laugh at how easy it was to see the wheels in his head turning. Anyone and everyone could see his thought process working in his brain. Still she could still see an inner struggle. He still wanted to be angry with himself over this. Sakura wouldn't let this tear him apart though. She giggled and opened up her arms a little bit, inviting him in for a real hug this time.
That did it. Soon she was debating her tactics was she was engulfed into a classic, bone crushing hug. She winced from the pain in her sore body, but she tried not to let him see and make him feel worse. He let go and laughed loudly as he backed up and plopped down into a chair.
"You're right Sakura-chan. He was kind of freaking me out too" Sakura was happy that Naruto was back to normal as she watched him laugh and smile as he had before.
"So, are you ready to fill me in? I need to know what happened... All I remember was Sasuke carrying me and then I-I fainted....? I think..." She told him with a slight furrow in her brows as she tried to remember anything more.
"Oh right! Well...I don't know much about what happened when you guys first got to the village. When we got back from our mission I went straight to go see you but you'd already left. A few days later I overheard some people talking about how they'd seen Teme running towards the hospital with you." Sakura nodded at his words and stayed silent, urging him to continue with her eyes.
"I was really scared. I didn't know what to think. By the time I got there, the old lady was already with you and I couldn't see you. It was really serious Sakura. The cut on your leg was deep and it must have been painful, but it was healed pretty easily. But.. you were also stabbed quite low on your torso...and...the old lady said that it may have damaged something." If Sakura had the energy, she would have quirked an eyebrow.
"It might have damaged...something. I see." She said jokingly and Naruto just laughed and scratched the back of his head.
"You know me. I don't remember that kind of stuff!" Sakura was in the process of rolling her eyes and shaking her head when another voice presented itself.
"And here I was thinking he was actually listening to me. He can hide the idiot within himself, but I guess it'll never truly leave." The speaker heaved a heavy sigh and moved towards Sakura.
"Tsunade-shishou. Hi." Sakura weakly greeted her.
"Sakura. I'm glad to see you're awake and feeling better. You had me worried there. You really enjoy this place don't you? Half the time you're working here and the other you're a patient." Her teacher said while shaking her head. Sakura laughed but didn't disagree; lately that seemed to be true.
"Naruto, I'm going to have to ask you to leave while I preform a check up on Sakura." She stated sternly.
"Do I have to go?" He whined.
"Yes!" The fifth answered firmly. He walked up to her and give her another hug. "Bye Sakura-chan! See you later granny!" he called back to them.
"Don't call me that!" Tsunade shouted after him. Naruto just laughed and shut the door behind him and Sakura swore she could hear him talking to someone on the other side.
"Sorry T-...You can't go in now. She's... a check up...Aww! Are you disappoi-...OW! You Bast-.."
Sakura furrowed her eyebrows and tried to figure out who he was talking to. Her attention was soon drawn back to her sensei as she checked the various monitors around the small white room and asked her questions. After the interoggation was over, Sakura still wasn't sure about what had been so serious.
"Shishou? Maybe you can fill me in a bit more...? Naruto doesn't really know what he's talking about and I'm really curious about what happened." She regarded the older woman pleadingly.
"Well..." The Hokage started. "When you were brought back, I couldn't understand why. I thought it had just been a cut that you would have healed yourself. But the Uchiha filled me in on what had happened. I knew that sustaining that much blood loss was bad enough, but with hardly any chakra left in your body. Not to mention that you left the injury for too long without healing it and it was badly infected. You really put yourself in a dangerous position Sakura." She gave her a look at this and Sakura just smiled and looked down at her hands. The fifth's voice suddenly got very serious.
"Then there was the matter of where Watanabi stabbed you. The knife had been embedded in a very important place to a woman, Sakura. That area of your body should never be tampered with. I was worried that by the time the operation was finished, your female organs would be beyond repair and you wouldn't ever be able to have children."
The pink haired woman gasped and her head suddenly shot up at her teachers words. She struggled to breathe for a second's time. It couldn't be. It just couldn't be. "B-But everything i-is okay right? You were able to fix it, right? Right?!"
"Yes. For the most part, I'm confidant that everything's going to be fine, but we're still not one hundred percent sure. You'll have to come back in a month's time to be examined by a specialist, but other than that, you should be able to be up and running in a couple weeks. But, putting it simply, that just emphasizes the seriousness of the injuries. They were so serious, they made even me question the consequences they'd have if I couldn't heal you in time. You need to start being more careful Sakura."
Sakura breathed out a sigh and fell backwards again. She didn't know what she would have done if... She smiled from the overwhelming relief. But she still had a few more questions. "How long was I out for? Why was everyone so happy that I'd woken up? Usually after an operation, the patient waking up only takes a matter of time."
Tsunade sat down on the corner of the bed. "For someone who's just woken up after an operation, you really do ask too many questions. You were out for about two weeks. Fifteen days I think. I already told you. You lost a lot of blood on this mission and the affects were very serious. And you had no chakra Sakura. Also after the operation you were on a lot of medication, for the pain and the infection. Everyone was worried that the combination of all this would..."
Sakura nodded her head in understanding. She didn't know the seriousness of what had happened. It seemed like just a cut. Nothing more.
"Now I want you to rest up. The more you rest, the sooner you'll heal." Her sensei told her, Sakura just lay back down on the pillows and watched her go.
"Thank you Shishou." Just as she was leaving, Sakura remembered something important, just as she slowly started dosing off.
"Oh wait Tsunade-sensei! I need a favour, please." She asked. "Could you ask Ino to drop off my weapon's pouch?"
