A/N I started this story back in the middle of quarantine and was needing something lighter and less angsty to work on. I cannot say how baffled I was that this story turned out to be so loved and welcomed which has made sharing this over the past months a lot more fulfilling and special. I love to hear that this story made your day and got you through finals, quarantine, or just rough life in general! Never in my life did I think a story of mine would get so much love, especially one that I never originally planned to be more than a one shot yet here we are! So it only felt appropriate that I finished out this year with updating this story to ring in the new year!
A/N The gang are in their junior year in high school. They are all 15/16 years old.
The Knight in Shining Armor/The Samurai in a Black Tuxedo
The loud thunk of the soda bottle falling down had Naruto bending down and snatching the orange soda from the dispenser. It let out a quick hiss as he carefully unscrewed the cap then took a long chug, releasing a satisfied 'ah' he smacked his lips together in contentment before finally moving aside for Sakura to select her drink. As she dug in her bag for her coin purse, Sasuke swiftly reached into his pocket and deposited a coin into the slot for her.
"Hurry up and choose what you want," he said when Sakura gave him a confused look.
"Sasuke, I have my own money," she protested.
Sasuke leaned against the vending machine with his hands in his pockets. "Tch, you were taking too long," he replied not looking directly at her.
Sakura frowned down at the coin purse she was holding in her hand. Quickly she unsnapped her coin purse and held out a coin to him. "Here," she insisted.
Sasuke glared at the coin as if it had just offended his entire line of ancestry. "It's 100 yen, Sakura, it's no big deal. You don't have to pay me back," he remarked, pushing her hand holding the offering away from him. "Besides, I hate having change."
Sakura seemed torn for a moment. Unsure of what to do. While Sasuke always had plenty of spending money, he nickel and dimed Naruto if he so much as borrowed a piece of paper.
"Hurry up and choose," Sasuke prodded, keeping whatever retort she had rising to her tongue from leaving her mouth.
Sakura let out a sigh. "Okay, okay," she said, not bothering to put up any more protest and causing a satisfied Sasuke to push off the machine to stand by Naruto who was leaning next to the hallway window.
To be honest she should be used to it. She had found Sasuke doing things like this more and more often since the summer ended. At first she put it up to her imagination but now she was not so sure. She didn't want to read into an innocent gesture, especially with how Sasuke did it in such a nonchalant Sasuke-esque way. Only he could make a nice gesture seem selfish. Shaking her head to clear her confused mind, Sakura put Sasuke's recently odd behavior aside and focused on deciding what she wanted.
As Sasuke and Naruto waited on Sakura, a group of giggling girls herded past their hangout. A few of them lifted their eyes to peek up at the two boys who stood in the hallway by the vending machine. As soon as either boy so much as glanced in the direction of one of the girls, they were sent into a fit of giggles as they bowed their blushing faces before peeking up at the boys beneath their lashes. When the gaggle of fluttering girls managed to migrate farther down the hall, Naruto shook his head in confusion as another small bunch of girls fluttered past.
"I swear all of the girls have gone mental all of a sudden," he commented. "Did they always flock in herds?"
"It's because they are hoping one of you two will ask them to the dance." Both of them turned to see Sakura joining them, sipping at her green tea as she took her post between the pair.
As she settled between them, they each looked up at each other from over her head in a silent exchange. Sasuke quirked a questioning eyebrow while Naruto shook his head dumbly back at him.
"What dance?" Naruto asked dumbly.
Sakura let out a surprised cough as she brought the bottle of tea away from her lips. "Um...the winter formal that has been announced every morning since midterms, dance!" She looked back and forth between their clueless faces and covered her eyes with her hand as she let out a bemoaned sigh. "Honestly, do you two ever pay attention to the announcements?"
She looked to Naruto who shrugged. "Head master Sarutobi's voice is boring," he complained. "And the morning announcements are too early! Can't he do them in the afternoon? I can't think properly until after lunch."
"That's why they are called morning announcements! They are in the morning!" Sakura exclaimed before turning to Sasuke. "And what's your excuse?"
Sasuke shrugged. "I sleep through them," he proclaimed unabashedly. "Besides, if there is anything important you will tell me."
He flashed her a sly smirk.
"Seriously," she remarked dryly. "You're supposed to be learning life skills. This is an important life skill. What happens when I am not around anymore?" Sakura said, half joking but partially serious.
Sasuke's nonchalant demeanor quickly changed as he looked at her seriously. "That won't ever happen," he said with so much authority Sakura was slightly taken aback.
After enduring a long, hard stare from Sasuke, Sakura finally managed to look away as she shook her head. "...Anyways…" she began, still slightly phased from Sasuke's lack of humor in her joke. "The dance is set for the end of term. It's a big deal because only upperclassmen are invited, which is us this year now that we are juniors. The lower class can only come if they come as a guest...which is why you two have probably noticed most of your new fangirls are all younger."
As if on cue, another flock of girls, obviously all freshman girls now with the notable information, passed by. One girl in particular with long brown hair boldly met Sasuke's eyes and held his gaze as they passed by. She gave him a practiced shy smile as her eyes lingered on him until her group of followers giggled on past him. He looked down at Sakura who was watching the group of girls with a slight frown on her face.
"Tch," he scoffed, causing the perturbed looking pinkette to look up at him. "It sounds stupid." He had meant to try and erase the frown on her face but his words only seemed to cause it to deepen.
"So you aren't going to go?"
He let out an arrogant sounding snort. "Of course not. It sounds annoying."
"Yeah Sasuke's right," Naruto chimed in. "Trust me Sakura, these things aren't fun," he said, putting a consoling arm around her shoulder. "You're lucky your parents are normal, every year my dad hosts this big fancy gala for all the big time officials for some charity during the new year and it is a snooze fest, right Sasuke."
He turned to Sasuke who gave a noncommittal shrug of agreement. "More like annoying," he commented as he folded his arms across his chest. "I hate wearing tuxes."
"Isn't everything annoying to you?" Sakura challenged exasperatedly.
He rolled his eyes. "Okay fine, I agree with Nartuo it's boring," he said.
