A/N: I hate Karin. I really do. Everyone who hates Karin say 'I'!
She fell. She fucking fell. No, it wasn't a little slip or something like that, she fell in front of potential buyers and photographers who were probably making up tomorrow's headlines. She hit something and she didn't care what it was. She already made a fool of herself.
Shit, she looked like a joke. Someone was going to pay for this.
She didn't want to look up, embarrassed at the stares she could already feel. She just made a fool of herself and probably ruined the dress Sasori worked so hard on. She let him down when she promised she would do her best for him.
She could hear someone laughing behind her, making her clench her fists. Burn in fucking hell asshole.
But someone called her name and she looked up, blushing brightly.
"Oh shit."
She had landed on Sasuke. Sasuke had caught her expertly, swinging to the side so he caught her bridal style. Funny, she thought she crashed into the ground. But she found this predicament a little easier to deal with.
Mikoto gasped, shaking her fist as if it were a flawless victory. She grabbed Fugaku's arm, pointing happily at them.
"Do you see this, darling? What do you think?" Fugaku looked bored as always, his eyes only widened when she had fallen. But his son caught her, so why be so surprised? Quick reflexes were what he expected his children to have.
"It met my expectations, dear." Her mouth formed a pout. He looked over and smirked faintly.
"Please be careful, dear. You might get a wrinkle." Her eyes widened. She plucked a rose from Sakura's thrown bouquet and whacked him with it, throwing it at him when she was done. She growled when she heard his low chuckle, then turned back to Sasuke and Sakura. She sighed prettily.
"How romantic…"
Mebuki's mouth gaped, letting go of the butter knife at her husband's wrist. "What in the hell just happened?"
Kizashi was laughing quietly, putting his thumb up. "Nice save, Uchiha!"
"Dear!" She grabbed his hand harshly. "Quit making this situation worse! You might embarrass them!"
They started their little usual banter, Mikoto staring dreamily at their daughter and son while Fugaku didn't find anything fascinating except for his wife's odd behavior.
Itachi, however, wasn't one to be forgotten. As had been said before, he knew everything. Just like how he knew that Karin was the one who forced Sakura to fall. While she thought everyone's eyes were on Sakura, he had seen her purposefully placing the already swept flower petals back onto the runway. He didn't need to act, knowing that his foolish little brother would valiantly save the day and his beloved cherry blossom. It was good that he didn't, now he had a reason to fire Karin.
Ino, Hinata and Tenten were peeking from the backstage when they saw Sakura tumble off the runway. They gasped, only sighing once in relief when they saw her land into Sasuke's arms.
"That was too fucking close," breathed Ino. Tenten wasn't paying any more attention to Sakura now that she was safe. To her ears, she heard a really bitchy laugh at the end of the runway. She searched the end of the runway and saw Karin trying to catch her breath, a large basket of flower petals by her legs.
Wait. Sakura had tripped on flower petals…
That fucking bitch. She touched Ino and Hinata's shoulders, pointing at Karin who was still laughing. They nodded to her, skirting away from the others secretly.
Sasuke didn't think when he moved to catch her. She was in his arms the minute he ran. Thank God he did, she would've looked like a joke otherwise. It was already embarrassing enough that she fell when the cameras were going off.
He saw Gaara out of the corner of his eye, seeing the shock spread across his features. He too had gotten up to dive and grab Sakura, stopping when he saw Sasuke already with his arms out to catch her.
Sakura looked up and saw Gaara, smiling to indicate that she was okay. She even gave him a little wink to try to help him lighten up the concerned look he had on his face.
Gaara froze in place, seeing Sakura so comfortable in Sasuke's arms. But he had to catch her or else she would get hurt. He'd prefer it if she was all right instead of sprawled on the floor embarrassed. He probably looked like an idiot just standing where he was. He retreated back to his seat, ignoring the slight pang in his heart.
Konan met Sasori's eyes, both angrily communicating through their glares. He was angry that his beloved cherry blossom had fallen. Normally she had the grace of an angel. Not to mention he and dearest Uncle Kizashi had their done best to make her happy and comfortable. She wouldn't trip for nothing. Someone was holding him back from charging out there. Smart idea.
The entire room was quiet until Konan clapped slowly, getting up from her chair and approaching Sasuke and Sakura with a grace she was born with. Sasori broke free from whoever was holding him back and quickly made his way to them.
"'The Fallen Bride,'" Konan began out loud. "Symbolizes Eikyū no Utsukushī's struggle for dominance in the business of fashion. Konoha is vast in all areas of industry, carving out your niche in this country can be fruitless if you don't have the talent."
Sakura and Sasuke stared at her, Sasori nodding his head in agreement. But the same thought went through their minds. 'You are so full of shit.'
"'The Saving Groom' symbolizes Origami," Sasori continued. "Origami has helped Eikyū no Utsukushī establish its place in this business that is known for being cutthroat. We will always be thankful for Origami in recognizing our talent and for making this debut possible in Konoha."
Sakura watched Sasori exaggerate his gratitude for Origami, shaking her head knowing that he didn't give two shits about how hard it was to spread his line to Konoha. He enjoyed the competition and found it funny when other designers tried to upstage him. But unlike them, he was a genius.
But she turned her attention back to Sasuke, he brought her back to her feet and set her down.
"Are you all right?" he asked. She nodded.
"Yeah, I am. Thanks for catching me." Sasuke smirked in success.
"Any time. What happened anyway?" His eyes flicked to her dress, the toes of the heels peeking out from underneath. "You tripped because of those on?"
Sakura quickly shook her head. "No way! I didn't even know I had them on until I fell. I slipped in the glass, I guess."
He patted her back. "But you're okay now. And we have to listen to whatever bullshit they're coming up with."
She giggled, kissing him gratefully on the cheek. "Did you catch me just to prove that you wanted to get back together?" she asked teasingly.
He smirked playfully, leaning and whispering lowly into her ear. "Is it working?"
Karin kept laughing from under the runway, not hearing what Sasori and Konan was saying at the front. She heard someone coming at her, quickly composing herself to look as shocked as the other guests. Someone grabbed her by the shoulder, turning her around. Her first thought was to say how shocking it was that a model had fallen, but saw Tenten, Ino and Hinata behind her. She glared.
