Chapter 10

I.

Life is only life forever more
Together from wing to wing, oar to oar.

-Frost

II.

"Is Karin prettier?" A soft voice asked.

It was a fine and sunny day, when Sakura returned from Konoha Academy. She peeled off her uniform and dress as her maid picked up the pieces of her clothing from the ground and placed them in the hamper. Sakura's hair was growing out, almost reaching the middle of her back. Her pale emerald eyes blinked into the mirror, and she pinched her face in disgust, "I know Karin has a better shaped face, if only I could sharpen mine. Do you think Daddy will allow me to go get a surgery?"

"I don't know, miss." The maid answered obediently, "Uzumaki-san may be pretty, but she lacks an innocence and youth, which you have. Also, her skin is more prone to acne."

Sakura nodded happily, "You're right. Although, I wish I can be thinner. I tried dieting, but I think this is my threshold. You know? Like when we have thresholds for weights, I don't think I can get any thinner." She then looked down at her tummy and managed to pinch some fat from her waist, "I wonder how effective lipo-suction is."

"You're way too young, Haruno-san." The maid replied quickly.

Sakura frowned as she looked into the mirror again, "My eyes and my forehead... I think when I'm of age, I'll go surgically fix my eyes, make them wider, you know? And I heard there's such a thing as eyelash implants..."

"Yes, but miss, they are perfect they way they are."

"Ah, you don't understand." Sakura sighed as she looked on beyond her balcony for the arrival of Sasuke. He was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago, and she was getting fidgety from the waiting after rushing home just to see him. Her father was supposed to arrive with him, because tonight is a big night and they're all having a celebratory dinner together.

"Isn't Sasuke just... amazing?" Sakura blew out a breath and leaned her head against the railings, "I could just... stare at him all day."

"He is certainly handsome." The maid was careful.

"He is, isn't he." Sakura's eyes blinked a few times, "I don't think I've ever seen anyone of his caliber... He's just... He's just... so amazing."

Sakura saw him riding a horse and shoot once or twice during target practice in her backyard. Usually she sneaks around the house to get a better view, as her father forbids her from actually participating in any events that involve a gun, at least, until she's 18. He has never expected her to take over the family business, and he isn't about to consider ti, because he's planning to have her married off before he dies.

"If I may ask, miss," the maid brought out a jacket from her closet to cover her bare arms from the cold. "What exactly is amazing about Uchiha-san?"

"Everything." Sakura answered without hesitation. "His eyes, his cheekbones, his lips, his hair, his body..." She blushed at the last word, but then quickly recovered and put on her jacket, "I knew from the moment I met him, I'm going to marry him."

The moment she met him.

It was a few years ago, when Sakura was in her early teens. Sasuke was presented to her as a stoic and stubborn boy, and very proud. He refused to speak more words than was necessary, and rarely smiled. He didn't display any weakness, all qualities that could make a teenage girl swoon with a fangirl infatuation, and Sakura fell into that web as soon as it was presented to her.

For a girl who has never displayed any sense of inferiority complex, she was lost. For the first time in her life, she felt as if she didn't deserve him. He is an entity that is so attractive and wild that it could not be restrained or tamed by her alone, and she knew it. But once the seed set in her mind, she wanted nothing more than to see him, to attract him, to make him notice her, and she wanted more than anything for him to love her and take care of her.

One might have argued, that if Sasuke actually paid some attention to the girl at that moment, she might grow bored with him. But, he didn't pay attention to her, for he had greater things on his mind to focus on, which caused her great distress. Her goal was to make him notice her, but she failed miserably.

Her infatuation with him turned into an obsession. The less attention he gave her, the more she craved it. Combining that with his role as her savior, and part-time body guard, Sakura fell into her imagination and her conception of Sasuke faster than she could climb out. She shivered when he was near, and mourned in sorrow when he ignored her. She began to fall in love with the idea of sorrow, of having something that could never be hers.

It ended, however, the notion of pleasure in sorrow, that day.

A limo pulled up to her house, and she waited in excitement as her father and Sasuke got out of the vehicle, along with Naruto, Juugo, and some other insignificant people that she doesn't keep a track of. Her attention focused on Sasuke, until a splash of red came into her view-Karin

Karin, Karin, Karin, Karin.

