Posted on: 10/03/17
A/N: Hi Guys! Sorry for the wait. But here's a quick update! I actually didn't feel like updating since no was reviewing...:(
Please forgive any of the errors you find in this chapter and kindly inform me about them. My writing skills are getting rusty XD
"He is a man..
tainted by his pasts...
But I..I will put my faith..
...into him..blindly..."
~Sakura Haruno
Chapter 11: A Deal Kept?!
"Be careful..okay?"
These are the only words that are resonating in Sai's head again and again as they are the last ones that he heard slipping off of those glossy, peach lips of a very beautiful blonde kunoichi. As every teams took their positions to guard the Hyuga Compounds, Darui ordered him to leave for the beginning of the first part of their plan— to reach the entrance/exit gates of Konoha and rendezvous with the ex-root members for back-up. And it is during this moment when he started leaving that she uttered those words anxiously. Because of the suddenness of her statement, he could not find the right response to give and so, he merely nodded his head towards her.
He sneakily walked down the path that lead to the huge gates of Konoha to avoid any suspicions in the eyes of the patrolling Uchiha sycophants, his mind still lingering on the fact that his blonde, female friend was actually worried about him. The mere thought made him feel shocked, anxious and..happy? Yes! It made him feel kinda..happy...And he realised just how much he wants to fulfil his promise of returning to her and see that satisfied smile on her face. He doesn't know why but he just wants to see her smiling..smiling at him...And he so badly wants to find out what these feelings are but sadly, now that Sakura is gone, no one is there to listen to his emotionally concerned dilemmas. No one..except for Ino that is. But he can't just go up to her and ask her about his feelings for her. That would be too awkward.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts and focus on the task at hand. Afterall, he has got a entire clan to save...
"Sakura has this boy forced you to do this?! Is he threatening you with some kind of information?!"
"Don't give me that bullshit about how much you used to love him! I know there's more to this abrupt decision."
"What makes you think she's yours?"
The raven-haired teen slammed a hand on the coffee table of his living room, clenching and unclenching his palm continuously. The action barely helped him in getting those accusing comments out of his head. He doesn't understand how everyone is able to guess that Sakura's marriage decision was made entirely because of him forcing it upon her shoulders. No one should think this way. They all must consider her nothing more than a lovesick-damsel who wants to be with him. Yet instead, they were all eyeing him with threatening glares, as if he doesn't deserve her.
He growled in irritation and rubbed his eyes with the pads of his palms. Taking another sip of the mildly-hot, black coffee, he stood-up from his comfortable perch on the couch and picked-up his white haori. Putting it back on, he stepped-out of his newly renovated Uchiha Manor and began walking towards the Hokage Tower. Afterall, he has got a deal to keep...
.
.
After seven fucking-minutes of knocking and waiting at her doorstep, Sasuke motioned his leg to kick open the door to her small apartment. Fortunately at that very moment, the clicking of a latch being unlocked and a knob being turned, caught his ears and he lowered his foot back on the ground. The door opened to him and he was greeted by that amused, toothy-grin of one Suigetsu Hozuki. He had expected- no- wanted his annoying, pink-haired ex-teammate to greet him. He glared hard at the bright grin on his underling's face. It is almost as if the white-haired nin had been expecting his visit. And so he asked in a no-nonsense tone despite of the irritating grin on Suigetsu's face.
"Where is she?"
His question made the young swordsman widen his grin and he answered teasingly, "Sorry Sasuke but your fiancé is sleeping."
That irked the young Uchiha and he sneered at the former mist shinobi in distaste. But before Sasuke could take any action to injure him, Juugo pulled Suigetsu back inside the house and then, out the came girl he had been wanting to see. He noticed how pale her face looked in comparison to the day she had come in with his men to put forth her request about going against the headstrong Madara Uchiha and saving an entire clan.