"What the hell are you three doing here?" Ino smirked.
"Us three have been working in the back where the models are and not sweeping the runway like a janitor. You?" she asked sweetly with a plastic smile on her face. Karin scoffed.
"Go fuck yourselves." She turned away, but Tenten grabbed her shoulder. She tensed, remembering what had happened last time she and Tenten met. She swore the young gym owner punched a hole through her stomach.
"Where do you think you're going?" asked Tenten. Karin sighed, shrugging off the tension.
"What do you want?" Hinata looked up at the runway, seeing the petals on the runway scattered around.
"T-the runway hasn't been cleaned properly…" Ino and Tenten looked up and saw the flower petals, narrowing their eyes and glaring back at Karin.
"Really, bitch? You had one job to do and you still fucked it up?" Karin began to pout, feigning concern and hurt.
"Just leave me alone. It was just an accident." Tenten was nodding at each word, but not believing her.
"Well. I guess we made a mistake! Everyone makes mistakes and accidents are made. So this is an accident too!" She grabbed Karin and twisted her around, ramming her fist into Karin's stomach and knocking the wind out of her.
"Ino! Help me out!" The blonde quickly grabbed onto the basket of flower petals, helping Tenten hoist Karin into the basket. Together they lifted the basket with Hinata.
"Holy shit, she's heavy!" grunted Ino. Tenten shifted so she could carry it easier.
"Get to the outside before someone sees!" They trotted together with Karin stuffed into the basket with the flowers covering her body. Everyone was still listening to Konan and Sasori ramble on and on about their debut.
At the glass doors to the backyard were Naruto, Neji and Shikamaru, staring dumbstruck at Sasuke and Sakura.
"Open the door!" Ino hissed. They turned their gaze to them, then at the basket they were carrying.
"What the hell is that?" asked Naruto, pointing at the basket. Ino drummed her feet.
"It's fucking trash! Open the goddamn door!" Naruto fled to the glass door and pushed it open.
"Yeesh, don't bite my head off! Oh, ignore me while you're at it!" he shouted when they brushed past him and down the marble steps. Neji and Shikamaru stared at one another.
"They aren't planning anything good," said Shikamaru. Neji nodded.
"Agreed." They followed them out. Naruto blinked, noticing that he was alone. He peered out the glass and saw that his friends abandoned him.
"Hey! What the fuck, guys? Wait up!" He ran after them.
"What are we supposed to do with her?" asked Hinata. Tenten shrugged.
"I didn't get to that step!" Ino looked around, seeing the pretty fountain spouting its water into the shallow pool at the bottom. She began teetering them over to it. Tenten followed her eyes and let go with one hand to slap her lightly on the shoulder.
"If we drown her, we get in trouble, pig." Ino scoffed.
"Then we'll dump her in the bushes!" Hinata looked around and spotted a plethora of raspberry bushes.
"Over there!" She dragged the basket over to the bushes, all three of them ready to toss her in.
"One! Two! Three!" They turned it over and dumped her into the fresh dirt, then ran off with the basket. Ino stayed behind to flip her off, then hurried away.
"What are you doing?" called out Neji, stopping them at the fountain. Tenten proudly fisted her hands to her hips.
"We threw Karin away!" she said with pride. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed.
"I know she's a bitch, but why?" They all spoke at once, the decibel of noise reaching impossible levels. They both winced at the noise.
"That bitch tripped Sakura on the runway!"
"Did you not see Sakura fall, you lazy dumbass?"
"S-she tried to make Sakura look bad!" He quickly put his hands up in surrender.
"Okay, okay! Jesus Christ, forget I asked. So troublesome…" Ino pressed her lips together tightly.
"I might murder you…" Naruto ran down to meet them. He panted, his eyes looking over to where they dumped her. He panicked, already feeling as though he was a part of this plan since he opened the door for them.
"Shouldn't we go back inside? Just ditch her so no one notices why we're out here!"
Sakura looked down the dress to check for any stains, thankful that she didn't find any. It was a little wrinkled from the fall, but a little ironing could fix that. If her dress did get ruined she would have killed the prick bastard who did it.
She had to take off the headpiece since it dangled idiotically now, placing the shiny piece on the table next to Itachi. The bored older brother shook his head as he watched Sasori's charade.
"You can feel how full of shit this speech is," he whispered conversationally. Sakura scoffed, nodding in agreement. She spotted her friends and Sasuke's walk in from the garden area, eyes widening. 'When were they back there?' she wondered.
"Allow me to introduce you to our models used for this!" With a flourish, he and Konan stepped behind Sasuke and Sakura.
"Uchiha Corps' heir, Uchiha Sasuke. He is wearing one of Origami's most expensive and high in demand suits," announced Konan, placing a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. People applauded, buying the fake story Konan and Sasori constructed.
"Nice save, Konan," he praised under his breath. She smirked.
"Thank you, sir. Akatsuki accepts your praise and hope that the paycheck arrives in my mail slot soon," said Konan, slightly teasing. He nodded.
"And Eikyū no Utsukushī 's most prized possession, Haruno Sakura, wearing the masterpiece design," said Sasori. Sakura frowned a bit.
"'Prized possession'?" she asked quietly. Sasori smiled pleasantly.
"Of course, my most cherished pearl." He looked over at Itachi, smirking.
"I told you his matches more." Itachi raised a brow.
"What do you mean?" He jerked his head at Sasuke.
"The suit, of course. What else did you think I meant?" Itachi narrowed his eyes. He shook his head in disappointment. But he had to tell him what he saw. He shoved the annoyance away and got up from the table.
Sakura had taken more pictures together with Sasuke for the cameras, then walked off to find her friends with Sasuke's. They grinned at her.
"Are you all right?" asked Hinata. Sakura smiled.
"Yeah! And Sasori covered for me pretty well. I'm kind of thankful I went last or else we wouldn't have been able to think of much if there was a line of models behind me." Naruto grinned like a fox.
"At least that's done with! Anyway, you look really awesome in that dress! Eh…" He scratched his head in confusion. "What dress do they call that?"
They groaned. Naruto was as dense as ever.