She turned back to Naruto who was nodding vigorously. "See," he emphasized. "They have all these fancy drinks that come in these hard to hold glasses that no one is aloud to drink except the adults, and all the food is hard to pronounce and smells like feet. And they never get a DJ. Instead they have a live band, which is not as exciting as it sounds, because it's just scratchy instruments with no vocals or bass and they only play stuffy posh music that you can only old fashion dance to and can't drop the bass一"
"Naruto," Sakura interrupted. "I don't think this is going to be like one of your dad's fancy galas. There will only be a few adult chaperons so I am pretty sure any beverages they have you can drink and I know for a fact they have a DJ. Some girls were talking about it and the school booked DJ Killer B for the dance."
Nartuto's eyes went wide at that. "REALLY!" he exclaimed, his voice dangerously pitched in his excitement.
Sakura nodded. "Yeah, so maybe it wouldn't be all that bad?" she said with a hesitant shrug, glancing at Sasuke.
"Tch," Sasuke scoffed, when Naruto looked at him as well. "Still sounds lame. Isn't it formal? That means you have to wear a stupid tux."
"Oh," Naruto said, his excitement about his favorite DJ deflating. "Ugg, I hate wearing a tux, they're so stiff and uncomfortable, not to mention the bow tie is impossible to tie."
"Naruto, what are you talking about, you wear clip on," Sasuke pointed out dryly.
"But their complicated clips," Naruto argued pointedly. "And they are still hard to get straight!"
As Sasuke and Naruto began to bicker back and forth Sakura lightly spoke up, cutting them off. "I don't know, it could be fun if you went with the right people," Sakura suggested, her eyes darting to Sasuke before quickly looking away to Naruto.
Naruto seemed to think hard and long about it. "I don't know," Naruto finally shrugged. "The tux is kind of a deal breaker."
She looked to Sasuke who did not even bother answering verbally. Instead he gave her a scrutinized look which caused Sakura to seemingly wilt, her face taking on an almost disappointed look.
"...no, mom, I did not spend everything on video games," Naruto said into the phone while guiltily looking down at the shinobi gaming bag. "Yes, I will make sure I find a sweater for the party…" He tossed his empty slushy cup into the garbage as he passed a trash can. "...No mother, I would never spoil my appetite before supper," he defended while simultaneously taking a bite of the sweet dango he was holding.
As soon as his mother was satisfied he was doing the tasks in which he was instructed to do at the shopping center, Naruto pressed the red icon that ended the call and immediately swiped the screen clear as his thumbs searched out the most recent game he had become addicted to. Navigating on autopilot, he made his way towards his favorite gaming store to return, hopefully only one of the games, so he could buy the sweater he had been tasked to acquire. If not, he could always go with the whole, they didn't have one in the specified color, when he returned home to his mother. It could possibly save him from the wrath of the red demon if not, ANBU special ops III would be worth facing his mothers infamous temper.
As he made his way down the line of stores in the mall, Naruto was only half way aware of what was going on around him. With his eyes focused on the screen and his thumbs tapping wildly to destroy the herd of zombies attacking his dragon forest, he failed to take caution of someone exiting a store with a large window display of high end dresses. He was in the middle of frantically collecting all the germs that spilled from the super zombie boss, when all of a sudden he found himself crashing into someone. He lost his grip on his phone as it tumbled to the ground and his arms wildly reached out to grab onto the body he had nearly ran over to keep them from tumbling onto the ground as well.
A high squeak escaped the unfortunate person, and Naruto tightly grasped the girl and pulled her towards him. "I gotcha!" he said loudly, steadying the girl in front of him as he placed his hands on each of her shoulders.
Finally, once she was steady, she looked up. Pale lilac eyes, framed by dark black hair that almost had a midnight blue tone, looked up at him.
"Oh hey Hinata!"
"N-naruto," she squeaked, her face instantly flushing red as he leaned in closer to her.
"Hey are you okay?" Naruto asked in concern, coming even closer to her face and making her turn even redder. "Did I hit you that hard? I am really sorry."
"I-I'm f-fine," she managed to say.
Naruto looked around and found a bench close to them.
"Here come sit down, you don't look too good, like you're about to faint," he said, steering her out of the chaos of the rest of the shoppers to where the lone bench was.
Once he had her sitting down, he quickly ran back to grab his dropped phone and her dropped shopping bags. As he trotted back to a slightly calmed Hinata, he could not help but peak into her shopping bags. A shoe box was inside one bag while another held a carefully wrapped item but through the white tissue paper he could make out the sparkle of rhinestones and a lavender fabric.
He sat down next to her and passed the bags back over to her. "What is with the fancy clothes? Are you going to a party or something?"
Hinata accepted her bags as another blush rose in her high cheeks. "I-its for the d-dance," she explained.
For a moment Naruto blanked but then he remembered, "Oh yeah, that's next weekend isn't," he exclaimed in disbelief of how fast the school year was going by.
It seemed just like yesterday that Sakura had told him and Sasuke about it. But here they were a month later. He had almost completely forgotten about it since it hadn't been brought up since. Not that it mattered since none of them were planning on going.
Hinata nodded. "Y-yes. Are y-you going?" she asked shyly. "I heard a lot of g-girls were wanting to go with y-you."
Naruto shook his head. "Nah, Sasuke and I were going to try out the new Ninja's Unknown: Battleground game that is coming out that day."
"O-oh," she responded.
"Who are you going with? It seems everyone got a date to go, not like in middle school when we just went in groups."
She looked down at her lap. "I-I didn't get asked," she said, looking slightly crestfallen.
Naruto gaped at her."Wha-what!" he said in disbelief. "How could no one want to take you!?"
"I-its okay," she said, her face tinting at Naruto's almost offended tone that no one was taking her. "I will just go with N-neji and Tenten since they are t-together."
Naruto scrunched his nose. "Like a third wheel?"
Hinata shrugged her shoulders. "My father is insisting I go s-since it is being hosted at H-hyuga hotel," Hinata explained.