Sakura wanted to rip that scalp of red hair from her head. Her mind was overcome with jealousy and anger whenever she was near. She's one of Sasuke's dearest friends, she knows this because she did an extensive background check on him. Wanting to fully grasp on his every habit and preference so she could please him as much as possible. And one of those preferences...was Karin.

Karin and Naruto are related, but they look nothing alike, nor do their personalities align in the slightest. Naruto is nice to everybody and often gets into trouble for being too kind hearted. He's slowly becoming more and more cunning and being a better judge of character, whereas Karin - Sakura would argue - is evil to the core.

To be fair, Karin isn't really evil. She's just very... clever.

At that age, she already possessed something Sakura did not have. Other than beauty, she understood the ways of the world and the rules of survival better than most people. In other words, society has tossed her back and forth, moulding her into a girl that can bend in any way she desires. Karin used this strategy to pleases those in a higher position than she, which at the momentwas practically everyone.

Sakura doedids not know this, however, as she only wanted to please Sasuke, yet she didn't know how. Every time she sees Karin, her mind snaps a little. For a girl who has never known self-control, enduring Karin at the same dinner table as her was already pushing her to the extent of her patience.

Because of her, she did not smile even once during dinner. Her father asked her affectionately what was wrong, but she ignored him with the silent treatment. He waved it off and figured it must be something related to school. As always, he adds, "if there's anyone who's bullying you in that Academy, tell me."

Sakura pushed away her plate and stood up, she kissed her father's cheek and said, "I feel tired, I'm going to rest for a bit."

Everybody at the table knew of what's going on. Everybody except Sato Haruno… and maybe Naruto.

Sasuke frowned in slight discontentment, but it disappeared as soon it came. He raised his glass towards his adopted guardian and thanked him for all these years... the usual.

He's not blind nor is he stupid. Since it was made so obvious. He knew that this girl had an unhealthy obsession with him. He'd been trying very hard not to encourage it, but she doesn't seem able to give up. He dreaded the day when he would actually have to sit her down and tell her clearly that he isn't interested. It's impractical, as his goal is to please her father, not have her so miserable that the blame ultimately falls on him. He isn't scared of doing it, but he scorns upon these things as he has better things to take care of, and comforting a little girl's feeling isn't one of them.

This was one of the reasons why Sakura wasn't successful with Sasuke; she wasn't mature enough.

Her heart was still young and she was protected all her life, like a soft flower that has been living inside a green house for a long time. The outside rain and thunders would destroy her. She ultimately developed an automatic sense of superiority towards anyone who wan't Sasuke, and displayed it openly. When he first laid his eyes upon her, Sasuke disliked her because of her haughtiness to others. Despite the fact she didn't mean it, what she has discarded at the dinner table was able to feed a family of four for an entire day. Her clothing, shoes, and jewels were so extravagant that it was hard not for everyone to feel uncomfortable. She faintly sensed looks of jealousy or envy from everyone, and it encouraged her. She was not sensitive enough to act humble because all her life, she has known the riches and nothing else.

After dinner, Sasuke took a stroll around the garden with Karin following behind. Sakura happened to see it and decided to follow them as discreetly as possible. This was the rare one time that she succeeded without being noticed.

Something had been bothering Sasuke that day, Karin could tell.

He walked ahead while she carefully maintained a safe distance, not too close nor too far. She gave him enough space not to feel suffocated, while maintaining a position close enough for him to grasp onto her when he reached. This was the same for most of their interactions.

Sasuke walked around aimlessly for a while, then he turned to face Karin with a straight face, "I found my brother, Karin."

Both Karin, who was facing him, and Sakura, who was hiding behind the fake waterfall were stunned for the next few seconds. It was Karin who interrupted the silence and asked tentatively, "...How?"

Sasuke answered with a sigh, "I did not think he was still alive. He... he actually contacted me."

"Really." Karin's voice was a bit squeaky for some reason. While Sakura nudged against the large boulder, with millions of question popping into her mind. She naively thought Sasuke must be in shock and pain, and she wanted nothing more than to cuddle her sad little Sasuke-kun, until he's relieved of all his feelings and falls asleep in her arms.