"It's called a wedding dress, you idiot," muttered Shikamaru. Naruto shook his fist at him.
"I know that, you lazy asshole! I kept hearing shit like a fitted corset and a basque waist." Ino rolled her eyes.
"It's called a sweetheart ball gown, duh. That's as basic as I can put it." Tenten grinned evilly.
"Yeah, Naruto. You should know this stuff too!"
"No I don't!" shouted Naruto. "I'm a guy!"
Sakura twirled a strand of her hair around her fingers. "Gosh, Naruto. I think you should know this stuff. Don't you want to know what kind of dress would look best on Hinata?" she teased, bumping her hip to Hinata.
Both the blue haired girl and Uzumaki heir blushed brightly.
"Sakura!" Hinata squeaked. They all laughed, except Neji who narrowed his eyes at Naruto.
"I don't think Naruto is a suitable mate for my cousin despite our friendship over the years." Naruto gasped deeply, almost choking on the air.
"Neji, you son of a bitch! I am the best 'suitable mate' for Hinata! Let me tell you why!" He began a giant list, Neji obviously amused since he just got Naruto to say that he wanted to marry his blushing cousin.
Sakura managed to slip away and found Gaara, the redhead waving at her to come talk to him. She flashed a smile and went to his table, sitting in an empty seat. He looked over her dress, smiling slightly at the fit and the drape.
"You look beautiful, Sakura." She blushed like a little school girl.
"Thanks, Gaara!" She giggled playfully and stared at him in the eye. "Are you so sure and not trying to flatter me? A few minutes ago I almost made an idiot of myself by falling!"
He laughed a little and gestured to her hair. "You made your hair a tad sexier that way."
She groaned. Hair problems were created by assholes. "Damn. Is it tousled?"
He nodded, pulling out a small comb. She stared blankly. Why would he have a comb on him? At her questioning gaze, he shrugged.
"Kankuro said this was the only souvenir he could get here." Sakura laughed, taking the skinny little comb and ran it through her hair that had looked windswept.
Gaara looked at the dress again, almost cursing Sasori for teasing him with what he couldn't have. Sakura as a bride.
But she looked absolutely beautiful in the masterpiece as if the designer had made it especially for her. Sasuke catching her was as if he caught a bride, something Sakura could pull off with the dress she had on. He also noticed the earrings she had on, seeing a picture she had shown him of her grandmother wearing them. When she had passed away, Sakura was devastated. The earrings she once claimed to love were put away by her father because every time she saw it a little after her grandmother passed away, she cried.
She was wearing them now, looking completely happy. He was happy for her too. She finished combing up her hair and threw the comb into the nearest trash bin.
"Thanks!" she said. Gaara smirked. Kankuro would not be happy if he found out that Sakura threw away the souvenir he spent so hard finding. Please note the sarcasm.
"Sakura, you just threw away Kankuro's souvenir. Now we have to hear him bitch about the work he had to do and cry about the comb." Sakura waved her hand.
"Please. He probably got them from the fifty kabillion boxes in the back." He shrugged, deciding to change the subject.
"So about the dress. Are you supposed to give it back?" Sakura quickly shook her head, fisting the skirt and bouncing on her seat. He scoffed gently.
"Someone's obviously happy." Sakura kept dancing around, looking up at him with adoring eyes.
"I am! I get to keep this! Sasori said this is my wedding dress." He froze. Sasori had made this for her for her wedding? He plastered a smile on his face to mask the shock.
"Isn't the groom not allowed to see the bride in her gown? Isn't that some sort of bad omen?" His father had told him a story that his mother almost freaked out on the day of their wedding because she thought his father had seen her wearing the dress. What kind of bad omen was that anyway? It was seeing her in clothes. That wasn't very traumatizing. Seeing someone naked was way more traumatizing than putting on a white dress a woman would only wear once.
Sakura waved her hand dismissively. "Psh. It's just a dress. How bad could it be? Can you imagine an argument? 'Honey, we're having an argument and fighting not because of a crisis, but because you saw me in my wedding dress! How could you? You can take this ring, asshole!'" She pretended to take an invisible wedding ring off her ring finger, doing a lame, exaggerated throw at him.
He dodged easily, smirking. "I wouldn't know how bad it would be. Neither of us is married yet." Marriage was a long way too because they were too young and barely getting a grasp on their careers.
She grinned. "Well then, I'll just ask my mom! Or Sasuke's mom, Uchiha Mikoto. She's right there."
She pointed at Mrs. Uchiha, who was watching them intensely while her husband sat quietly sipping from his long flute of champagne. Gaara looked over, seeing that the Uchiha matriarch was not only beautiful, but pretty scary looking. That was probably because she was glaring at him. He hummed in thought.
"She looks intense." Sakura scoffed.
"Mikoto? Please." She glanced over at her, who quickly wore a bright smile and waved at her, gesturing for her to come to their table. "She's an absolute lady."
"Who looks very bitter," Gaara added matter-of-factly. Sakura giggled.
"I wonder why she would." He stared at Sakura like she was crazy. There was no way she could not see this! The woman looked like she wanted to drill holes into him by glaring. And he knew why.
"Sakura. We used to date, right?" Sakura nodded like a child in school.
"Right." He sighed. He could look into her eyes and see that she still didn't get it.
"And you were also dating the Uchiha, right?" She still kept on nodding.
"Yes. Gaara, you act like I don't know this!" He wanted to hit himself on the head. 'Oh you know it, you just can't see in between the damn lines!' he thought angrily. Weren't women supposed to be good at this kind of stuff? He knew she was, but damn that was a pretty big blinder she had on.
"Sakura. The Uchiha's mother is who?" She grinned, ready to answer, then her eyes widened when she realized what he was trying to say. 'Oh goddammit…' she thought. No wonder why Mikoto hated him!
"Ooh." He nodded.
"Yes. Go talk to her or else she will be capable of glaring through my skull." She giggled.
"Maybe she'll like you if you get to know her more." He scoffed.
"No mother of the boyfriend is going to like the girlfriend's ex." She thought about it for a minute, then nodded solemnly.
"Yeah, you're right. I'll go talk to her then." She patted his hand and scooted her chair back, hurrying to the Uchiha table on her heels. Mikoto's glare finally was averted to Sakura, suddenly transforming into a full smile of joy.