Naruto frowned. While he certainly enjoyed his high society life, he counted himself as lucky amongst his so-called elites. While others may covet their lives, there was a lot asked of them in return. Everything was about the family image therefore everything was practically decided for them, the schools they went to, to clothes they wore, the profession they chose, sometimes even who they married was decided by the elders of the more traditional family clans. While some clans, such as Naruto's had become more relaxed and free, there were still others like the Hyaga family that were very strict and controlling. Even Sasuke often found this happening as the Uchiha's were very much about the rigorous theme of 'what's best for the clan'.
"Well that doesn't sound very fun," Naruto commented, noting how Hinata and folded into herself.
They had been in the same social friends group since she started attending private school instead of being homeschooled back in middle school. But if he was honest, he never really noticed her. She was always so nice to everyone. He knew Sakura often had her over at her house because she was one of the few people Sakura was comfortable with having her come to her family's small town house. And Hinata was always so good to make Sakura feel as though her home was ten times better than the Hyuga mansion. Most likely because that was just it. Hinata didn't really have a home, where love and compassion was warmly given.
And as he looked at her, he realized she was rather pretty too. To which he found it difficult to believe that no one asked her. Then he remembered who her cousin was and he could believe it. Neji, while oftentimes a stuck up prick, was highly protective of his cousin. He was almost as bad as her dad, though he had gotten slightly better since dating Tenten. But despite this, most boys who were aware of Neji, knew to not mess with his cousin. Which was probably the reason why she didn't have a date because seriously...as Naruto's mind proclaimed, she really was pretty.
As Naruto's inner monologue went on, he was struck with a sudden idea. "Hey," he said brightly, causing Hinata to look up at him by his sudden energy. "What if we go together?"
There was a long pause as Hinata stared at him and he was suddenly worried she was going to pass out.
"Hinata?"
"R-really?" she finally managed to stutter, her face turning red but her eyes looking as if she had been hit with a wishing star.
"Yeah!" Naruto said enthusiastically, suddenly finding himself more excited than he thought.
"O-okay!" Hinata brightly agreed, a warm smile of joyous celebration blooming across her face.
Naruto grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up. "This is gonna be so much fun! Dattebayo!"
It was a drizzly Sunday afternoon as Sasuke glanced across the kitchen table to where Sakura was sitting studiously as she worked on their group project. Either Mr. Hatake thought his students incompetent to finish their work alone or he just really liked teamwork; because Sasuke was confident this was their hundredth group project since they were assigned him for home room. Not that Sasuke was complaining as he always got assigned with Sakura, the perfect partner. On occasion they were given larger groups, such as now, but Naruto was either running late or had completely forgotten.
There was an alert of a cell phone and Sakura dropped her pencil to quickly grab her phone. Sasuke watched as she swiped her finger across to read the message. She let out a faint sound of amusement and she quickly typed out a response, biting at her lip as she set her phone down and eagerly glanced back at it, as if waiting for another alert.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Who was she texting? Ino? Tenten? Hinata? But she didn't exactly exhibit the usual reaction one would when texting a friend. If he didn't know any better he would think it was the reaction one would have when texting their crush. He knew it wasn't Naruto explaining where he was, but for some reason, after witnessing that reaction, he was hoping it was.
"Was that Naruto?" Sasuke asked casually. "Did he say why he is late or did he forget?
Sakura looked up mid check to see if she had missed an alert from her phone. As soon as she met Sasuke's suspicious gaze, a pink tint seemed to surface across her face. "Oh um, I don't know."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed as she quickly bowed her head and began to seem far too enthralled with her textbook, even for Sakura. "Then who texted you?"
"Just someone from school," she hedged, not looking up at him.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes even more. It was not like Sakura to be secretive. "What did they want?"
Sakura raised her head to give him a look. "What's with the interrogation?" she replied defensively.
Sasuke sniffed and leaned forward to cradle his own textbook sitting on the table. "Just curious," he brushed off casually, grabbing his pencil as he started to flip though his text book, doing his best to not be too concerned.
A loud slam of the side door, followed by the abrupt and wild entry of Naruto fumbling into the kitchen with his backpack saved them from an awkward silence.
"Sorry guys," Naruto quickly said. "My mom made me go get a sweater for our family pictures and then I ran into Hinata and we ended up going to get Ramen and I totally lost track ofー"
"Nobody cares, Naruto," Sasuke said in a terse tone. "Did you do the research?"
"What's up your butt?" Naruto asked walking around the table to sit next to Sakura as he riffled through his backpack, producing several crumpled pieces of paper he had printed off line and what looked to even be a ripped out page from an actual book. "Here," he said, shoving the pieces of paper into the middle of the table.
Sasuke sneered at the pages as Sakura let out a tired sigh and began to look through the mess of papers, smoothing them out and unfolding them.
"Oh yeah, and Sasuke, I am taking Hinata to the dance next weekend so we are going to have to play the new Ninja's Unknown: Battleground II a different day," Naruto quickly added, causing both Sasuke and Sakura to look at him.
"What!" They exclaimed together, each with a different tone. Sakura with excitement, Sasuke with annoyance.
They both looked at each other for a moment before looking back to Naruto.
"That's awesome!" "What the hell!" They responded in unison, again they looked at each other with questioning glances, then Sasuke shot Naruto a dark look.
"You can't just bail on me, we made plans," Sasuke demanded. "And besides, I thought you said you didn't want to go?"
"Sorry," Naruto shrugged. "I didn't think it was a big deal and after talking with Hinata it actually sounds really fun. We are going to go with Neji and Tenten and I am going to see if my dad will let us use the fancy limo he uses for special events. And Sakura was right! Killer Bee is the DJ so you know the music will be good. I really think it's gonna be fun!"
"And it will be," Sakura quickly said, shooting Sasuke a look. She looked back to Naruto. "So what color of dress is Hinata wearing? Make sure you get her a flower to maー"
"So you are just going to ditch me?" Sasuke interrupted, causing Sakura and Naruto to look back at him.
"Sasuke," Sakura reprimanded. "It's just a game. You can play later or evenー"
"That's not the point," Sasuke snapped. "We made plans to hang out."
