Chappie 11 is now up!
Listen guys, first off, the exams are near so I'll only be able to update from the beginning of July (Summer Vacation)
Also, here are some things I gotta say to some of my lovely readers:
animelover171: Haha glad you like it ;) thank you so much for the kind words.
ILoveSxS: I so agree to that but Sakura being too lovey dovey would spoil the story . . . LOL. Glad you're enjoying it. Thanks.
mangafreack: No way! I'm not taking it as an angry feedback. ^_ ^ in some stories, Naruto is way too dumb, I agree! But it makes him all the more lovable. Of course he is as strong as Sasuke! It's just that I'm not writing much about their strength. Don't worry; Naruto plays an important and supportive role in this fanfic.
CHAPTER 11- The Hoshigaki Seafood Restaurant
The weekend came by and Kakashi's class met up at the bus stop. Kiri was a two hour drive so they had to leave at six in the morning.
Neji and Tenten sat together talking about a football game. Naruto and Hinata sat together listened to some music from Hinata's iPod. Shikamaru was sleeping and Ino was going through a fashion magazine. Sasuke and Sakura sat together.
Sasuke looked at Sakura and saw her bags under her eyes and noticed that her otherwise curious emerald eyes were now a dull jade, "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Sakura said flatly. "Just . . . tired."
"Hn." Sasuke said as he pushed Sakura's head down on his shoulder.
Sakura raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing?"
"Get some sleep," Sasuke told her. "I'll wake you up when we arrive in Kiri."
Sakura wanted to argue but she didn't have the strength to. She murmured a "Thank you" and closed her eyes.
Sasuke stared at Sakura as she slept. For someone who has been through so much, she looked like she was at peace. Sasuke tucked a strand of hair from her face.
"Teme," Naruto whispered from the seat in front of him. He grinned at Sasuke. "Admit it; you like Sakura-chan."
"Hn. I do not." Sasuke said flatly.
"Yeah right," Naruto said sarcastically. "I can see the way you look at her, teme. Do something before someone else takes her."
Sasuke wanted to snap back but he knew Naruto was right; he did want Sakura to be his. But Sakura was already dealing with so much. He didn't want to burden her anymore.
"I . . . can't." Sasuke murmured.
"What do you mean you can't?" Naruto asked in confusion. "All you have to do is-"
"I can't okay!" Sasuke said coldly. He sighed and sadly gazed out the window. "I just . . . can't Naruto."
His voice was laced with a hint of sadness. Sasuke stared out of the bus window, trying to get his mind off the pink agent. Naruto, being his best friend, realized there was something about Sakura that was holding Sasuke back from what he desired.
Naruto sighed, "Sasuke, nothing is impossible if you try." And with that he turned back in front to talk to Hinata.
After a long drive, they arrived at the water land. Before anyone stepped out, Kakashi made an announcement.
"Now remember kids," Kakashi chided. "You have to be on your best behavior. Take notes for it will be useful in your exams and also you are allowed to take pictures. Yosh! Let's go."
The class murmured excitedly as they hurried out of the bus. Sasuke turned to Sakura and gently shook her. Sakura moaned in her sleep and slowly opened her eyes.
"We're in Kiri now." Sasuke said softly.
Sakura nodded, "Let's go."
Suigetsu met them outside the bus, "Now listen; I'll try to buy you enough time for you to get the job done. The owner of the restaurant is not a bad man so violence wouldn't be needed."
Sakura nodded, "Thank you Suigetsu."
Suigetsu grinned, "No problem. Oh and get the job done fast. No detours, two of you." Suigetsu winked playfully and jogged off.
Sakura sighed and shook her head, "Let's go."
Hoshigaki Seafood Restaurant was a few blocks south from the water land. It was big blue building that had a huge shark toy above the sign board. The whole place was lit up and fancy.
"Well," said Sakura. "Let's go in."