Gaara shook his head. 'You'd think that woman was bipolar.'
Sakura took a seat where Itachi had been, the older Uchiha brother having to leave to talk to Konan and Sasori. Luckily, her parents and Sasuke's parents were the only ones at the table.
"Sakura! You looked absolutely beautiful!" commented Mikoto. Sakura half laughed.
"But I fell, Mikoto." The Uchiha matriarch waved her words away with an elegant hand.
"You fell gracefully, dear. That is the difference. Isn't that right, my darling?" she asked, looking at Fugaku. He grunted.
"Yes, my love." Satisfied with his response, she turned back to Sakura.
"And of course my sweet Sasuke was there to catch you! How romantic…" she cooed. Sakura laughed nervously.
"Yeah, sure is romantic when stuff like that happens." Mikoto turned her head to Mebuki, who was finally done yelling at Kizashi.
"I do wish that one day our husbands would do that for us, don't you, Mebuki?" Sakura's mother laughed.
"I wish! My husband here can't be trusted to do things like that. He might pull something a smart ass would like shoving the person instead of catching them." Kizashi grinned.
"But you can trust me to be funny, honey!" Mebuki sighed, taking a lily from the bouquet and hitting him with it.
"Being funny has to have more than the joker laughing!"
Mikoto looked lovingly at her husband, who didn't lose his ice cold stare. "Do not bring such situations up. It won't happen."
"Ugh!" cried Mikoto, pouting. "I wonder what possessed me to marry you!"
"Love," he replied simply, finally smirking. Sakura stifled her laugh as Mikoto shoved playfully at his arm. Her smile was like the sun.
"So, Sakura. Have you and my son been civil towards one another?" Were they? Yeah.
"We've been civil enough," she replied. Mikoto smiled victoriously. Hell to the yes.
"Ah, what a comfort. Just a few weeks ago he visited us saying how much he missed you." Sakura froze, as did Mebuki and Kizashi. Fugaku's eyes narrowed.
"Dear." She looked right into his eyes, almost challenging him to stop her.
"Well, she should know, darling! We were talking about her." He rolled his eyes and went back to mixing the bubbles in his champagne in one hand, but kept a careful ear and eye out to Sakura.
"Sasuke asked about me?" asked Sakura quietly. Mikoto giggled delicately.
"He came to see me for advice, poor boy looked absolutely devastated when he told us his story. He wanted to know if there was a possibility of you two being happy together because of his mistake," she said conversationally. Sakura's eyes widened. She didn't know exactly how much Sasuke was hurting. It could have made his day when she finally forgave him.
"What did you tell him?" Mikoto's smile was grim.
"I told him that his father and I also had problems when Fugaku-OOF!" she squeaked, rubbing her side where Fugaku had elbowed her. She glared at him.
"And what was that for? Do you want to be put into the doghouse?" she threatened lowly. He simply looked her in the eye.
"We don't have a doghouse, dear. Let's not tell her of our incident. If you do want to tell her, say it in the privacy of our home. Not in a showroom full of camera people and false acquaintances," he added quietly. Her mouth formed a small 'o'. How could she forget? She didn't want her private business plastered all over the papers. She might enter an angry dance at home and destroy the furniture.
Sakura stared at them exchanging their secretive words, wondering what she meant about the problems she and Fugaku had. But she knew better than to ask about it. She straightened when Mikoto looked back at her.
"We had some complications," she said instead. "He and I worked out our differences before we married and here we are!"
Sakura relaxed a little. Since Mikoto and Fugaku moved on and were still happy, well, happy on her terms and his terms, then she and Sasuke could. They got the moving on part right. But getting back together? Now that she thought about it, it sounded nice.
"You two seem very happy, Mikoto." Mikoto could barely contain her laugh.
"Happy? Me? Absolutely! I love my husband very much." She suddenly giggled, slanting a look at him. "Most of the time. As for Fugaku, well. Please be honest, Sakura, Mebuki. Does he look happy?"
Fugaku didn't even flinch when all four pairs of eyes looked at him, closing his own eyes calmly and unconsciously grazing his fingers on his wife's hand. Sakura and Mebuki quickly spotted the gesture.
"Aha! Yes he is!" He rolled his eyes. Kizashi frowned.
"He is? He looks pissed off!" Fugaku sighed, hoping that Kizashi was right. They laughed for a bit until Mikoto noticed the dress Sakura still had on.
"Oh God! That's right! Your cousin made a stunning wedding dress. It looks darling on you," she complimented. Kizashi laughed openly.
"He didn't make just a wedding dress! Her wedding dress!" Mikoto's eyes widened, gasping and looking around for Sasuke. She spotted him talking with his friends, Sakura's friends quickly heading to sit with her ex.
"Sakura! The groom seeing his bride in her wedding dress is a bad omen!" Sakura's eyes bugged out, but she started to laugh, finding the whole myth rather entertaining than ominous. Again, Mikoto's husband rolled his eyes.
"That is a myth, Mikoto. Nothing will happen if the bride is seen in her wedding dress." Mikoto scoffed.
"That's what you think! You drive me completely nuts, I think you did see me in my dress!"
Itachi, Sasori and Konan were all looking around for Karin, Itachi had already told them about Karin's involvement in Sakura's fall.
"Where is she?" asked Sasori darkly, checking around the runway for her. So she was the one who tried to ruin Sakura and his masterpiece? The masterpiece he could live without, but Sakura would firmly believe that she had ruined the dress and would blame herself for Sasori's disappointment. Seeing Sakura distant and ashamed made his blood boil.
Konan shook her head. "I haven't seen that girl nor do I know what she looks like because you just told me her name."
Sasori rolled his eyes. "Fine. She has red hair that's perfectly straight on one side and completely jacked up on the other. She's also wearing volunteer clothes if that helps."
Konan stared at him for a few seconds, finding his description a little familiar. But she and Sasori split up to find her. Itachi saw Ino, Tenten and Hinata, knowing fully well that they probably had something to do with Karin's little disappearance. He strode over to them, nodding at Gaara.
"We're looking for Karin. Have you seen her?" Ino was chewing absently on an appetizer tempura.