***
Sakura stared out of the windows of her hospital room. She sighed loudly and rolled her eyes upwards towards the ceiling. She was so bored. She knew that it was mostly her fault that she'd ended up in this condition, for she could have healed herself as soon as she could and postponed the girls injuries. They weren't life threatening, but her's were. Still, it didn't change the fact that she was still extremely bored and nearly ready to shoot herself.
Her friends often visited her and brought her tokens of their relief at the fact that she'd awoken and was healing stably. But when they weren't there, the room was utter torture. She had nothing to entertain herself and was always letting her mind leave her current situation and wish that she were training. She wanted to move, run, jump, fight, crush. She just simply could not stand it, being cooped up in a stuffy and sterile medical facility time after time.
Being a doctor was a completely different story. She had been the one who told others that they had to remain in the hospital for a month, but who herself got to leave the sliding double doors and go home once her shift was over. Now the places had reversed on her.
She sighed and titled her head back onto her pillows, closing her eyes in the process. She wished that somehow the dull atmosphere which surrounded her would be lifted by something a little more amusing than the clouds rolling across the sun, which was something she'd taken to observing to distract herself.
'God. I'm turning into Shikamaru.' Her inner complained.
Nearly a week since the day she'd requested that Ino bring her her list, Sakura was still in the hospital, and was scheduled to be in for another week after that. She'd checked the next step nearly right away. Flirt with other guys, date other guys, ignore Sasuke. How hard could it be?
Lord knows it wasn't hard to ignore him. He was quiet, stoic and moody; certainly not the life of the party. Not to mention the fact that right now, she hated his guts and was healing her freshly broken heart, curtesy of said man. He'd requested that she not be allowed on a mission, which had been the lowest insult he could have ever given her. Not only that, but he'd also followed her because he didn't think she could accomplish her own solo mission alone. How could he be real? No man was nearly as big of a jerk as him.
Therefore she didn't think it would be much of a challenge to turn her attention to another, more deserving person. There were only two problems. The first was the fact that she'd been forced to stay locked up in the hospital ward. How was she meant to get out there and show Sasuke that his number one fangirl was over him if she couldn't even get out of bed?
No guy would approach her while she was bedridden. What kind of a date would that be? A delicious meal of hospital food with the stunning ambiance created by the florescent lighting surrounding them, with the added perk of hundreds of other sick residents joining in. The after dinner entertainment would consist of her receiving her latest check up and being helped to the washroom by a middle-aged nurse.
'How romantic.'
The second was the fact that she had no idea on how one goes about flirting with a man.
Just as she was in the midst of convincing herself to throw herself out of the room's only window onto the concrete ground below, she heard footsteps passing her doorway. She lifted her head only half heartedly, assuming that it would just be another nurse passing to another room.
It was not just a nurse.
"Hey Haruno. Jeez, you're not looking so hot in here. How long you been locked up?"
"Kiba! Oh thank God! Please come in." She called out to her fellow rookie nine member. Begged was really a better word for it. It had been a while since she'd seen the Inuzaka and right now, she'd kill for any company at all. And if she were being honest with herself. She had to admit that lately the nin had drawn her attention a little bit. He wasn't bad looking (he was quite the stud actually) and she knew he was a decent guy.
'He's no Uchiha though.' Her inner stated blatantly in her mind, Sakura decided to push those thoughts out of her mind quickly and waved the man in her room. Now was not the time to be thinking about that ass.
"What's up?" He asked her curiously as he walked up to the side of the bed. By now Sakura was sitting straight up and was literally beckoning him to her side.
"Nothing really. I just need someone to talk to. It is so awful in here by myself and I'm seriously considering suicide. I was wondering if you might want to hang out with me for a bit. You know...If you have time that is." She was rambling now. Who knew that she'd get nervous talking to a guy who wasn't Sasuke? Her palms obviously, she answered herself, as they were sweating already. "Besides it's been a while since we've caught up." She continued in an attempt to make herself sound a bit more casual.
'Why is this so hard?!' She wondered. It's not like Kiba was a stranger. Perhaps it was the concept that she was actually considering another man that got her so worked up. Either way, she just hoped she didn't make a fool of herself.
"That it has." He laughed as he cooly pulled up one of the chairs and sat down beside her. "So what are you in here for anyways?" He asked her conversationally.
"Mission. I was basically sliced up by a pervert and used up all my chakra to heal others. The blood loss alone was enough to keep me here for a week. It's been almost three now." She replied, rolling her eyes at her own stupidity.
"Shit Haruno... You should be careful, always healing everyone else first. I can't really blame the bastard though..." He trailed off.
"For cutting open my side and leg and nearly killing me...?" She asked, a bit confused.
"Yeah...Wait what? No! No no no, that's not what I meant!" He tried to cover up his slip of the tongue. He even laughed at his own words, realizing how stupid he must have made himself sound. "I was just trying to say that I could see why the asshole was attracted to you. You're pretty striking Haruno." He recovered. She tipped back her head and laughed.
"Well..uh- Thanks..Inuzaka. You're not too shabby yourself." She was flirting with him! She was following the step all by herself, with no help from her flirtatious friend Ino, guiding her through the flirting process.
He raised an eyebrow and smiled wolfishly at her, She giggled and pursued a bit more conversation. She wanted to continue this flirting business, because, honestly she was enjoying herself.
"So why are you here?" She asked him politely.
"Hmm? Oh! Yeah, I was just released today actually. I was on a mission last week with Akamaru when I got this..." At this he stood up and lifted the bottom of his shirt up, revealing a nasty and extremly long scar. Sakura raised her eyebrows and hissed slightly.
"Ouch." She stated.
"Yeah. It was pretty screwed up. They healed the skin up top fairly well, but the scar will always be there. My insides were kind of fucked up though."