Both Sakura and Naruto gave him an odd look, both confused by his outlash. It wasn't exactly like Sasuke to care so much about keeping commitments with Naruto. Sakura yes, but with Naruto there was always an exception in which Sasuke was allowed to cancel without question. That exception was Sakura. Sakura was perhaps unaware of this detail, but Naruto was not. He always understood that no matter how close he and Sasuke were, there was a certain dedication that Sasuke would always have to Sakura that took precedence over Naruto himself.
"Well maybe you could come along instead?" Naruto suggested.
"Tch. And be a third or fifth wheel?" Sasuke said with a scoff. "No thanks."
Naruto looked at Sakura. "Sakura, you're a girl!"
Sakura's excited face slightly fell at that, and she gave Naruto a sour look. "Gee, I never noticed," she said dryly.
"No, no," he said, waving his hands as he eyed her now clenched fists. He pointed to Sasuke. "What I mean is you can go with Sasuke as his date!"
Sakura glanced at Sasuke who was suddenly sitting upright in his chair.
"Yeah, that would be so fun!" Naruto went on. "Then we all can go! Didn't you say you wanted to go anyways?"
Sasuke opened his mouth to concede to the proposal, the idea of attending the dance suddenly sounding quite pleasant. But Sakura's sudden and abrupt answer came faster.
"No," Sakura suddenly said abruptly, causing both Sasuke and Naruto to look at her.
"NO?" Naruto questioned. "As in no you don't want to go to the dance? Or no you don't want to go with Sasuke? You know you don't have to call it a date, you can just go as friends?"
"I mean no to going with Sasuke at all," Sakura supplied, her tone sounding frustrated.
"Why not?"
Sakura looked at Sasuke who had queried the question, his face looking oddly stiff and concentrated as if trying to hide other emotions. "Because I am already going with someone else," she said plainly, looking down at her notes and making a show of adding a thought to her paper.
"WHAT!?" Naruto bellowed. "But everyone knows your off limits becauseー"
Sasuke cut Naruto off with a look that promised a very painful death. He then looked sharply at Sakura, distracting her from looking at Naruto with an inquisitive confusion.
"Who?" he demanded.
Sakura opened her mouth to reply but Naruto jumped in before she could say anything. "Is it Lee? I thought he was going with that new weird girl, Fū"
"It's not Lee," Sakura responded. "And Fū isn't weird, she's just overly friendly."
"Then who?" Sasuke pressed again, his tone a dark one that he had never used with Sakura before.
"Well if you must know, his name is Sasori," Sakura stated.
"Saso-what?" Naruto failed to repeat.
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Sasori Akasuna, he is from the class above ours so you probably don't know him."
"So you're just going with a stranger?" Sasuke questioned, his tone now condescending.
"He isn't a stranger to me," Sakura argued.
"Then how do you know him and we don't," Sasuke accused.
"We have art together," Sakura snapped back. "You know...the one class you guys wouldn't sign up for with me?"
"And you are just going to go with him because he asked?" Sakura furrowed her brow at Sasuke, confused by his bitter tone.
"Yes!" she exclaimed, perplexed as to how Sasuke was failing to understand this. "I wanted to go and I didn't want to go alone. He asked me and I accepted. Why is that so complicated to grasp?"
"If you wanted to go so badly you could have just told me," Sasuke snapped. "I would have taken you!"
Sakura stared at him from across the table, utter disbelief painted across her face. When she recovered, she took in a deep breath. "You said you didn't want to go," Sakura strained to calmly reply. "Both of you said it was stupid and lame."
Sasuke slammed his hands on the wooden table, "Well I would have made an exception for you!"
Sakura's eyes grew wide at his outburst, and no longer able to control her own tone, shouted back, "Why? So you could grumble about how annoying everything was and sulk in the corner the whole time!" Sasuke glared at her and Sakura let out a frustrated scream as she grabbed her bag and scooped everything off the table and into it. "I thought that we came here to work on our paper, not discuss how unbelievable it is that someone would actually want to ask me on a date!" Sakura said, standing abruptly and making for the front hall as she zipped up her backpack.
"Sakura," Sasuke began, his tone hinting that she was being ridiculous.
"Just email me your parts when you finish and I will put the stupid paper together," she remarked, before swinging the front door open and dashing outside into the rain.
Sasuke stared at the empty entryway for one long moment before he ran after her, grabbing the umbrella she had left behind as he chased after her. Running out of his driveway, he crossed through the park in which they had met a decade ago, then took a short cut down an alley to cut her off. He emerged from the alley, his head turning up and down the street until he caught sight of her, her pink hair darker than usual, dimmed by the dampness of the rain.
"Sakura!" he shouted. She did not even turn her head, only grabbing her bag tighter as her pace increased. Sasuke let out a curse and began to sprint down the street, grabbing onto her when he caught up. "Sakura, what the hell is your problem?" he questioned, pulling her into the coverage of the umbrella. "You're going to get yourself sick!"
"Well I bet you would just love that wouldn't you! Then I wouldn't be able to go to the dance" she snapped, turning away from him to keep walking.
Sasuke stared at her back with a perplexed expression before jolting forward to step in front of her and block her way.
"Move, Sasuke!" she demanded.
"Not until you tell me what your problem is?"
"MY PROBLEM!?" she questioned. "What about yours?"
"..."
Sakura let out an exasperated noise. "The next time you want to take me to something, you should just ask and not wait till the last minute! You can't just expect me to wait around! As a friend I thought you would support me on this!"
"Fine!" Sasuke growled out with resentment to her use of the word friend. "I didn't want to go to the stupid dance anyways!" He shoved the umbrella into her hand and turned around into the now pouring rain. "Have fun on your date!" he yelled over his shoulder, stomping away as the heavy downpour soaked through his clothes and weighted down his hair.
"I will!" he heard her shout back, her voice breaking at the end but he refused to turn back around. Not daring to see her cry and knowing he had caused it.
As he stomped through puddles and cut under rain gutters, the anger and frustration he had aimed at her quickly turned around, and by the time he was home he was only angry and frustrated with himself. He had been warned this would happen and it only made him more angry at the fact that Shisui had been right. He had meant to tell Sakura of his changing feelings, he really had. But as it turns out, finding the right time to tell someone you like them is a bit harder than he thought.