"Well, we threw the trash outside in the garden area if that helps," she said, hinting where Karin could have been. Tenten and Hinata were nodding along while Gaara looked a bit confused. Itachi smirked.
"Well said. Please excuse me. Sasori. Konan," he called for them, heading to the outside. Ino quickly set her tempura down, watching them walk briskly outside to the garden.
"Holy shit…" Tenten slowly started to stand.
"I think that bitch is about to get fired!" she cried happily.
"Let's go see!" said Ino breathlessly. They got up and ran for the door.
Hinata sprang to her feet, running after them. "Wait for me!"
Gaara stared in confusion. "What the hell just happened there? Fuck it…" He left his table to go after them.
Karin woke up groggy, her hand pushing into the soft soil as she sat up. "What the hell is going on? Argh!"
She clutched her stomach in pain. "Fuck that hurts!"
She remembered what had happened before. Tenten, Ino and Hinata had thrown her in the bushes, those damn bitches. Once again, Tenten had attacked her. Screw this, she was going to file a police report first thing in the morning to jail that worthless bitch. So they thought she tripped Sakura? So what if she did? They couldn't prove it. The flower petals did, it was an honest mistake if she could play it right.
Dirt was smeared on her volunteer clothes and hands. Crap. Well, Origami was going to do their Fall line next. Since she was still volunteering she could probably get a dress that would be run and wear that. She could grab a dress from Eikyū no Utsukushī that Sakura had run and show that she could rock the dress better than her, but she wasn't going to lower her standards. Eikyū no Utsukushī was a joke compared to Origami.
She got up, brushing off the dirt and swearing silently when the dirt smeared worse. 'Fuck me…'
She walked out of the bush and was about to walk in until she saw three figures approaching her. From the garden lights, she saw that Itachi, Konan and Sasori were coming at her. Shit, there was no way she looked presentable!
Ino, Tenten, Hinata and Gaara ran to the marble fountain, seeing Karin being approached by the older ones.
"What's going on?" asked Gaara. They whacked at him to keep him quiet.
Konan's white heels made deep clicks in the cobblestone walkway, grinding on the stone when she stopped. Her mouth held a sneer when she looked up and down at Karin.
"Are you Karin?" she asked. Karin's eyes widened. She and Konan saw each other, talking briefly once during her Summer fashion show.
"Yes. We have met before." Konan's eyes narrowed, looking up at Karin's hair. The memory suddenly clicked. It wasn't exactly pleasant.
"Ah. I remember you now. You were Sasuke's assistant." She smiled in a false sweet way. "We received the memo of your termination of employment from Uchiha Corps a few weeks ago."
Karin's heart stopped. "It's a little misunderstanding. You see-"
Itachi held a hand up, silencing her successfully. "We aren't here to talk about your involvement in Uchiha Corps."
Sasori cut in, glaring fiercely. "You damn bitch. You tripped my cousin on the runway."
'Shit shit shit!' she thought wildly. There was no way they could have seen!
She laughed nervously. "What? I don't think so. It was just an accident! I didn't do it on purpose. It was just too little time to clear the runway."
"Then why were we told that you placed the flower petals back onto the runway?" asked Konan once Karin spoke. Karin gritted her teeth. Those damn whores told on her, she knew it!
"Whoever told you is a liar!" she shouted. Itachi let out a small scoff.
"I am a liar? It seems you really don't want to be employed back into Uchiha Corps." Karin froze. Itachi had seen her? How was that possible? She was really careful!
"Sakura is my beloved cousin. It was already bad enough that you tried to create a scandal by saying that she and I were having an affair. And now you tried to ruin her reputation as well as my own?" hissed Sasori. If Itachi and Konan weren't blocking him, he would have started drowning her in the marble fountain. He could deal with the murder charges later.
Konan stared at him blankly. "Sasori, place your personal feelings aside. Professionally, Karin had done enough." She looked back at the redhead, glaring at her.
"Karin, not only were you terminated from Uchiha Corps, but you did not do your duties as a volunteer. Clearing the runway is an important job so we don't look like embarrassments. It could have given you more opportunities and openings to other jobs in the fashion industry. If you had potential, you could have been a model, but instead, you failed at the one job you were given."
Sasori and Itachi watched in interest as Karin's hopes and dreams were being crushed by her fashion idol. Did they feel bad about feeling nothing but content? Maybe, but this is Itachi and Sasori we're talking about so…
No.
"We can't allow you into any of Origami's or Eikyū no Utsukushī's future shows. You are blacklisted." Konan finished without a blink, a good indicator that she had done this kind of thing many times before.
Karin's legs felt like jelly, but she somehow managed to stay on her feet. Blacklisted. She was blacklisted before even getting a chance to strut the runway. Sakura had gotten a chance to model for a line even though she didn't want it. Why was that bitch able to have everything without asking for it? She was just like Mikoto in a sense. Not only was she able to get whatever without directly asking, but she also had an Uchiha fall in love with her.
"To add to it," said Itachi. He had some problems with her because she constantly sent application after application for the company to consider hiring her again. It was beginning to be an eye sore.
"I am also banning you from ever trying to apply for another job at Uchiha Corps. You tried to sabotage Sasori's Eikyū no Utsukushī, which is currently being mentored and endorsed by Origami, a fashion line directed by Akatsuki. Akatsuki is a branch of Uchiha Corps. In our eyes you have also tried sabotaging Uchiha Corps. Clearly you do not wish to be affiliated with us. In your best interests, I'm going to have to ban you from any company and business that has any sort of connection to Uchiha Corps. As I've said, this is for your own good."
Itachi had smiled throughout his little speech, the light dimming from Karin's eyes. Where the fuck was she supposed to get a job now? Almost every business in Konoha was connected to Uchiha Corps. This also meant that Uzumaki Industries was untouchable to her. He could have said that she was banned from Konoha while he was at it. At this rate, she couldn't even go to Suna safely. Suna was involved with Uchiha Corps because of Sabaku Corps.
She had nowhere to go.
And this was all Sakura's fault.
She walked away slowly, not exactly sure where she was headed. She needed to get inside where it was warmer than the cold reception she received here. Why was it that Sakura got all the attention? Why was she allowed to have everything that Karin wanted? She didn't even like modeling that much.