Sakura's natural medical knowledge kicked in almost immediately. She wasn't a doctor for nothing. "Yeah , no kidding. I can imagine it affected your muscle tissue relatively seriously. If the cut was deep enough you're ribs and stomach could have been badly and irreparably damaged. I'm guessing that's why you had to stay over here a while." She told him while looking from his cut to his eyes. It was hard to tear her eyes away though, considering that underneath the scar was a set of wonderfully defined and masculine abs.
"Yeah." He laughed as he lowered the fabric of his shirt. "Medic nin much? Anyways, I'm just glad I'm allowed to leave now. It was the worst, not being able to eat real food or see Akamaru. I almost want to go out and celebrate or something." He chuckled.
"No shit. I'd kill for even a bowl of ramen right about now." She agreed. She could relate to the torture this place subjected patients to. "I'd want to celebrate too. I'm still stuck in here for another week."
"Ouch. ...Hey! Once you get out, if you really do want to celebrate your freedom...you could always celebrate with me. If you're up to it, that is. " He challenged her and looked at her expectantly, waiting for an answer.
"Are you asking me out, Inuzaka? Cause, if you are, I'm not entirely sure if you're up to it. We could always see though." She raised an eyebrow and giggled at his idea of asking a girl out. Challenge her? Dumb, but, considering the fact that she'd just said yes, effective.
"You're on Haruno. I'll come by your place next week. Tuesday at 6:00 good for you?"
"Sure thing. I'll see you then." She couldn't stop smiling. Turned out she had nothing to worry about. Not only had she gotten a date and was on her way to an Uchiha-free life, she had done it without making herself look like an idiot.
Kiba waved as he headed out the door. Just as he was walking out the door, he ran into her team who was coming to visit her. He nodded to the four men and continued on his way out of the hospital. Sakura missed several things that happened in a matter of seconds, as he left.
The first was the subtle thumbs up that passed between the canine expert and Naruto which went unnoticed by all. The second was the immediate reaction that Sasuke had. Fists balled up, scowl deeply etched onto his features, fingers itching to connect with a certain man's face for visiting Sakura...alone.
Once the man was gone, Kakashi, Sai, Naruto and Sasuke all walked into her room.
"Hey boys." She looked all of them in the eyes save one. She wasn't really ready to face him directly yet, after the mission and everything.
"Hey Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out to her. "What was dog-breath doing here?" He asked her.
"Oh nothing." She replied wistfully, as she glanced at the door way in which Kiba had just passed through, with a soft smile on her face. She returned her focus back to Naruto. "I just got a date, though."
***
No. There was no way.
Sakura would not be going out with anyone. He wouldn't allow it, Sasuke thought forcefully as he leaned against the back wall of Sakura's hospital room and observed the others talking casually, his own eyes narrowed dangerously.
He didn't contribute anything to the conversation. The man was too busy plotting ways to stop Sakura's so called date, most of which included a very painful death for the brown haired Inuzaka.
The world was not right. She was supposed to ask him out and hound him night and day. Other men were supposed to understand that Sakura's undivided attention belonged to one man in Konoha and one man alone. Why then, was she now going out with someone else?
No. Way. In. Hell. Would he allow her to do this. No damn way.
The fact that she was going to be dating another guy wasn't even the worst part, hard to believe as that may be. It was the fact that she was acting as though he weren't even there. Was she honestly still angry with him? Even after what had happened? She was just too damn stubborn! How she not let it go and forgive him as she'd done every other time before? He'd only done it because he didn't want her to be molested. There was nothing wrong with that.
'How could she even consider it?' He thought bitterly to himself as he scowled in his corner. He caught a few words of their conversation and found himself subconciously listening in.
"... Yeah no. It was cusual and it was just laid back. He just kind of...asked me." Sakura was saying.
Naruto, who was eagerly listening to everything she had to say, pressed on. "So where are you two going? When?"
"Uhh..." She paused, trying to recall the details. "Tuesday around six I think...? I don't know what we'll do though."
He was fed up with all this excitement over Kiba. Shoving his hands deep inside his pockets, Sasuke nodded curtly at the rest of them (though was easily dismissed by the pink haired woman) and stalked out of the hospital room darkly.
***
Sakura stretched upwards as she stood out of bed for the first time in over three weeks , without being attached to some sort of machine. She sighed, enjoying the feel of using her body since what felt like forever. She was exstatic to be out of bed, though a little peeved at the fact that, once again, she wouldn't be able to train for a while.
But her spirits couldn't be brought down. She had a good lead on the next step and teaching her bastard of a teammate a lesson. He wasn't going to be the object of her affections for much longer. She couldn't wait for Tuesday to roll around.
She had surprised herself, with how easily she was taking it. Never before would she even imagine that the prospect of dating another man was exciting, but it was. She couldn't wait. It had been ages since she'd gone out with someone reasonable.
She exited the double doors and immediatly broke out into a grin. Fresh air! The air rushed into her lungs and she let out a slight giggle of happiness. Despite the whole disasterous mission, she couldn't be happier.
Sakura walked slowly down the street, revelling in her new freedom. Never before had she ever appreciated the walk from the hospital to her apartment so much.
'Sweet, sweet exercise!' Her inner cheered in her mind. On the walk back, she spotted Ino across the street and waved her over.
"Ino-pig!" She yelled, trying to get the blonde's attention.
"Forehead! You're out!" Ino called as she rushed over and embraced the pinkette warmly.
"Uh-huh. Tsunade-shishou let me go this morning." She smiled at the very idea of not having to stay inside the hospital anymore.