He had thought he was safe enough. He had thought their situation was like Hinata with Neji watching over her, most boys were too afraid to even look at Sakura for fear of what Sasuke would do. He had seen to it early in the school year to at least make it clear to everyone in his grade that she was off limits. It was perhaps a bit arrogant and misogynistic of him, like a dog peeing on something to mark its territory, but Sasuke hadn't cared, he knew he was selfish. And up until now, things had gone well. There was just one problem in his plan...he had forgotten about the senior students above him. He was king of the grade but not king of the school.
"...grey skies followed by rainfall will continueー"
Click. The weather man on the screen was replaced by a man and woman dressed in historical clothing as they embraced each other in a passionate hold.
"...I shall love you until the end ofー"
Click. The couple making their romantic vows were replaced with a colorful screen of anime characters as the somber music of the previous show was replaced by the loud upbeat theme song.
"...we are fighting, dreamers takami wo mezaー"
Click...click...click
Sasuke moved through the channels as he blankly stared at the television. After a moment he switched to Netflix and began to scroll through the endless mass of shows, not a single one looking distracting enough from his foul mood.
The week had been horrible and endless, and now that it was finally the weekend, he was ready for it to be over and done with. The weather had been overcast and rainy all week as if to match his gloomy and sour mood.
He was sprawled out on the couch with chip bags and soda cans to keep him company. It was the night of the dance, his parents were gone and Itachi was off at school, leaving him to brood alone without anyone to try to change his dark mood. And he was determined to keep it that way as he distracted himself from thinking about how Sakura would have been picked up by now and was probably currently at the dance wrapped in Sasori's arms as she too clung to him. It was an image in which he was struggling to contain the spiteful anger each time it entered his mind.
In all their years of knowing each other, they had never fought like this before. Sure everyone has their arguments and disagreements, Sasuke could admit that he was not exactly the easiest person to get along with. But they had never yelled and shouted at each other like that. And they for sure had never had an unresolved issue last this long. But currently Sakura had said all of five sentences to him all week and it was taking its toll on him.
Usually Sakura was quick to forgive, oftentimes acting as if nothing had ever happened the next time they saw each other as they seemed to come to a mutual apology and forgiveness. But this time things were different. Sakura wouldn't even give him a chance to apologize. Anytime he so much as turned to talk to her she was either walking away or striking up a conversation with someone else. Mostly she had just been avoiding him altogether.
Sasuke heard his phone buzz on the couch next to him but ignored it, switching from Netflix to the new PS5 he had managed to acquire amongst the first batch. As his game loaded, the phone went off again and he looked at the screen to see Itachi's name lighting up on the display. He rolled his eyes and hit the decline button before focusing back on selecting a play mode. Two seconds later it was going off again.
Sasuke let out a growl, abandoning his game as he jabbed his finger to accept the call and immediately put it to speaker phone. "What do you want?" Sasuke said in an undeservingly bitter tone, grabbing his controller back up as he set the phone in his lap and leaned back into the couch.
"Where are you?" His brothers unusually strained tone demanded.
Sasuke paused and looked down at his phone, slightly taken aback by Itachi's tone. "At home," he replied.
"Is tonight not the big dance the high school puts on?"
"It is."
Itachi was quiet on his end for a long time and Sasuke could only hear what was most likely a wild college party going in the background. While it seemed an odd environment for Itachi, it was his roommate Kisame who was more than likely throwing it.
"Are you not taking Sakura?" Itachi finally questioned. "You should have picked her up by now. It is not good manners toー"
"I am not going to the dance at all," Sasuke gritted out, before adding, "Sakura didn't want to go with me," he exaggerated bitterly.
"Why not? Who is she going with instead?"
"Some senior at school," Sasuke answered, wondering why Itachi always had to be so nosey. Why was it such a big deal who she went with. It was just a stupid dance. It didn't mean anything...right?
"Sasori Akasuna?" Itachi's voice warily asked after a pregnant pause on his end of the line.
Sasuke's fingers slipped, causing his avatar to fall off the ledge and respawn at the beginning. However the misstep went practically unnoticed as he grabbed his phone, taking it off speaker as he brought it to his ear.
"You know him?"
Itachi was unnaturally quiet, even for an Uchiha.
"Itachi," Sasuke said, his voice taking on a tone of worry. "Why do you ask?"
Earlier that week Sasuke had taken it upon himself to search out this so-called senior who had dared to ask Sakura. He had hoped for someone like Lee. Harmlessly bold and oblivious to what was and was not out of his league. Unfortunately Sasori was nothing like Lee. From what he learned from others, he was smart, attractive, and talented in art which of course had all the girls falling for him. The only flaw others saw was that he was a bit on the short side, but it seemed that did not bother most of his admirers. However, from what Sasuke concluded from his observations in the school hallways and his obsessive stalking of his Bingobook profile on social media, the guy was a self obsessed ass hole. Then again his opinion was possibly a bit biased.
'Does he have red hair?' Itachi asked.
Sasuke sat up straight. "Itachi, tell me what is going on," Sasuke demanded, gripping his phone tightly in his hand. "Why are you calling me about this?"
'I am pretty sure he is here in Kirigakure,' Itachi stated solemnly. 'Kisame had some friends come over and one of them brought him a long. I vaguely remember him from my last year in high school and when he was still a freshman. He treated girls like they were puppets, stringing them along, trying to get them to do his bidding. But once he grew tired of them or realized they would not do what he wanted, he would just discard them. I went out to grab something to drink when I heard him talking about some poor girl he had ditched to come to the party instead. I had hoped I had been mistaken by his vulgar description of her and was hoping that I was mistaken. He said she was too naive and was laughing about how she actually thought he was going to go with her. I was hoping it was wrong and it wasn't Sakura, not that I would wish this upon any girl. But I am worried that she might not be aware of his natureー'
Sasuke hung up on his brother as he stood from the couch, his mind whirling as he tried to think over the loud ringing in his ears. All the while his entire body shook with rage. He had half a mind to go to Kirigakure and pummel the heartless redhead but the blood thirsty images were soon washed from his mind as another thought entered his mind.