The whole turn of events flashed back in his mind's eyes as he recalled how he had walked out of his Mansion towards the Hokage Tower and then immediately taken an about turn to head back. He knew that if he went and asked Madara about this deal then he would blatantly refuse to even consider the request. So he returned to the newly built Uchiha Compound and instead decided to pay a visit to his Uncle Obito Uchiha. There, after facing an onslaught of deliberate interrogation and suspicious glares, he was informed about the Anbu Team who has been appointed the task of annihilating the Hyuga Clan. Thus, he rushed into the ANBU Department and searched for the mentioned team. Surprisingly, everything went way too smoothly for him to believe. He just stepped in and ordered them to terminate their mission and they agreed. With drooping shoulders, they lowered their heads to bow before him in acceptance of the command given to them by the Great Grandson of Madara Uchiha.
And that is exactly what he told her, "The Hyugas are safe."
Her response came in the form of a slow nod of her head. Nothing more? He had finally expected her to slip out of her uninterested façade and throw her arms around him in a tight hug. He had expected her to reward him with a warm, loving embrace and butterfly kisses. And yet he received none of it. Sasuke Uchiha will never admit it in words but beneath that layer of his dark, conceited, twisted persona, he has always enjoyed being the centre of her attention. There is a sadistic sort of satisfaction in being able to manipulate her emotions and dominate her actions. But now that she isn't behaving like the easily submissive girl that she used to be, he isn't amused. He is irritated by her response or lack thereof.
So he decided to let her be. For now atleast...
Leaning towards her frail form, he lowered his face so that his lips were now touching her earlobe. She jumped slightly in fright and he felt sated by her action. If she isn't going to flinch then he will make her. And so he left her apartment, uttering a bunch of few spine-chilling words.
"I kept our deal by fulfilling your request. Now its your turn to return the favour."
I kept our deal by fulfilling your request. Now its your turn to return the favour.
The words kept ringing in her head, preventing her from getting any sleep at all. But still..she smiled at the fact that atleast he kept his promise and granted her request. Now all that she has to do is remain calm and marry him...Marry..Him? The thought scares Sakura more than she can ever explain and now that her marriage has been declared in front of the whole village, even her friends despise her. No one will listen to her..even if she tries to make them understand...
With a sigh, she laid down on her bed again to try and go to sleep. Yet as soon as she closed her eyelids, the face of a raven-haired boy flashed before her mind's eyes and she shot up. ...its your turn to return the favour. His words rang again, making her clutch tightly onto the comforter. She glimpsed-down at her white knuckles before letting out a frustrated screech.
Immediately the door to her room pushed-open to reveal the white-haired rogue shinobi. By his widened-eyes, she guessed that he had been sleeping soundly and only woke-up due to the noise of her screech. She glared at him for invading her privacy and entering her bedroom unpermitted. But her eyes didn't stay that way for long as her anger faded and she returned into her previous state of sulking. Hissing at her own behaviour for no reason, she threw aside the comforter and hopped out of the bed. Then, with a last glance at the mist shinobi, she walked out of her bedroom and to his surprise, out of her apartment as well. She knew that the two of them will follow her, so she waited silently outdoors.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Suigetsu muttered in an agitated tone.
"It has nothing to do with you." She answered simply and closed the main door of her house, not even bothering to lock it. Both Juugo and Suigetsu exchanged a worried glance and then began walking after the girl to follow her on her trip to wherever she was going.
.
.
She stopped before the Konoha Hospital and Suigetsu glanced questioningly at Juugo, to which he responded with a shrug. What could she possibly want to do at the hospital in the middle of the night? They wanted to ask her but they feared that it might anger her to the point of breaking their bones and so, they refrained themselves and followed her inside. They passed various corridors until finally reaching a more secluded part of the building. There, at the end, they spotted a small storage room, which the pinkette pulled open. She rummaged through the several drawers and pulled her hand out on finding the object of her interest— a small bronze-coated key with room number: 767 etched over it.