"Good! I missed you like crazy! I've been forced to shop alone, because you were bedridden, Shika's way too lazy, Hinata's busy with that brat. It was awful. Not to mention, who else am I supposed to talk with for hours at a time? How are you feeling, billboard brow?" Ino began talking a mile a minute. Sakura scrunched up her nose at the use of her least favourite nickname.
"Fine, fine. Actually more than fine. You're going to flip when you hear what I'm doing this Tuesday." She replied.
"Try me." Ino accepted the challenge, her eyebrow raised skeptically.
"Kiba and I were going out." Sakura told her.
Ino's eyes slowly widened in shock. She clamped her mouth shut tightly, determined not to freak out. Suddenly, the Yamanaka could not longer contain it.
"WHAT?!?! On a date?! Oh my god! I don't believe it!" Sakura winced at how incredibly loud Ino was.
"Yeah. He asked me about a week ago when I was in the hospital." Sakura shrugged, light heartedly
"And you didn't tell me because...?!" Ino demanded.
"Ummm...Hospital?" Sakura told her obviously.
"Right. Still! Is this part of the....you know..." Ino dropped her voice to a whisper, "The list?"
Sakura nodded. She still couldn't believe how far she'd come since the beginning of the process.
"So? Details Forehead!" Sakura smiled and began to recount everything that had happened and enjoyed watching and hearing her friend's reactions.
Across the street, a certain black-haired man allowed his attention to stray as he glanced across the street. He spotted Sakura immediately followed by her annoying friend. They were whispering and giggling as Sakura spoke. He narrowed his eyes and turned away sharply.
'Three guesses as to what they're talking about.'
He suddenly thought about the whole predicament. Today was Sunday. In two days, the girl would be off with another man, doing god knows what.
Sasuke snarled and stalked away. Why did he care so much? She could do whatever the hell she wanted to. It didn't affect him, or at least, it wasn't supposed to affect him. As he rounded a corner, and approached the Uchiha compound, he slammed his fist roughly into a wall and slammed the gates to the estate roughly.
At the moment, he hated Kiba more than anything.
***
The pink haired girl walked down to the training field, early the next morning. She continue her ritual of watching her team practice, to make sure she felt like part of the group. To be honest, she didn't really have anything else more interesting to do.
She hummed a quiet tune to herself as she slowly strolled down the street. In her mind, she ran over the step one more time. She was supposed to flirt with other guys. She could do that. She had a date with Kiba, but it wasn't as though they were a couple yet. It was simply casual. Therefore she didn't see an issue with some laid-back chatting with other guys.
When she woke up that morning she'd spent some extra time making herself look nicer, as her list told her to do, and she once again spotted the looks she was getting as she made her way through Konoha. The only difference was that now, instead of merely blushing or smiling at the comments and wolf whistled, she allowed herself to be a tad bit more coy than normal. It wasn't over the top. Barely noticeable in fact, but she herself noticed the change.
The team had already left the bridge and was probably on it's way to the training fields, so she continued walking. As Sakura neared the grounds, she waved happily and made her way to her favourite spot underneath the tree.
"Hey girly, you're looking good today." She heard Suigetsu comment as she passed him by. Sakura tilted her head and giggled at his forwardness. "Thanks, Shark-boy" she called over her shoulder at him. "You're looking half-decent today too." With that she continued to the tree and sat down.
Unnoticed by her was the immediate scowl present on the Uchiha's face. Flirting with Suigetsu? Unheard of! What had gotten into her?!
Sakura slid down the bark and leaned back onto the tree. She soon groaned as she saw who was approaching her.
"Hello Pinky." Karin growled as she neared the tree and sat down a few steps away from her.
"Karin." Sakura never took her eyes off the fight going on now between Naruto and Sai. She wasn't in the mood to deal with this girl right now.
"What are you even doing here? Why do you bother? You're hardly even part of the team anymore." Karin taunted her.
'Wow. She doesn't waste any time now does she?' Sakura thought to herself.
"I am and will always be a part of this team, no matter what you, or anyone else says." Sakura's eyes shifted to the Uchiha in the next field as she said this.
"You keep telling yourself that, Pinky." When Sakura chose not to answer, the red haired woman continued, searching for a reaction. "That mission we went on went really well though. Sasuke-kun seemed glad that I went with them, instead of little old you. Very glad. He really wouldn't leave me alone actually. " Karin purred. The cherry blossom girl snorted in laughter. Somehow she was unable to imagine her teammate ever following Karin around like some lovesick puppy.
This, however amusing it was to Sakura, seemed to aggravate the other girl for she suddenly spat maliciously. "Sounds like someone's a bit jealous."
"Of what? You're lying skills? Not really, because they're not very good to be honest with you. " Sakura sighed, not really caring what she had to say.
"Of me. Of the fact that you've been replaced. Sasuke-kun said that from now, based on my performance on that mission, that he intended for you to stay behind more often. I guess I'll be filling in for you a lot more often Pinky. You just don't compare." Sakura could hardly believe the poison coming from this woman's mouth. She began to lose control of her emotions.
'Cool it Haruno. She's obviously not in her right mind.'
Karin smiled largely, clearly pleased with the reactions she was eliciting from Sakura.
"Why do you think he turned up on your mission? Because he cared?" At this Karin chuckled. Sakura stiffened. That was exactly what she hoped was the case. "Aww you did! How...sweet. Sorry to break it to you, but he was sent by the Hokage, who didn't believe you could complete it alone. He didn't even want to be there. Clearly everyone knows you only a mediocre ninja. Even your teacher. It's only a matter of time before I replace you completely."
"You know what? I couldn't care less how your stupid mission went." She did care. "I don't care how much Sasuke wants me off this team." She did care. "You and 'Sasuke-kuuuun' can do and think whatever the hell you want. I. Don't. Care!" She did care. She cared more than anything.