The duo were expecting a really fancy restaurant with expensive furniture but it consisted of several sushi bars and the tables and chairs were the ones that you usually see in fast food restaurants. The whole place was packed; the chefs sliced and diced different fishes as they prepared sushi and other seafood and waiters went around taking order and serving food to the customers.
"Hello." said a voice. It was a girl with purple hair tied in two braids and brown eyes. She looked about Sakura's age. She must have been a waitress at the place since she was wearing a pink apron that said 'Hoshigaki Seafood Restaurant' on the pocket of her apron. She looked at Sasuke and blushed. Sasuke inwardly groaned; fan girl.
"My name is Ami," she said with a shy smile. "How may I help you?"
"We would like to meet the owner of the restaurant." Sakura said flatly. Ami looked at Sakura and wrinkled her nose in disgust. She then turned back to Sasuke and batted her eyelashes, "Would you like to meet him too?"
"Hn." Sasuke said as he looked away.
Ami giggled and grabbed Sasuke's arm, "Let's go."
Before Ami could drag Sasuke away, Sakura grabbed Sasuke's other hand. She glared at Ami, "Equal hospitality must be shown to all the customers. That is the first rule to a successful business. You do not that by flirting with customers."
Ami straightened her braids, "Yeah, yeah; but he's not your boyfriend right? So the rule to a successful business doesn't say you can't find true love on the job." She smiled flirtatiously at Sasuke who sighed, annoyed.
Sakura bit her lip, annoyed and the purple haired waitress. Then she smirked, "You're right, he isn't my boyfriend. He's my fiancé."
Both Ami and Sasuke looked at Sakura, baffled.
"But . . . you guys are high school students!" Ami exclaimed.
"So?" Sakura said coolly. "That doesn't mean we can't be engaged right? Now show us where the owner of the restaurant is or I'll report you saying you were flirting with my husband to be."
Ami cleared her throat and spoke, "Hoshigaki-sama is in the back. Take this door; it leads to a corridor. He's in the second door to the left." Ami pointed to a wooden door at the back of the restaurant and went away mumbling something about how all the hot guys were taken already.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Sakura, "Fiancé?"
Sakura shrugged, "I had to think of something or else she wouldn't leave us alone would she?"
The two of them followed the instructions that Ami gave them. The corridor seemed never-ending. The walls were a sea blue cover and the floor was made of marble. They found the door they were looking for and stood in front of it.
Sakura knocked three times.
"Come in." A gruff male voice said from inside.
Sakura opened the door slowly. Inside, there was a large fireplace burning in the corner with three chairs in front of it. Several stuffed animal heads hung from the wall along with pictures of the restaurant when it was first founded, a few guns and a portrait of Matsumoto Yuki.
Sakura tensed when she saw the portrait. Her mother was smiling back from the photo at her and it brought back bad memories again. Sasuke put a hand on Sakura's shoulder to comfort her. Sakura nodded in thanks and the two of them stepped inside.
"How my I help you?" asked the same gruff voice. It was man who was sitting in one of the chairs in front of the fire place. He looked like he was in his mid-forties with spiky indigo hair and a slightly wrinkled and somewhat blue face. He grinned at the two and showed his teeth which looked like the teeth of a shark.
"I'm Kisame," said the man. "Please have a seat."
The two took a seat. Sakura cleared her throat and spoke, "Hello Kisame-san. I am Sakura and this is Sasuke. We are here to ask you a few questions-"
"About Matsumoto Yuki," Kisame said with a sad grin. He sighed and looked at the picture of Yuki on the wall. "I knew this day would come."
"You knew we were coming?" asked Sasuke.
"Well I didn't expect you to come," Kisame said playfully. "Tell me, how is Itachi? It's been several years since I've seen that boy . . ."
"Don't change the subject," said Sasuke. "You weren't expecting me but you were expecting Sakura."
After a brief silence, Kisame spoke, "That is correct. As I predicted, a child of Matsumoto Yuki is just as smart as her."
"How do you know I'm a child of Matsumoto Yuki?" Sakura asked slowly.
Kisame looked at Sakura, "My dear, I knew your mother. I'm the one who named you."