That was the extent of her fantasy at the time.

Karin, however, was more discreet. She asked questions slowly and carefully so as not to anger him or make him impatient. After a few minutes of conversation, Sakura deduced that Sasuke has a brother that is a few years his senior, and recently came in contact with him. Exactly where he resided, she did not know, nor his occupation, or the reason why he appeared in Sasuke's life again after almost a decade.

At last, Karin shakily asked, "What...what do you plan to do?"

Sasuke didn't answer at first, peering up at the evening sky. The resurfacing of Itachi shocked him to the core. He thought he would never see this brother again, but his brother happened to appear in his apartment the day before, acting as if he has belonged there his entire life. At first Sasuke scorned, laughed, and shamed him for leaving, and Itachi took the abuse with silence and a mocking smile.

After Sasuke's tantrum, Itachi chuckled and asked, "Foolish little brother, you still do not understand."

To which Sasuke completely ignored and glared at him a bit more until he decided to charge straight at him. The living room was turned into a complete mess as one tried to kill the other, and the other tried to dodge without injuring his attacker. Needless to say, Itachi was at a level far superior to Sasuke. He let him have his fun, but then stopped him with a swift grab of the wrist and flung him across the room. Sasuke's body hit against the wall and he collapsed on the furniture. Itachi straightened up and tapped off the dusts on his coat, walking towards him, "Little brother."

Sasuke stared at him with hatred and annoyance.

"If you need something, anything. Be if power, money, or revenge-" Itachi leaned down to smooth out his hair, and patted his head a couple of times before leaving a number, "Be good. I'm glad you turned out... decent."

"What makes you think you have the power to grant me my wishes?" Sasuke yelled after him as he made his way to the door.

Itachi only said, without turning back, "Try me."

At that time, however, Sasuke didn't want anything... not yet.

III.

A few month later….

Sakura felt as if her heart has exploded. She wept within her sheets for hours, until the maid didn't know what to do and called her father. Sato Haruno appeared beside her bed and tried to talk to her. He didn't know what to do, he had never had any conversation similar to this with his daughter, and up until a couple of weeks ago, he didn't even know that Sakura wanted Sasuke.

He sighed unconsciously, and the sound itself made Sakura peek out from her covers.

"Princess." He began, "Sakura, you... do you really like that boy that much?"

Sakura's tears kept on flowing as she nodded weakly.

"Even if he..."

She nodded even more fervently, "I don't care, I don't care. I don't care if he is the king, I don't care if he lived on the streets. I don't care if he loved everybody else in the world but me, I don't care if he is gay, if he is poor, or if he's rich, or if he's old or young. The moment I see him, my mind goes crazy with adoration..."

It was probably the most sincere and selfless phrase she has ever said in her entire life.

But her words were the ruling statement of the law itself, as her father generously gave her what she wanted-Uchiha Sasuke, in the flesh. He was already tortured and beaten, and after a few days of intensive care, he was able to, at least. walk. And they grasped this precious moment, when he was too weak to run or make decisions on his own, and forced him down the alter.

Both literally and figuratively speaking. They forced him to sign the legal papers and went through a series of ceremonies, all while being carefully monitored and inspected to make sure he didn't escape. Going a step further, they even ensured his every movement was monitored, and went through security checks several times a day. They took away anything that could potentially be used as a weapon, and abolishing his rights, even to end his own life.

This was undoubtedly a massive blow to Sasuke's pride. He held absolutely no control over the situation. When he found out that they took away all his rights just to please this girl, who he suspected still had her milk teeth in, he wanted to tear out her heart from her body just to see if it was black.

Uchiha Sasuke was not known for his sensitivity. He did not bother to place himself in Sakura's shoe and imagine what she was feeling, instead he developed an automatic hatred for her. Something stronger than anything he had ever felt, including his hatred for his brother. However, Sakura had yet to push him over the limit. She did, however, when she forced herself upon him.

She wanted him to love her so much that it was maddening. Her mind was filled with thoughts of him and his possible betrayal. She wanted to make sure that he was loyal to her, it was her only wish. She was selfish enough to ask of him, that if he wasn't willing to touch her, he touch no one else either.