"I'm a better Ninja than you will ever dream to be, but if you're really so sad about that fact, you can go and cry to your precious Sasuke-kun for all I care." With that Sakura picked herself up and prepared to leave the training session. She despised her. She couldn't believe that Karin had the nerve to say those things to her. Not only that, but the fact that Sasuke had been a part of it. She didn't want to believe it, but considering the everything that had happened, she had trouble convincing herself that what Karin had said wasn't true.
Their little spat had attracted everyone's attention, particularly the Uchiha's. Sakura quickly stood and turned around to leave just as Sasuke turned to see what was causing all the noise.
Their eyes met and Sakura mustered the most powerful and loathing glare she could and shot it his way before turning rapidly and marching away. The look reflected everything she was feeling at this moment.
Sasuke was taken aback. Sakura had never looked at him like that. He was shocked at the amount of hatred was present in her eyes as she looked at him. Her cheeks were flushed and her body was rigid, and her eyes. Her eyes were the worst part. Brimming with angry tears, narrowed in disgust and anger. He almost felt as though he'd been burned.
He made a slight move to go after her and find out exactly what he'd done to deserve such a look, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw who stood end the end of the field.
Kiba stood still, Akamaru at his side, and watched as Sakura approached him, clearly furious and hurt. She walked up to him and as they spoke, Kiba wrapped an arm around her shoulders and lead her away from the grounds. Sasuke felt like killing him then and there. What was he doing here? Who did he think he was, touching her like that?
Sasuke subconsciously activated his Sharingan and glared as they moved farther and farther away.
He was pissed. About everything. He spun around lightning fast and motioned for Suigetsu to prepare to start fighting again. Karin sat grinning underneath the tree and watching as Sasuke fought more furiously than he could remember fighting in a long time.
It was safe to say that Suigetsu left the training field unconscious with many more serious injuries than usual.
***
Sakura brushed away angry tears as she lay spread out on her bed at home. She was so hurt and furious. After she'd stormed off, she'd met Kiba at the end of the field. He'd come to make sure they were still on for Tuesday, but he'd gotten much more than he'd anticipated.
He'd comforted her, wrapped his arm around her to make her feel better, walked her home, sat in her kitchen and listened to her vent all her frustration over Karin and Sasuke.
She was so grateful for everything he'd done for her and she felt a little guilty for subjecting him to so much when he'd only intended to speak with her for a couple of seconds.
She breathed out a heavy sigh and closed her eyes tightly. Tomorrow night, she would be enjoying his company once again and wouldn't have to deal with Sasuke or Karin for a while.
'They don't want or deserve your company anyways. Screw 'em!' Her inner roared inside her brain.
She sighed and picked herself up. Pushing all negative thoughts out of her mind. She walked to the front door and picked up a light jacket at the door. After pulling on her shoes, she left her small apartment and began walking towards Ino's home. She still needed to choose the outfit she'd be wearing tomorrow evening.
***
Sakura finished her shift at the hospital at five the next day. She wasn't technically allowed to work on the patients because that required chakra, but she had tons of paperwork to catch up on. She was literally exhausted once the day was over.
All day she'd worked incredibly hard, to keep her mind off...other things. Not only that, but she had also put in the extra energy to wear a mask of cheerfulness on her features all day, when all she wanted to do was smash everything in her office.
She checked the clock on her wall and breathed out a sigh of relief that she was allowed to go home. Suddenly she felt energized at the memory that today was her date with Kiba. She packed up all her belongings and left the hospital with a slight spring in her step.
All thoughts of Sasuke had been wiped away with all the excitement as she neared her home. That is... until she spotted him looking at her from across the street. Her face became stony and she picked up her pace on the way home.
Sasuke noticed her change in behaviour and, when she'd turned the corner, began to run in the direction of her apartment. He was one of the fastest nin in the village and he knew he could beat her home if he wanted to. And he did want to.
Sakura neared the doors to the apartment complex she lived in, but instead of the expected feeling of relief she'd predicted to feel when she neared the doorway, she was met with a feeling of dread. Sasuke was leaning against the wall beside the door with his hands buried into his pockets, a calm expression on his face.
Sakura breathed in a deep breath and marched towards him, avoiding his figure completely, her eyes focused solely on the door handle. She brushed past him and entered the building and sprinted up the stairs to her number, Sasuke following. She reached her door and unlocked it quickly. As she turned around to close it once she was inside, she met his eyes fr the first time and, once again, shot him the worst glare she could manage before slamming the door in his face.
Sasuke breathed in deeply and fought to keep his temper. Why was she doing this?! He hadn't done anything to deserve her scorn. Nothing recent anyways. He was determined to find out why she was acting the way she was.
He grabbed the handle of her door roughly and turned the knob so forcefully that he could hear the lock break. He forced his way through the door and marched into her living room.
"Sakura." He stated, trying to get her attention, though he was sure she knew he was in there. She was a ninja afterall.
"Uchiha! What the hell?! Get out! Now. " She turned to look at her now broken door. "You're going to pay for that, you know!" She added. "You can't just go around breaking doors down you ass!"
He simply crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall at the front entrance, refusing to move until he'd gotten exactly what he'd come for. Answers.
Sakura growled and moved towards him. She jabbed her finger into his chest (enforced with chakra to make it painful) " Who the fuck do you think you are?! You don't even want to be around me, but you assume you have to right to force yourself into my life?!"
"What are you talking about?" He asked coolly, ignoring his now bruised chest. He didn't understand her. Who'd said he didn't want her around.
"Please! Karin told me all about what you really think of me and your 'intentions' to keep me off missions so just save it you bastard!" She yelled at him.