Sakura.
Sakura brushed what she hoped was the last tear from her face as she sat at the small armoire in her room. Then she looked up and took in her reflection.
The emerald dress that Ino had let her borrow was truly beautiful and like her blonde friend said, would look perfect on her. Even the freshly wounded state of Sakura's self esteem at this moment could not even deny such a statement. And the braided crown of her rosette hair that wrapped around her head before being delicately twisted into a sophisticated knot on the other side at the nap of her neck went perfectly. Her mother had woven it so intricately and delicately that it went perfectly with the neckline and thin straps, showing off the crisscrossed back of the dress. She had even fastned the most beautiful gold branch hair clip next to the knot that added a finished tone to the look. And finally, after years of being under the tutelage of Ino, the next upcoming makeup tutorial sensation, Sakura had managed to make her makeup look flawless for the night.
That is...until an hour passed and the tears had begun to build up.
As she stared back at her red rimmed eyes Sakura grabbed some tissues and started to dab at the running mascara and eyeliner. After reapplying a few strokes to her bottom lashes, Sakura picked up the pen to touch up her eye liner. Her hand lifted up halfway to her eye before suddenly dropping the pen back onto the small table as she slumped in her chair.
Who was she kidding. Despite the numerous times she had told herself he was just running late, and the amount of texts she had sent to friends that she would be there, after an hour had passed with no word from Sasori, Sakura knew better. He wasn't coming. She had been foolish to think he actually liked her. When she first met him he had given her the impression of being a player, but she had seemed to forget that when he started showing her attention.
Taking in a deep breath as she fought off another wave of tears of embarrassment and shame as Sakura reached up to pull the hair piece from her hair. Her fingers had just moved to begin pulling the numerous hair pins that fastened her hair into place. Just as she was about to slide the first one out, she heard a knock at the door.
She froze, looking up with wide eyes she stared at herself in the mirror, her face one of shock and disbelief. He was here! She jolted up and quickly moved from her room to scurry down the stairs as best she could in the dress. Her hand was just reaching out to the door when she suddenly came to a stop.
Why was she acting excited? He was nearly an hour and a half late and he hadn't so much as even bothered to text her to inform her of a delay. In fact she had not heard from him in two days, having every text she had sent him this past weekend left on read each time she asked to confirm a small detail or even tried to just strike up a small conversation like they had just a week ago. And now, after the way he had disrespected her, she was skipping down the stairs to happily greet him? As if all was forgiven? If she let him get away with this, how many other girls would be treated poorly because she just went along with it.
She retracted her hand as it balled into a fist. Her first instinct was to wrench open the door and scream at him. But at the same time, she didn't want to give that arrogant jerk the idea that she had sat around waiting on him, either.
No, she was going to go back upstairs. He could wait all night on her doorstep for all she cared. And let him think she went on to the dance without him. Give him a taste of his own medicine. She turned around, meaning to discreetly go back upstairs but then the insistent and demanding knocking began. On second thought, she didn't care if he knew she was still here, he deserved an ass kicking. He needed to learn that actions have consequences. She had a duty to her fellow girls who had most likely also been duped by the spineless insect that Sasori was.
Whirling back around to the door, she grabbed the handle and wrenched it open, her eyes bright with fury as her fist naturally drew back. However the moment the door was open wide enough to expose said person, she froze.
Sakura blinked, then blinked again as she stared at not Sasori, but at Sasuke. He was standing on her front step, his dark eyes wide, and face startled from her more than graceless and wild greeting of the door.
Quickly she dropped her fist, her face turning to confusion as his dark eyes slowly moved down her body then back up, suddenly making her feel foolishly self conscious and bowed her head as her shoulders crumpled. Of course Sasuke would show up to gloat. How he knew she had been stood up was beyond her. But yet, it did not surprise her. Her head fell forward as she prepared herself for the I told you so speech.
"You look beautiful!"
Sakura's head snapped up so quickly she was certain she gave herself whiplash.
She stared at him, unsure if she had heard him right but his face was nothing of mockery, only sincerity, with a tinge of pink in his high cheekbones. "Uh...th-thank you," she said, tucking a wisp of hair behind her ear. He continued to, for lack of a better word, gap at her. "But um...Sasuke, what are youー"
He seemed to wake out of a trance and clear his throat, cutting her off. "Sorry I am late, I had a bit of trouble getting my tux on," he said tugging at the suit, which for the first time Sakura realized he was even dressed in.
It seemed a bit short in the arms but looser in the chest as if made for someone slightly shorter with a bit more muscle. The only explanation was that the tux was not his, as any member of his family having an ill fitting suit seemed odd. She had seen him in workout clothes that looked more tailored for a perfect fit on him.
"Sasuke, what are youー"
"I know I should have called," he interrupted again. "And I apologize for my tardiness...I promise I will make it up to you tonight, if you would let me."
He gave her an expectant look and Sakura felt her throat tighten. He wasn't here to gloat, he was here to take her to the dance. Somehow, someway, despite their argument and his disinterest in going, as well as her dismissal of him, he was her to take her anyways.
"S-sasuke," she began, her voice slightly straining. "I'm so sorry, you were right, I never should haveー"
"Are you ready?" he interrupted, yet again. "Because if we leave now, we should still be able to enjoy it for a couple hours."
Sakura looked at him, noting in the rigid way in which he stood, obviously discomforted. Then she noted his eyes. She could see a vengeful storm brewing behind the obsidian glass that made up his irises. Most would most likely not notice, but she had spent years and years looking into those eyes and learning to interpret the seemingly unreadable blackness. She had seen that look before, back in middle school when she was bullied.
"Sasuke, you don't have to do this. Really I am fineー"
"Sakura," he turned to the side and lifted his arm out in invitation. "Come on," he said, a small tenderness and softness forming at the corner of his eyes.