Her eyes went to Sakura, who was still sitting and chatting with Sasuke's parents as if they were close. She had dreamed that one day she could have called them her in-laws. She glared at her hatefully. Sasori was right behind her.
"You will never get near Sakura again," he swore. "If you manage to hurt her ever again I promise you that I won't take it easy on you."
She shivered, but felt dull inside. One threat didn't do as much damage when her idol and former boss already tore her away from everything she loved.
Itachi called for his driver. "I need a car here as quick as possible to take a volunteer home."
He looked back at Karin, who was cold and unresponsive. Sasori was glaring at him questioningly, wondering why Itachi was being nice. "She's already embarrassed herself enough. If she goes crazy then I prefer her to do so away from here. We have another show to worry about."
Konan was already walking back inside. "I'm aware of that. We shouldn't waste any more time here."
They retreated back, leaving Karin in the cold. She walked slowly back inside, being stopped by a man wearing a black suit and covering his mouth to his nose with a scarf. She knew him well.
"Kakashi." The personal driver and a consultant at Uchiha Corps. His eyes were smiling.
"Good evening, Miss Karin. Itachi has arranged for me to take you home." He had driven her to places before with Sasuke. Usually it was her house with Sasuke along, she wasn't used to seeing Kakashi without him. She looked back inside the lit showroom, seeing Sasuke talking to his friends. Did he not know she was here? Kakashi didn't have to look to know who she was staring at.
"Enough." She blinked.
"I don't think he knows I'm here." She wanted to say goodbye, but more to plead to allow her to stay. She may have to leave Konoha if she couldn't find a job anymore. Kakashi sighed.
"I don't think he cares. You caused him a lot of pain recently. Maybe he would care a little if you said sorry." Sorry? For what? She didn't do anything wrong. So Sakura tripped, so what? In the end nobody was hurt. People were so oversensitive.
"Why should I be sorry?" His eyes narrowed.
"Forget I asked. Let me take you home." He looked at her clothes, at the dirt smeared all over. "It's clear that you don't belong."
"Success!" Ino, Tenten and Hinata high fived each other, patting Gaara on the back. Gaara looked pissed. So Karin was the one who tried to make Sakura look like a joke. That dumb bitch. He smirked to himself. Itachi and Konan had done well in destroying Karin's future in Konoha. That also meant it wouldn't be a good idea for her to come to Suna. Now that Sabaku Corps was working with Uchiha Corps, she wouldn't be able to get a job there either.
It was good news for him and his people.
Sasori went to Sakura, checking to see if she and the dress were okay.
"My cherished pearl, stand for me." Sakura looked up from talking to Mikoto and stood, smiling nervously.
"I think the dress is still okay." He smiled, forgetting how pissed off he was at Karin.
"I'm not too worried about the dress. But I should make sure." He looked around, glaring at a small dent he found in the crinoline of the skirt.
"Fuck. I knew it." Sakura peered down to wear he was looking, seeing the fabric cave into the dent. She felt saddened. The dress wasn't okay. Sasori caught her guilty look.
"It's just the crinoline. It'll be fine. It was probably in low quality. I'll get it fixed and back to you. For now, go to the back and find Kankuro. Ask him for the crimson number. You can wear that instead." Sakura smiled apologetically.
"Sorry for falling." He placed his hand on her shoulder.
"It really wasn't your fault. Ask your friends what happened." She stared up in confusion.
"What?"
Sasori had ushered her to the back, leaving her with Kankuro. He whistled.
"You took one hell of a tumble." She laughed a bit.
"Yeah I did. Could I get the crimson number?" He nodded quickly.
"Sure thing. I'll bring it to your dressing room."
She went into her dressing room, sitting on her chair and staring at herself in the mirror. At least she saw the dress for the first time. It was really beautiful. She was lucky that wine didn't fall on it or else Sasori would have to make a new dress altogether.
She saw her friends walk in, sighing. "Hey guys," she greeted.
Ino was up to her first, grinning. "Hey! Let's get you out of that. Sasori told us to come help you take it off."
Wait, Sasori said they knew what happened. Was this about her falling? As Ino and Tenten started undoing the ties of the corset, Sakura swallowed.
"What happened when I fell?" she asked, the dress falling to her feet. Ino grinned, giving her the silk robe.
"The whore bitch tripped you with the flower petals on the runway." Whore bitch meant Karin. Sakura clenched her fist, Karin's irritating laugh still echoing in her mind. So the one laughing was her? Why bother to act surprised? She tugged the robe on.
She let them explain the whole story, sitting patiently on her chair as they went through it. Kankuro came in with a dress bag, leaving it on the rack when he saw how intense the conversation was.
"I'll be at Gaara's table. I'll see you guys there?" he tried to say, but was overlapped by Ino, Tenten and Hinata's voices. He shrugged, leaving to go change.
"…And that's what happened. She can't even live here or get a job near Uchiha Corps because Itachi banned her from everything," Tenten finished. Sakura's knuckles were white, fists clenched tightly by her sides. Karin had caused her to fall and look like a total idiot. God, how far did she want to go to ruin her life? First Sasuke and now this? Dating Sasuke again would probably piss her off, but why should she care? It was her life, she could date whoever she wanted. It would be a big bonus if Sakura dated Sasuke again just to shove it in her face.
But peace had been restored because her friends saved the day. She grinned evilly.
"You guys threw her in the garden?" she asked. Ino and Tenten pointed at Hinata, who was trying to hide behind the dress bag Kankuro had brought in.
"It was all her idea!" they shouted. Hinata squeaked and hid, pointing a shaky finger at Ino.
"B-because she w-wanted to put her in the f-f-fountain!" she stuttered. Sakura let out an ear-blasting laugh, taking the dress bag from her.
"It's okay, guys. Thanks for having my back." They smiled at her.
"You're damn right we do! Now, let's take a look at the dress!"
They all walked out of the room together, Sakura wearing a crimson dress that flowed to her knees. It had one strap on the right, the top twisted and tied into the shape of a pretty bow. It was a sexy dress, but the one she loved was back into the dress bag and taken away by Sasori's people to be fixed.