"What?" He asked, surprised by this information.
"Don't bullshit me Uchiha! I know the you don't want me on the team anymore! You're little 'teammate' told me all about it!'
"And you believed her." He didn't even phrase it as a question. It was obvious that Sakura had believed every word of it, judging by her actions.
"Yeah. I do believe her, because it would be so typical of you to do something like that. It's not like you've ever really shown me any kindness whatsoever! Why shouldn't I believe her?!"
Sasuke didn't answer her. Why shouldn't she believe her? Maybe because he would never intentionally push her away, without a good reason. Maybe because she meant more to him than most people knew. Maybe because Karin was a liar and had always been jealous of Sakura. Maybe he because he lov-
Whoa. He stopped his train of thought. He didn't. He couldn't. He was getting carried away. Sasuke was just about to leave her house to brood when Sakura said something that made him stay.
"Now leave Sasuke! I have a date with Kiba, in case you'd forgotten. Someone who treats me well and who cares about me, even just a little bit. So get out of my home and out of my life. I hate you!"
The mention of the Inuzaka had awoken a fire inside him and he grabbed her wrists and switched their positions so that she was backed against the wall. He dropped her arms and slammed his fists into the wall beside her head, closing his eyes in frustration.
When he opened them again, Sakura found herself face to face with his blood red eyes.
The thought of Sakura going out with someone else had been bothering him, but now that she'd just confirmed that she was actually going...Sasuke lost control of his actions. He snapped. And now he wished he hadn't. This was dangerous territory. Her lips were so close. Only a couple of inches closer and they'd be touching.
"Sasuke! What the hell are you-?"
"Don't go." He murmured, anger consuming him completely.
Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me?" She demanded.
Sasuke leaned in a bit closer and said right next to her ear. "Don't. Go. With. Him." He pronounced clearly. He could feel her breathing. He didn't know what he was doing, nor why he was doing it, but he couldn't stop. Despite the fact that he'd just revealed a side of himself that she didn't know about. The part that thought of her as much more than a teammate.
Sakura struggled for breath. 'What...what is he doing...?' Her thoughts were all jumbled and it was hard to think at all. Sasuke, the man she'd dreamed about for years, the only man she'd ever really loved, the man she was supposed to be over, had just pushed her up against a wall.
She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent momentarily. His presence was fogging her mind. As wrong as this was, she hated to admit that she wished it wouldn't end. Soon, however, she came to her senses. She put her arms on his shoulders and pushed him away from her. For a moment she just looked at him. Then she remembered what he was and what he'd done...
She pulled back her arms and punched him square in the face. He fell away from her and glared at her, searching for an answer.
"I don't know what you think you're doing, Uchiha." She snarled. "But it won't work. You think you can just play with me? That I'll just do whatever you say because ...Because I..." She trailed off. "Well I won't! I hate you. More than anything in this world. I hate you."She was tired of crying. She didn't feel anything as she told him to leave. "Get out of my life. Please Sasuke. Just get out of here."
Sasuke didn't know why, but hearing her plead him to leave evoked something inside him. He picked himself up and walked out of her door without looking back. He didn't leave because he was angry. He didn't leave because he was sad. He left because it was what she wanted, because all that mattered to him now was that she got what she wanted. If she wanted him out, he'd leave. But he wouldn't leave completely. If she thought that he'd just sit back and watch some idiot try an win her affections, she was dead wrong.
Sakura gave one last, fleeting look at his retreating back before shutting the door and heading to her room, choosing to ignore the pain in her heart.
'What just happened?' She pondered to herself before shaking her head and trying to clear her mind.
Sakura got dressed quickly into the outfit that her and Ino had chosen the night before. She spent about ten minutes with her hair, forming luscious waves out of her mid length pink hair. Halfway through the process Sakura just stared into the mirror, emotionless. Her fight with Sasuke hadn't even registered yet. She was in a numb reality and even still felt excited for her upcoming date.
Fifteen minutes later Kiba arrived at her home and knocked softly. He was surprised when the little force of his knock pushed the door open. He locked down at the doorknob and noticed that it was broken.
"Uhhh...Sakura. I think something happened to your door..."
***
Sakura walked alongside the Inuzaka, wearing a soft white summer dress, patterned with a very tiny flowered print. Her hair was wavy and she wore little makeup. She looked decent and Kiba coughed loudly when she'd emerged. Now, together, they walked down the street and made their way to a casual restaurant.
Kiba was chatting happily and Sakura laughed here and there, to show him that she cared about what he had to say. She smiled and wore a mask over her pain, so convincing that even she didn'trealise how upset she was.
They spoke over dinner, chatting casually. Kiba was a great guy and he had a natural way of making her laugh. She wanted desperately to have a good connection with him. Still, she was a bit distracted. Her thoughts kept returning to the Uchiha and everything that happened earlier.
'Focus on Kiba, Haruno! He's the important one right now! At least try to be a decent date!' Her inner chided her. 'I don't know how! I've never been on a date before!' She told herself in her mind. She was too busy conversing with herself to even consider the fact that maybe having conversations with herself wasn't a good sign. Being a good date was easier said than done.
Kiba suddenly shuffled a bit closer to her in their booth and she was at a loss at what to do.
'Oh god. Oh god.' her inner fretted. Kiba placed his arm around her shoulders and continued the conversation as though he hadn't done anything at all.
Sakura, however felt severely uncomfortable.
'What do we do? What do we do?' She didn't know what to do on a date, especially when the man she was with at the moment wasn't the one she was thinking about. She pictured every single soap opera or romance novel she'd ever seen. Should she place her hands on his thigh and pounce on the guy while making out with him furiously? Or should she slap him hard across the face as though he'd offended her and storm away? Sakura settled for patting his leg awkwardly.