At first she was annoyed by his constant interrupting, but then it hit her. He was ignoring the fact that she had been stood up, ignoring the fact that for the past week she had utterly ignored him, and was ignoring the fact that they were in the middle of the biggest fight they had ever had. He was acting as if they were always going to go together, as if in this moment, Sasori was an insignificant name. He had not come here to mock her or throw it in her face like she had thought, he was here to save her. He was here to be there for her and let her save face.
He was like a prince in shining armor, coming to sweep her off her feet and take her to the ball. Although he did not exactly strike her as the typical image of perfect locks and dashing smiles that the movies always portrayed. He was more like a ninja, sneaking in and intercepting her from the biggest humiliation since seventh grade, ever the dark samurai to her rescue.
Trying to hold back the grateful tears that were building, Sakura took his arm, giving it a warm squeeze as he escorted her down the stairs and to the street. As they exited the gate, Sakura came to an abrupt stop as she took in the large police SUV parked outside with tinted windows. She gave him an inquisitive look but before he could explain, the sound of the power window rolling down had her looking back to the police car to see a grinning Shisui at the driver's seat.
"You're chariot awaits my lady!" he said with a dramatic flare, causing Sakura to burst out into a half cry half laugh as Sasuke opened the door to the back seat and grumble something that sounded oddly like 'should have called Madara instead'.
A few hours later, they were walking up the broken and cracked stone path that led up to her old house. Sasuke could see a light on upstairs, most likely indicating that one or both of her parents were finally home. It gave him a small feeling of relief that he would not be leaving to enter an empty house. She reached the steps that led up to the front door and began her ascent. Sasuke followed after her, not sure exactly why, but he came to a stop on the last step when she turned around.
Her bottom lip was pulled into her mouth as she nervously bit at it. When she released it, it was slightly swollen and red, drawing in Sasuke's attention. After a night of standing in a crowded and noisy ball room, in this moment, all Sasuke could remember of the past couple hours was the feel of her arms wrapped around his neck as they stood with only a breath between them. Even now his fingers tingled with the memory of his hands curving around her hips and lower back as they had swayed to the handful of slow dances the DJ had played.
"Well…" she began, breaking him away from his thoughts as her fingers grasped at each other. She slowly lifted her head to look him in the eye. Even with the advantage of being on a step above him, he was just slightly taller than her. "Thank you...again, Sasuke. While tonight did not go exactly as envisioned..."
Sasuke rubbed at the back of his neck as a small frown pulled at his lips. "Sorry…" he apologized in a mumble, causing Sakura to quickly start shaking her head.
"No! No! Don't apologize," she protested. "What I meant to say is yes, it didn't go as I envisioned but it was surprisingly better." She looked down at her feet as her shoulders sagged. "You were right, I never should have agreed to go with him. His reputation as a player isn't exactly unknown. It should have been you from the very beginning." She paused as she picked at her nail polish for a moment before continuing. "And I shouldn't have gotten mad at you and chosen a boy over our friendship. Forgive me?" she asked hopefully, peering up at him.
There was a time when he valued that word. Friend, friendship...so long as it was attached to one of his precious people. But in the recent months he had found that word slowly grating on his mind each time it was used by a certain one of his precious people. A certain someone who was currently standing before him. Because it was too basic, too wrong of a description for the way he felt about her. Friends did not want to reach out and tuck the piece of hair behind their friend's ear that had come loose just because they wanted an excuse to touch them again, even after an entire night of being pressed close together while they danced. Friends did not want to reach out and uncurl their friends nervous fingers and entwine them with their own. Friends did not want to lean forward and press their lips to the friend's standing in front of them.
And then he was hit with an idea, with a thought. If he said something, that could all change. If he just told her how he felt they could become closer, they could become more than just friends...
Taking a step up to her level on the stairs, he settled in front of her, consciously aware of her turning to him and watching him closely. He focused on the wrist corsage that was looped around her left wrist, something Shisui had managed to put together at the last minute as Sasuke struggled to put on the ill fitting tuxedo he had lent him. Unconsciously he reached out and brushed the pale petals of the lavender rose, again surprised by his cousin's skills as a florist. After a moment of studying the rose and gathering his courage, he lifted his head and opened his mouth.
"Sakura, I一"
The rest of the words became lodged in his throat the moment he met her wide green eyes. They were just so expectant, so open, so...lovely. And his earlier thought finished in his mind. If he just told her how he felt they could become closer, they could become more than just friends...but they could also grow apart. What if she did not feel the same way? What would he feel like after the rejection? But if she knew how he truly felt, what he really wanted, would she even want to be his friend anymore? Could they even be friends? If things remained as they were now...at least this way he could be near her. But if she did...his mind prodded again.
"Yes?" she prodded, her eyes looking eager and hopeful.
Sasuke opened his mouth but suddenly he was reminded of the excitement she had expressed about someone else liking her when she told him of her original date. And soon doubt and apprehension replaced his earlier conviction and courage. Of course she didn't like him, she liked Sasori...undeserving, pompous ass Sasori. Who had just broken her delicate and beautiful heart.
While she seemed to be unaffected tonight at the dance, he knew Sakura. Sakura was the master at putting on a brave face. But in reality, she was still wounded and hurting quietly from the rejection. While Sakura was stronger than she once was, no matter how strong a person was, being rejected by a love interest stung, it was part of being human, part of having emotions and attachments. Something Sakura was much better at doing than himself. It was an ability that while many looked down on, he secretly envied the way she could be so compassionate to others.
And again Sasuke was hit with a realization. Sakura didn't need a love confession right now, she needed a friend while her heart mended from the poison that was Sasori to be healthy enough to be given to another again. Someday, he promised himself, someday he would tell her. And he hoped she would trust him enough to offer up that warmth of hers to him. But right now he could not be selfish, it was not the right time.
"Sasuke, were you going to say something?"
He looked up at her, and suddenly he knew what to do. His hand moved up towards her face where it paused right before her eyes. She went slightly cross eyed, giving him an adorable look of confusion before he extended two fingers and jabbed them into the center of her forehead.
"Hn," he hummed. "Sorry Sakura, next time."