"I can't believe the dress got a little messed up…" she moaned, rubbing her face with her hands. It was a small dent, that much she was thankful for, but now she couldn't take it home yet! She was partially crying when they reached their table with Gaara and Kankuro.
"What happened to the dress?" asked Gaara as they sat down. Sakura sniffed.
"It got dented." He narrowed his eyes. He didn't see a dent in the dress. Ino caught his look, sighing.
"You're not an artist like Sasori. His eyes are very observant." He rolled his eyes. Women…
Sasuke was hearing Itachi tell him about Karin, heart racing with anger.
"That bitch. She did that to Sakura?" Itachi gave him an empty smirk.
"Why are you so surprised? But be grateful I banned her from Uchiha Corps. I'm disappointed that you didn't do it sooner." He poked his forehead, an annoying gesture he did as a kid. Asshole.
Sasuke swatted his hand away. "Quit pissing me off."
His brother simply smiled. "Very well. Let's return to our table with the Harunos."
Sasuke's heart fluttered. "Will Sakura be there?"
To his chagrin, Itachi shook his head. "She can't. It's six people per table. We have her parents, ours and us. She's sitting with Gaara, her three friends and Kankuro."
Gaara. At the sound of her ex's name, Sasuke sneered. Why did the redhead always ruin his day? Itachi patted his head knowingly.
"Quit worrying so much. Let's go speak to Mother. She looks oddly happy tonight." Sasuke hit his hand again and looked over at the table where his mother was, chirping away like a little bird as she talked to Sakura's mother. She was never like this unless she was home.
Mikoto was still beaming when Itachi and Sasuke came near. "My boys! Sit down! We're having so much fun this night!"
They slowly took their seats, eyeing their father. His eyes were blank.
Mebuki was still smiling. "Sasuke, I forgot to thank you for catching Sakura."
He smiled politely. "It's no problem, Mrs. Haruno."
She scoffed lightly. "Please, call me Mebuki! We're past the formalities."
Kizashi was grinning. "Haha! You caught my daughter very well, Sasuke! And of course she looked radiant in the dress, didn't she?"
Sasuke blushed a little. "Yes, sir."
His mother sighed dreamily. "And she was wearing a wedding dress. It was so beautiful…"
Yes, she did. Mikoto took Sasuke's hand, she shared a secretive look with him that hid more than she was letting on. "Come visit me again at your soonest. We have much to talk about."
Sasuke was already nodding his head. Itachi sighed, shaking his head. "Mother, we have more research to be done tomorrow and we have another meeting in the morning."
Her face froze for a second, but she composed herself as her mouth trembled.
"I understand. You're too busy to visit me. That's why I asked Sasuke and not you." He rolled his eyes. She was being a little whiny, which he could find a reason for since it had been weeks since his last visit.
"That's not what I meant." He looked at his father, who nodded to him. "I'll visit tomorrow."
Mikoto warmed up several degrees, smiling over at Mebuki. "It's so nice to have sons who love you."
Origami had started their show, but Sakura was almost pulled in as a model by Konan. Sasori had swooped in again, claiming that Konan was trying to steal her away. Luckily they all joked about her tumble and allowed her to just watch and stay still for the rest of the show.
Sakura, Ino, Tenten and Hinata were enjoying themselves, looking in adoration at the different outfits Konan designed and wondering how much money it would cost to have them. Sakura smiled over at Gaara, who was trying to look fascinated but couldn't see the fun in seeing people wear clothes and walk. But he liked Sakura's. Kankuro was told about the comb and how Sakura threw it away, angrily frowning at his seat and mocking the girls when they got excited over a certain outfit.
"I work my ass off just to have the one thing I stole thrown away…" he muttered, swiping a bottle of champagne into his suit.
Sasuke watched them from his table, seeing Sakura interact more with her friends than she did with Gaara. Maybe he could lighten up with him and her together…
Not. He trusted Sakura, not him.
Deidara was setting up his fireworks at the sides of the runway, ready to fire once Konan came out, walked to show off that she was the designer, and exited. He gave a thumbs up to Itachi, who waved his hand to let him go.
The fireworks went off, little blooms of sparks ranging from bright neon orange to red, switching to green and so forth. They burst dangerously close to the archway, skittering sparks along the glass runway. Sakura looked over at Ino, who was smiling with pride. Sure, they argued like hell, but there were times where they were civil towards each other.
By the end of the party, Sakura was exhausted. She managed a smile when her parents came up to her to say goodbye.
"Honey, you look so tired!" said Kizashi. She yawned.
"You have no idea, Dad." He grinned.
"Well, considering what you've been through with the falling and your creepy cousin, you should be!" He gave her a big hug. "The only place you should fall onto is a bed! Get some sleep."
She hugged him back. "Thanks Dad!"
Mebuki hugged her next. "You looked absolutely stunning in that dress, dear. It's such a shame that Sasori has to take it back to fix."
Sakura pouted. "Yeah, a damn shame." She remembered the earrings, putting them back into a pocket of the crimson dress when she changed. She reached in and pulled them out, the diamonds still shining along the glossy pearls. Kizashi took them from her.
"You'll see these again on the day of your real wedding," he promised. Sakura blushed, making him pat her head and laughing.
"Good night, honey!" said her parents, then said their goodbyes to her friends before leaving. Sakura waved at the Uchiha parents who were leaving, Mikoto waving back.
"She's so sweet, isn't she? Don't forget to visit me!" she added to Sasuke. Her sons kissed her cheeks before she left with Fugaku.
Deidara approached them, grinning happily. "Did everyone like my work?"
They nodded, even Ino. He was satisfied with the response.
"Sweet! How about I take some of you guys home?" They stared at him, wondering where the sudden bout of kindness came from. He sighed.
"Come on, guys! I'm just taking you home. I'll take Ino and Tenten. The rest of you can go in your car. Wouldn't you guys like the room?" he asked slowly. Sakura sighed.
"What do you want, Dei?"
"Nothing! I just want to take some of your load off for the drive." Tenten stood, winking at her friends.
"We'll be fine! Besides, I can kick Dei's ass if he tries anything." Ino got up too, cracking her knuckles.
"Same here! We'll meet you guys at home!"