'Great. Now we're acting like his mother!' She cursed inwardly. This was a disaster.
"Uhhh....Right." Kiba said awkwardly as he stared down at her hand which was still patting his leg. He pulled back his arm from around her shoulders and kept it stationary at his side.
"Sorry" Sakura groaned. "I've never done this before...I'm not really sure how to act." She admitted honestly. She was so embarrassed. The only times she could ever remember being so humiliated was when she was around Sasuke. 'Sasuke...'
Kiba chuckled "Don't worry about it Haruno. So how are you doing anyways? You know, being out of the hospital and everything?" He asked her while they ate. Sakura's thoughts however hadn't been on what he was saying, but instead on a certain black haired man.
"Hmm? Oh uh.."
'Quickly Haruno! It's time to use your brain and answer! You don't want to offend him by showing him you weren't listening! Just make something up!'
"I'm uhh.. I'm personally against it." She answered. Kiba looked at her as though she'd just grown another head.
"Uhh..What?" He asked her, laughing, clearly confused with what she'd said.
"I personally don't believe in it. I think there are...other methods of...doing..that...?" She elaborated.
Kiba burst out laughing. "You feeling alright?"
"Of course I am...Well...actually not really...I don't know! I guess I'm just a bit distracted, that's all." She answered truthfully, drifting into thought.
"I kind of assumed that." He stated looking directly into her eyes though she was lost in her own mind. "What with the angsty Uchiha's running around."
"What? No. No no no. That's not it at all Kiba!" Sakura covered up. He was not on her mind. She hated him. She didn't care about him.
"If you say so." He said giving her a look. It was clear he wasn't buying it. "Maybe we should just go and take a walk ...and then I'll walk you home."
Sakura nodded and stood up. Kiba took her hand and led her out of the small restaurant and out into the street. Together they walked in the direction of the park, but Sakura's thoughts weren't there. They were where they always seemed to be, with the black haired arse that seemed to have a permanent grasp on her mind and heart.
***
Sasuke was sitting stiffly in a tree across the road from the quaint restaurant that the two of them had gone to.
Sakura may have wanted him out of her life, but he did not want her out of his. Therefore, though she wanted him to stay away from her, he'd still make sure that that dog didn't do anything.
He found it absurd that after the intense fight they'd just had and the emotion that had welled up in both of them, he was still following them and leaning against a tree watching them. It really didn't make sense. Abruptly, he was pulled out of his thoughts when he witnessed the Inuzaka placing his arm aorund her shoulders.
'Get away from her.' He thought maliciously 'Don't you dare touch her.'. Unfortunatly, he was jerked out of his thoughts when he heard someone talking to him from a little ways away.
'-do you think you're doing teme?" Naruto stood a few feets away from him, staring at him with a mocking expression on his face.
"Go away Dobe." Sasuke muttered as he attempted to continue watching the two across the street. The blond followed his gaze and clapped a hand to his mouth, fighting to control a furious laughing fit."Areyou spying on them...?" Naruto asked.
"Hn." Suddenly, the Sharingan user was afraid that his cover would be blown by the sheer volume of the idiot's laughter.
"If you don't shut the hell up, Dead Last, your going to wish you were dead." Sasuke murmured ruefully. He wasn't even spying. He was supervising, making sure that the dog lover didn't try anything with her. God knew she wouldn't be able to take care of herself.
Soon, he stopped thinking about his predicament with Naruto when he spotted Sakura touching the Inuzaka's leg. He cracked his knuckles loudly, his jaw set. What was she doing?!
"Looks like Sakura and Dog breath are getting kinda cozy ne? Do you think they're hitting it off?" Naruto asked him loudly with a lone mocking eyebrow raised. Sasuke was jealous and he was going to use it to his full advantage. He was rewarded when Sasuke attempted to murder Kiba with just a look. "What's wrong Teme? You're not...jealous..? Are you?" Naruto taunted. It was obvious that his friend liked the girl, even if he couldn't see it himself.
Sasuke simply death glared him and slammed him backwards int a tree, where he hit his head.
"Dobe."
"Hein?" Naruto grunted as he regained balance. "Bastard! You just wait! I'll get you back for that! Just because you're angry that Sakura's out with Kiba instead of you doesn't mean you can just take your anger out on others. Just tell her!" Naruto ranted as he ran to catch up with the retreating Uchiha.
"Mind your own business." Sasuke growled. He strode around until he found a larger tree before disappearing into the branched and lounging against the trunk. Naruto was close at his heels and stopped on the ground below the branches. Sasuke settled down and leaned to continue observing the pair across the road...only to discovery that they were no longer there.
'Shit.' He swore inwardly. He jumped down from the branch and headed off to find the two of them Who knew what that creep was doing to her now that he'd let them out of his sight. Stupid dobe, always distracting him.
"Now where are you going Teme?!" Naruto shouted after him. Sasuke didn't answer. He was too busy scanning everywhere for Sakura and her stupid date.
***
"Kiba, thank you so, so much. I had a lot of fun with you." Sakura told him once they'd gotten to the entrance of her apartment. Together they'd gone to the park in Konoha and walked around for almost an hour. They spoke casually and Sakura tried with all her might to make sure she focused on him. She began to have a really great time with him, laughing and talking to him like a real friend.
She had been holding his hand the whole way home and only now did he drop it. He smiled and scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah. I did too." They stood there silently for a second in a comfortable silence, not sure what to do, but still not awkward with each other.
Sakura moved to speak but Kiba beat her to it.
"Listen Haruno. I had a really great time today, I did. But I don't think you should be doing this..." He said to her, his eyes crinkled upwards in an understanding smile.