She flinched slightly and her hand automatically went up to rub at the spot as he withdrew his own. And with that, he gave her a smirk and left a speechless Sakura gaping at him, confused as he walked back to the Shisui's patrol car without another word.
Sasuke shut the door of the back seat and glanced back to see her dazedly walking into her door as she rubbed at the center of her forehead. He smiled to himself, pleasantly happy about the night. It was like Sakura said, it did not go the way it was originally planned...it was a lot better.
"So did you kiss her?"
Sasuke's dark eyes moved away from the window and narrowed towards the driver's seat where Shisui was grinning back at him.
"You chickened out, didn't you?"
"Shut up, Shisui," Sasuke barked, kicking out at the seat in front of him.
"Oi watch it! I can have you arrested for destruction of a police vehicle!"
Sasuke only answered with a dark glare that dared his cousin to even try it. Immune to Sasuke's threats, Shisui moved the car into gear and began to drive off. They had hardly turned off the street before Sasuke's quiet voice sounded over the hum of the engine.
"Thanks, Shisui."
In the driver's seat Shisui smirked to himself. "Sasuke, so long as that girl ends up in this family, I will do anything you ask."
The car fell silent for a moment before Sasuke's voice filled the cab of the car again. "Could we never talk about anything that occurred between us tonight?"
Shisui let out a barked laugh. "Oh my dear naive little Sasusy, I am your cousin, not a saint. I will be holding this over your head for the rest of your life," he said, turning around and giving Sasuke a zealous wink before turning back to focus on the road. "Sakura and Sasusy, sittin' in a tree," he began to sing, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
Sasuke let out a groan and leaned forward to bury his head in his lap. Just what kind of demon spawn devil did he make a deal with tonight?
"First comes love, then comes marriage..."
Taking off the suit coat he borrowed from the musical performer currently sitting in the driver seat, Sasuke wrapped it around his head in hopes to drown out his cousin's embarrassing serenade. However, it seemed no amount of sound proofing his ears would ever be able to drown out Shisui's enthusiastic ballad.
Bonus Scene (because it messed with the flow but I still wanted to include more Shisui)
Earlier that night...
Once Sasuke had managed to put aside the planning of Sasori's murder his first instinct was to rush over to Sakura's house and see if she was still there, if not he would go to the hotel. But then he realized one flaw in his planning. First off, he needed a suit. With his seemingly endless growing, he knew that the suit his mother had tailored for him nine months ago for a social gathering would be far too short by now. And unless he wanted to ride the bus wearing a tux and Sakura wearing a dress that was in no way shape or fashion, designed for the metro, he had no way to get to the dance. He wasn't old enough to drive, his parents were at a gala with Naruto's parents, Itachi was hours away in Kirigakure, so by the time he could get here, the dance would be over.
Sasuke stared at his frozen hand on the front door handle, trying to think. He could always call Madara who would send him a car but what was he going to do about a suit? Then it dawned on him, there was one person who could help him...with everything. Sasuke slowly closed his eyes before pulling out his phone. Scrolling through his contacts he finally found that said person's number, saved under the name, do not answer.
He let out a sigh and pressed the call button.
It rang out twice before the person picked up and their voice greeted him with an exuberant amount of glee. "Hey Sasucy," came the infuriatingly condescending voice of his cousin.
Sasuke swallowed down the instinctual retort and urge to automatically hang up whenever he heard that tone. His cousin was the last person on earth he wanted to be saying this to, but he could drive, and had far too many suits for even the highest of people in the fashion world. "Shisui, I need your help."
Shisui was driving through the quiet neighborhoods that made up his route in the standardized patrol car as he missed his usual unmarked and customized car that he used when doing his detective work. However tonight he was covering a normal patrol shift as punishment for causing too much calamity damage with his most recent bust. He caught the suspect so he wasn't exactly sure why he was being punished, but apparently causing five car accidents and jumping his own car into the river to catch a perp with an outstanding warrant for a single unpaid parking ticket was regarded as "excessive".
So here he was, serving a month long probation of night patrol and bored out of his mind. Thus when his phone went off and the lit up screen displayed the name Sasucy Poo across the display, he was more than eager to take the call. Grinning widely, he pulled over and put the car into park as he brought his phone to his ear.
"Hey Sasucy," he said.
"Shisui, I need your help," Sasuke replied after a pause, his voice sounding strained as if saying those words were the hardest thing he had ever done in his life.
"No can do little cuz. I am on patrol tonight," Shisui answered, watching out the window as a suspicious looking person with a limp and cloaked face crossed the street. Then again, it could just be an innocent old woman with a scarf on to keep off the cold.
"Shisui...please," he heard Sasuke say, his tone almost pleading.
Shisui froze at Sasuke's words. If he didn't know any better he would think Sasuke was begging...which would mean this was serious. Was someone dying? Did something happen to Itachi? Had Sasuke been kidnapped and was now being held for ransom!
"What is wrong?" Shisui asked, his tone more serious than he had ever used when talking with Sasuke.
"It's Sakura…" Sasuke began, before explaining everything.
Shisui was already turning on the lights and siren and he raced across town before Sasuke had even managed to finish.
I know it is cruel to tease and I am sure some were expecting a confession towards the end of this chapter but I hope you were not too disappointed. It just wasn't quite the right time yet but I was doing some drabbling in some future chapters and ideas and totally wrote the moment when Sasuke eventually does :D so the time will come...eventually! Threw in some random references and a little NaruHina in there for anyone partial to that ship, they are just adorable and was the first time I think I have ever really written them. Happy 2021 everyone! I know the end of 2020 will not automatically make things better but I hope you all stay safe and remember to be your excellent selves even after it is!
neatfreak16 since I can't PM you and for anyone else who is curious, yes I cross post my stories on AO3 under the same username. You can also find me on tumblr where you can find updates and mood boards that go along with my stories.
Up Next: The Original Best Friend: Sasuke already has a bitter taste in his mouth when it comes to red headed boys who give Sakura attention. But what can you do when the new student is not only a red head, but also Sakura's long ago best friend from her life before Sasuke. As we all know, Sasuke does not like to share. And as the saying goes "finders keepers".