In the car, Sakura and Hinata were in the back as Kankuro drove home with Gaara next to him.
"So when I fell, I thought I looked like a total joke! I didn't even know Sasuke caught me. I was thinking that it was already embarrassing enough, it can't get any worse, right?" said Sakura, talking to Hinata. Hinata smiled.
"It all happened very fast! I didn't even know Sasuke had gotten up until you were caught. Why did you throw the bouquet?" she asked. Sakura giggled.
"Can you imagine if I held onto it? It would've smeared all over the dress. Throwing it was the only option I had. And to be honest, it flew out of my hand before I thought about throwing it. I just got lucky."
"You're very lucky Sasuke was there." Sakura's eyes widened. She had forgotten to say goodbye to him. But she shrugged it off. She could see him for work later. Besides, they needed to talk about what they planned to do if they did get back together. Would it continue on as if nothing happened or start all over again from scratch?
Once they reached home, they were greeted by the shouts of Ino and Deidara. They had gotten home ten minutes earlier than Sakura's car. Tenten wasn't a part of the shouting, lounging on the couch with her pajamas and earplugs on with a book in hand. Deidara was trying to pull some DVDs away from Ino, who hung onto them like a lifeline.
"I knew you were up to no good! Let go!" she shouted. And since he was Deidara, he didn't.
"You stole them first! I want them back!"
"Fuck you!"
Kankuro followed in behind, wondering where all the noise was from. He saw Deidara and instantly knew what he wanted. He jumped in to help Ino.
"Those are ours!"
"They were mine first!"
Sakura sighed, knowing that this conversation could go on forever. Of course with Kankuro's stubbornness mixing with the cousins, this could last for an extra two hours! She rubbed her forehead for the headache she knew she was going to get soon and went upstairs with Hinata. She could still hear them yell. Now Gaara was trying to stop them.
"Just shut the hell up and get out of our house. Take the porn too, that shit grates on my nerves."
"But Gaara!" Ino and Kankuro shouted.
Sakura changed and lay like a starfish on her bed. Once they had gotten home, her feet were aching from the walks she had to do. But it was still fun, granted she would never do this again. The life of a medic was ideal for her. Long hours, a pretty sweet pay, and grateful smiles even though there were days of misery and haunted faces. It was the life she came to love and fear.
She sat for two hours going over her scrapbook again, no longer sad when she looked over the pictures with Sasuke in them. She felt…hopeful. They were both mature enough to put rest to things. They had fun together, cried together, well…
She did the crying while he was the shoulder. All she needed to say was "I want to be together again" and they could go back to being happy.
But what about Sasuke's other ex-girlfriends? Sure none of them were as crazy as Karin was. They were just close. They were just as fake, just as plastic, just as spoiled as her. Who would come after her next if they started dating again?
Someone was opening her door. She quickly shut the book and climbed down the side of her bed to shove it under, rolling back on when her visitor came in. It was Gaara, dressed in sweats and a sleep shirt.
"Hey!" she shouted playfully. "Don't you knock?"
He scoffed. "No."
She laughed, making room for him to sit on the bed. "Manner, Gaara."
"Bite me." He sat comfortably on the bed, relaxing as he remembered today's events. But he remembered what he came for.
"I was surprised that Sasuke caught you so quickly."
She grinned. "I did fall near their table. Even if he didn't catch me I saw that you were going to."
He smirked. "I could've. But considering that one arm is out of commission you would break the other one."
She gasped, grabbing her pillow and attacking him with it. "Are you saying that I'm fat?"
He sighed in mock disappointment. "Sakura, you have the weight of a normal person, but a little on the thin side. Gravity plus a normal person equals an injured person who already has a broken arm."
Sakura thought about it, shrugging as she recognized some truth. "So yay for Sasuke being there!"
His teeth grit together when he smiled falsely. "Basically."
She heard the bitterness in his tone, frowning a little. "He's a good person. Would you want me to fall flat on my face?"
He sighed. She was exaggerating it so he would feel bad. "No. I like him for that. It's just-"
He hated him for having feelings for her, the same ones Gaara had for her. Her face fell at his abrupt silence.
"Gaara, is everything all right?" He nodded, sitting up on the edge to get off the bed. He was up and about to leave, but he turned around.
"I can't keep secrets from you, so I'll just tell you straight out. I know Sasuke can be a good person. I just hate that he cares about you the same way I do. I just wonder why you love him when I can treat you just as well." Sakura froze, biting her bottom lip. Did he feel like he was being let on? No, he would've said so. She couldn't control his feelings. And something inside her wondered and wished that they could still have a future together.
"I care about you. I think it's love," she said, his eyes widening. "But I can't."
His eyes relaxed, nodding his head slowly. "You love me, but you love the Uchiha more."
She gulped, begging that her next answer wouldn't have him running out of the door. "Yes," she answered quietly.
He stood stock still, taking in her answer. In all honesty, he didn't expect any different answer. Sakura had moved on, though she did admit she had some feelings for him. That much was good enough news.
"I see. I just wanted to know, that's all." He was about to leave, but Sakura stopped him.
"Gaara, I-" He shook his head.
"You don't have to say more. I also came to tell you that…" He paused, orchestrating his next words enough so he doesn't sound like an obsessive freak like Sasori.
"If things don't work out with the Uchiha, you still have me." Her heart broke. Hurting Gaara was something she would do after she chopped her arm off.
"You deserve to be happy. You can move on too." He smiled sadly.
"I can't."
Good God. Nice guy Gaara. I feel terrible for leaving him hanging…
I also don't have the heart to ship him with anyone else because he looks good with Sakura. I don't like Matsuri so she won't ever exist in this story.
I know I haven't put a lot of Sasusaku in here as much as I have Gaasaku, but the next chapters will change that. First, I will go deeper into detail with what happened between Mikoto and Fugaku when they had their problems and what he did to get her back. No one offers better advice than a parent. Please review!
Next chapter preview:
"Sasuke, it's time to get on the offense! I can't have both my boys being celibate!"
"Mother, you're starting to freak me out-"
"SILENCE! You have to, quit waiting around or else everything you've done fizzles apart! Darling!"
"Sasuke. Let me tell you what happened between me and your mother. You may find the similarities between your incident and mine."