She left the storage and so did the two rogue nins..ofcourse after Juugo properly closed all the opened drawers and the door to the room. Once again, they continued trailing down the corridors until they reached the opposite side of the secluded part of the building. There, at the end, Sakura stopped before the last door and just as she brought-up the previously acquired bronze-key to unlock the doors, she found that there was no need for it. The door to that room was already unlocked and left ajar. Her muscles tensed at the thought of an intruder and she cautiously peeked-inside. Her emeralds began widening when they caught sight of the occupants inside and she pushed open the door completely.
"Konohamaru! Kurenai-sensei!" She gasped.
Both Suigetsu and Juugo looked confusedly at the two people whom the pinkette addressed. One was a young boy with spiky, brown hair, 14-years old on an average while the other was a curly, black-haired woman with a pair of scarlet irises. There was nothing striking about the two except for the huge, protruding belly of the woman, signifying that she is pregnant. She frowned at them and then turned to face the female standing beside them.
"Sakura", She uttered in a short greeting.
"Kurenai-sensei wh-what? What are you doing here?" The pink-haired girl asked worriedly.
"Isn't it obvious? Since I had the spare key.." , the lady answered with ease, "I'm here to see him."
With that response being given, both Sakura and the woman named Kurenai averted their eyes towards the unmoving person lying on the cot inside that room— Kakashi Hatake. His hair was as silvery as ever and there was not even the slightest bit of difference in his handsome features. And even though the thought of checking out that mysterious face of his was endearing, they decided to let the mask stay over his lips, right above the bridge of his nose. Anyone would be shocked to hear that he is comatose as there is not even an ounce of change in him. But the happenings of that day are crystal clear in Sakura's memories. It was the same day that they took down Naruto that Obito pulled Kakashi into his world of Kamui but on his return, she saw him holding a pale and lifeless form of her former sensei. No one really knows what happened to her teacher inside that dimension. It is a secret that is going to stay with Obito Uchiha for the rest of his dark life.
As she stared at the unmoving form of her teacher, the barrier of her emotions came crashing down and she began sobbing hysterically. If only she would've broken her promise to them— to her team and intervened in those battles then maybe not only Kakashi-sensei would've been here but also Naruto would've been...alive.. It's always like this, isn't it? It is always her fault because she is never strong enough to support her cherished teammates and comrades. She began sobbing harder, making her body shake with the emotional breakdown. Throwing her head at her silently breathing teacher's chest, she wept some more.
"I'm sorry.." She muttered, making all the occupants gasp in shock.
"...I'm sorry..I'm so, so, so sorry, Sensei..In the end, I left you alone to shoulder all the burden...It's all my fault!..." She kept sobbing in self-loathing.
No one made any move to calm or comfort her trembling form. Suigetsu and Juugo watched the kunoichi in confusion whilst Konohamaru himself began shedding tears. It was Kurenai who charged straight ahead and began questioning her, "I heard you are getting married to Sasuke Uchiha."
Sakura felt the woman put extreme emphasis on the surname of her fiancé and whipped her head-up to stare directly into the irked crimson irises of the lady. By the looks of it, she wasn't impressed much by Sakura's decision. It was more like she felt disgusted by the prospect of her marriage.
For some unknown reason, Sakura's anger began surfacing and she asked in a tight tone, "What's so bad about it?"
"Bad you say? Why are you even marrying him?" The woman placed her red-painted fingernails on her chin in a contemplating posture and asked, "Let me guess! It's because you still love him?!"
Sakura gasped, her eyes widening at the same time.
"Or maybe.." The woman continued, "..it's because he promised you something?!"
The pinkette was at a loss of words. She had never expected that anyone would be able to read into her lies so easily. Ino realised that something isn't right with this marriage but even she couldn't point out anything valid. Yet here this old colleague of her sensei has managed to come-up with the most fitting probabilities without even taking any time. Guess experience really teaches people a lot.