Sakura's forehead crinkled in confusion. "What do you mean, "doing this"? Doing what?"
"Lying to yourself." Kiba finished. He gave her a look that told her that he knew what (or, more appropriately, who) her thoughts were dwelling on. He lifting a hand and pushed a piece of her hair back. Sakura began to speak but Kiba grabbed her chin and pushed her jaw upwards, closing it so quickly that one could hear her teeth collide.
"Now. Before you deny it, or make any kind of nutty excuse, I want you to really be honest with yourself. You can't spend your time going out with a bunch of guys when there's only one that you want."
Sakura grabbed his hand and pushed it away from her gently, allowing herself to speak.
"You just don't get it. I can't...Care about him. He's rude and selfish. He doesn't care about me at all, Kiba! He hates me! Every little thing that I do, he hates it!" She was no longer looking at Kiba. She was staring at the stars above her heads, trying to force the tears to stay behind her eyelids.
"He's arrogant and he's pigheaded and stubborn. Sasuke has never liked me and he will never ever like me. He thinks he knows exactly what's best for me and that he needs to be right there to protect me because I'm not able to do it myself. Because I'm weak..." The tears were beginning to push their way out.
"And do you know what the worst part is? The worst part is that he's right! I am weak. I have done nothing to prove him wrong. I'm in the hospital every other week, crying every other day, thinking about him every other minute. "
Kiba started to intervene. "Sakura you are not weak. You know that's not true and deep down you know that Sasuke doesn't believe it either. He knows you're strong. He only does that shit because he's worried something might happen to you. Not the best methods I know, but the best intentions."
Sakura looked into his eyes for the first time since the topic of Sasuke came up. "You're just being nice. How can I want someone who doesn't believe in me? Kiba, he's been trying to get me to stay behind on missions more often! That not worry Kiba, that's horrible and deceitful."
The tears had finally begun to escape, rolling down her cheeks "I can't care about him. I don't care about him. Not anymore. I can't." Sakura was sobbing now. Earlier, her fight with the Uchiha had rolled off her shoulder but it had just hit her now.
"You told me that you didn't think I should be seeing other guys when I want someone else. But that's why I have to. Because I want him. But it h-hurts to mu-much to want- want him. It h-hurts so much to wa-want som- somet-thing that you can ne-never have."
Sakura cried and leaned forwards into Kiba's chest. Kiba looked over her slender shoulder and spotted someone who could probably handle this better than he could.
"Sakura. I want to show you something. You say he doesn't care about you, he hates you and doesn't want anything to do with you. Now I'm going to prove you wrong." Once he finished his sentence he leaned down and kissed her lips. The kiss wasn't real though. Their lips stayed perfectly still and Sakura felt absolutely nothing. She was about to break away and ask him exactly what this was supposed to prove but someone beat her to it.
Suddenly, perfectly according to Kiba's plan, a fist collided painfully with the side of his face so hard that he was thrown backwards into the concrete wall.
"Sasuke?! What the-" Sakura screamed, shocked by his sudden appearance. She had no idea he'd been there.
"Hn." He grunted quickly before bending over and grabbing the front of the now dazed Kiba's shirt. Kiba opened his eyes, attempting to ignore the throbbing and searing pain in his head, and gazed unblinkingly into blood red eyes. A large smile crept slowly onto his face and he chanced a meaningful glance at Sakura.
Sasuke caught this and shoved him away. "Leave." He muttered to the Inuzaka.
"Whatever you say Uchiha." Kiba said. "Bye Sakura-chan" He said with a wolfish grin across his features. Sakura blinked staring at the back of Sasuke's form. He'd stiffened and spun around lightning fast and glared at her. Across the street Sakura distinctly heard Kiba call to her, "See?!"
Sakura glared right back at the man in front of her.
"Sasuke." She ground out dangerously, "You have no right to do that to the people I care about." She was speaking slowly, trying to keep her temper at bay.
"He was all over you. You should be smarter than that Sakura. You're supposed to be responsible." He spat at her, his form still rigid with anger.
"Hows this for responsible you inconsiderate ass!? I'm cutting you out of my life, which is probably the most responsible decision I've ever made." Sakura yelled before spinning around and marching into her apartment. She slammed the door harder than usual, infusing her hand with chakra. The door nearly flew off it's hinges but she hardly noticed. She slid backwards against the wall and slammed her head backward. Again and again.
'That was a fluke Haruno. It didn't mean anything. It didn't mean anything.' Tears continued to roll down her face. Never before had she felt so broken and confused, so upset. And it was all because of one man.
Sakura began to think about her list. She needed to get over him. Because for the first time since the beginning of her personal mission, Sakura fully understood, as much as she hated it, that she was still in love with Sasuke Uchiha.
She decided that she would try to date and flirt whenever she could, because as Kiba had shown her tonight, they could teach her a lot about herself. Kiba had shown her what she'd been trying to deny to herself for so long, that no matter what she'd done so far, her heart still belonged to the stoic idiot. He had also made her realize that maybe Sasuke cared more than he showed her. He'd given her hope, which showed her that there were decent guys out there. That maybe she could learn to love one of them instead.
'Step Nine: Complete.'
To Be Continued
***
A/N: SOOOO?! What did you guys think! Please review now! Did you like the little bit of Sasuke-fluff there? I hope so! This fic is almost over! Only about three more chapters to go! And i've got the ending all written out already so you'll just have to wait ^^ THANKS FOR READING AND I'M SORRY FOR THE WAIT!
ps: Sorry for any typos! But honestly? Proofreading an 11 000 plus chapter is just not my forte! please just pass over them! My word caught a lot of them but they might be hiding in there somewhere...