He scoffed at her, because he felt disgusted by her. His mind, however, was distracted from his young wife as it diverged into work, various missions, and the safety of Karin.

Karin has came into contact with him again after their failed elopement. He told her to run away, and she did, successfully. She came back to Leon, however, with some slight help from Itachi. She heard of Sasuke's engagement and was devastated. Sasuke naturally did not like it either. He had promised to wed Karin long ago, not to mention he actually has a sense of attachment to her. Most of all, Karin was understanding, clever, and unspoilt. He could see himself living the rest of his life with Karin, but not Sakura. He couldn't visualize spending more than a week with Sakura before going insane and tying to kill her.

Everybody was trying to impress Sakura at the time, including her father's henchmen. And, when Sasuke arranged a meeting with Karin, the news got to Sakura's ears and she was furious. She wanted to give the order to kill that bitch, but somewhere in the back of her mind, her senses reminded her that killing Karin would only make Sasuke hate her more. By this logic, it might be better not to touch her.

But she couldn't wait any longer. Sasuke, as intelligent and capable as he was, would find some way to overthrow Sato Haruno, and woulddivorce her. Even though Sakura did not believe that her own father would be so easily overthrown, the possibility was still there, especially after some rumours going around about Sasuke networking with some significant people in York.

On one of the rarer nights that Sasuke came back to their new home, Sakura drugged him.

She tied him to the four-poster bed, and forced aphrodisiac into him.

He was her obsession, he was her heart, he was her soul. Sakura has long established that, she loves him so much that her heart overflowed with adoration for him. She ran her hand across his body and discovered it was completely perfect, there wasn't an ounce of fat, nor was it excessively muscular. His skin tone was lightly tanned to a healthy color, yet still paler than most guys. Every bit and piece of him was perfect, as she lay her head on his stomach, finding him so warm that her mind melted.

Sakura sighed as she reached for his head while bending down to touch her lips with his. She didn't exactly know how to kiss, as novels and mangas taught her to stick her tongue in, yet she was excited and terrified at the same time. She ran her lips across his to taste him, while wrapping her fingers within his soft hair. Her body was getting hotter as she wrapped her legs around his torso, rubbing against him unconsciously to relieve herself of the tingling nerves pooling in her abdomen. She sucked on his lips for a while before he woke up, aching and hard.

It was the only kiss they shared.

Her first time came to an end as she sat across his lap. He cursed at her, yelled at her, and threatened her. Still, Sakura didn't even have the heart to duct tape his mouth shut, for she loved to hear his voice, even when what came out was vile insults directed at her.

There was no pleasure for either of them, as Sakura was in so much pain she almost fainted, and Sasuke's humiliation multiplied.

There was only once, After his release inside her, she bit her lips because she didn't want to cry in front of him. He, on the other hand, struggled to free himself. After some careful maneuvering, he found himself unbound and ran away from that room as fast as he could, so disgusted at Sakura and her actions, yet still he felt a slight guilt for her virginity. It was soon overwhelmed with his justification of her evil and selfish character. He judged her to be someone he will always hate, and eventually, if given the chance, he would torture her until there was no will left in her.

IV.

He made his way back to where he originally lived, and tried to find that piece of paper Itachi scribbled on. After almost tearing down the place, he found the digits under his couch, and with a trembling finger, he dialed the number.

Itachi picked up his phone with a monotone voice, "Uchiha."

"I want-" Sasuke began. But his voice cracked and he couldn't continue.

Itachi waited patiently for his brother to finish.

"I want the Haruno's to fall. I want to destroy every bit of their order, and push them into chaos. I want to sit at the position where Haruno Sato is currently sitting, and I want it done as fast as possible."

"Of course." Itachi's answer was brief and without question, "I'll be in touch."

Meanwhile, the poor pink haired girl lay across the mess of a bed, covered in sheets and blood between her legs. She cried for a long time, mourning her lost love, mourning her weak and fluttering heart, and her faked marriage.

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TBC

A/N: Edited by K-chu. Re-upload, Oct 16.