"You must not do this." The woman stated, "Sasuke is not right for you. Why do you even trust him with his promise? Do you think he'll actually keep the deal?!"
"He did keep his promise!" Sakura shouted in the woman's face.
"Really now? I thought he was just a selfish, conceited, good-for-nothing brat who-"
"Shut up!"
Kurenai was stopped midway in her rant by the yelling words of Juugo. She flinched at the intensity of his loud tone and looked-up at the now half monster like, orange-haired man standing infront of her, ready to pounce at any moment. If it wouldn't have been for Suigetsu holding him back, then both she and the young life inside her womb would've been dead by now.
"Juugo! Dude! Calm down! The woman didn't mean to offend Sasuke." Suigetsu tried cajoling his friend but to no avail. The beast kept thrashing wildly in his hold.
In an instant, Sakura moved to stand before Juugo and placed her palms on both sides of his forehead. She began channelling her calm chakra through the network of the offensive chakra circulating in his cerebrum in hopes of receding the quickly spreading black, cursed marks before they take over his gentle persona completely. She failed to notice the sequential weaving of hand-signs behind her back and gasped again when she was harshly shoved to the side by the curly haired woman, who was now inching her palms closer and closer towards Juugo's contorted face. Forming a cross with her palms, she slammed them directly at the guy's eyes and immediately, Juugo's shoulders began sagging before he finally entered the realms of a dreamless sleep.
Suigetsu glared at her, "Lady! What did you do?!"
"Don't worry it's a simple genjutsu. He'll be back to normal by the time he wakes-up." Kurenai explained.
"That's not the right way to treat such type of panic attacks." Sakura muttered from her cross-legged sitting position on the floor.
"Oh! So according to you it was a panic attack?" The woman taunted.
"Yes!" Sakura answered without a beat, "..and I could've treated it properly if you wouldn't have put your nose into the matter."
"Ohhkay, I guess we must leave now, right aunty?" Konohamaru muttered, biting his tongue.
"Yes..we must leave." The woman stroked her belly and turned away towards the door to exit the room.
"By the way, Sakura, " she called from the threshold and craned her head back to look at the young medic, "I would still like you to deliver my baby."
The girl nodded sternly.
"...and, " she added a second later, "don't trust Sasuke too much..."
With those last words uttered as her parting, the older woman departed with her nephew from her husband's side, leaving Sakura gaping at the wide open door in surprise and confusion.
The night was silent, expressing the famous saying: a calm before the storm. Members of the FoK were waiting patiently at their assigned hidden spots outside the Hyuga Compounds in order to protect the remaining lives of the clansmen. Amongst this small group of rebels sat Neji Hyuga, holding the palm of his trustworthy, chocolate-brown-eyed teammate, trying to keep his mind from conjuring-up seeds of doubts about the dealings between a certain pink-haired comrade and a traitorous Uchiha. Not only are the anbus of Madara Uchiha already late by half an hour but also, Sai has yet to return and rejoin his squad. He is wondering what's taking him this long.
As if right on cue, the black-haired, ex-root nin arrived at the compounds. Neji watched him interact with Darui whilst introducing all those former root nins. After their small talk ended, everyone dispersed and Neji saw a group of 8 men approaching his team. The men simply joined their group; no casual exchange of greetings or introductions.
After that, they all continued their wait silently...
To everyone's dismay, no one arrived even after a time lapse of two hours. But..somewhere around 3 o' clock or so, Neji heard the clattering of something huge and brittle. At first, he decided to pay no heed to that noise but when a loud scream echoed around the whole compounds, right after that breaking noise, the muscles in Neji's body began tensing and he left the small feminine hand of Tenten to throttle his way towards the cause of distress.
A/N: Oh my?! What exactly is happening inside the Hyuga Compounds? Didn't Sasuke affirm that he has kept his part of the deal? 😉 Well...just wait for an update!
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~Manika🌸