"You . . . you're my god father?" Sakura asked baffled.
"Yuki gave birth to you on a mission," explained Kisame. "She was tracking a group of thieves and she had to stop by at my restaurant because her water broke. I helped her and she was grateful. As a token of her appreciation, she told me to name her little angel and I did; Sakura."
"If you knew who I was," said Sakura. She sounded angry and a little hurt. "Why didn't you help me when I needed it? Why?"
Kisame sighed and looked at the fire. His bluish face looked purple in the light of the fire.
"Sakura," he said sadly. "Things got . . . complicated. Your mother was a wonderful woman. But . . . a man would do anything for his family ne?"
"What are you talking about?" Sakura said shakily.
"I . . . did something terrible," Kisame admitted, his voice laced with guilt. "Something that I truly regret."
"You," Sakura said slowly. "You . . . you're related to my mother's death aren't you?"
A tear slid down Kisame's cheek, "I can't lie to you. I was at a crisis. My restaurant had burned down and I couldn't even access into my bank account. I had no money at the time to support my family and my mother was in the hospital fighting cancer. Her bills needed to be paid but I didn't have the money.
Then I received a phone call. The person told me to come and get the body of Yuki and dump in somewhere."
A tear slid down Sakura's cheek, "My mom wasn't killed by a gang . . ."
Kisame smiled sadly, "You never believed that crap did you? No she wasn't. She was stabbed multiple times to get the killer off the trail. I agreed because I was foolish and desperate. As I dragged her body through the park, she spoke to me. I was shocked she was even alive.
She told me to leave her in the park. She told me it brought back many good memories for you and her. I asked, no, begged for her forgiveness and being the amazing person she is, she did. I left her there and ran away. I go to that park often to remember Yuki."
Sasuke grabbed Kisame by the collar, "You're telling me Sakura lost her mother because of you? You could have saved her!"
"Sasuke," Sakura said her voice impossibly soft. She had tears streaming mercilessly down her face. "Let him go."
Sasuke reluctantly let go of Kisame. Kisame went down on his knees in front of Sakura and started to weep, "I'm sorry Sakura. I failed Yuki and I failed you."
Sakura gave a small smile, "Kisame-san, for some reason I can't bring myself to hate you. But you knew the real killer don't you? Tell me who it is. Do it for me. Do it for my mom."
Kisame shook his head, "I swore never to speak his name. He worked with Orochimaru from the beginning and planned all of it."
"So Orochimaru isn't the real killer." Sasuke murmured.
"But he was involved in the murder," Kisame said bitterly. He turned to Sakura. "Sakura, if anything happened to you, I'd never be able to live with myself. Stay away from your mother's case."
"But I have to solve it," Sakura yelled angrily. She then sighed. "Kisame-san, you'd avenge your mother is she was murdered wouldn't you? Tell me who it is. If you don't, innocent people could get killed just like my mother."
After a long silence, Kisame spoke, "I swore never to spoke his name and I don't go back on my word. However, I will tell you this; he manipulates people to make himself seem innocent. He's a real genius and the mastermind behind it all."
Sakura shook her head, "I don't understand."
Kisame smiled, "You will, soon enough. Remember this; the face of your worst enemy can be the face of your best friend. Take care, my child." He kissed Sakura's forehead and stroked her hair.
Kisame fell upon her and Sakura caught him. She respected him; a man who lived a life of guilt. The pain and depression weakened him but he held on until Sakura came. Now he had drifted off to another world with a peaceful mind. Sakura put Kisame's cold body back in his chair.
"May the gods be with you." Sakura murmured as she planted a soft kiss upon her god father's head. She then turned to Sasuke, "Let's go."
They went back to the water land in silence. They made it back just in time too. The bus had arrived and the class was ready to head back to Konoha.
The bus ride was silent. Sakura seemed to be deep in thought and Sasuke knew she was thinking about her mother's killer. She seemed lost and confused and Sasuke felt so . . . helpless; he hated the feeling.
After reaching Konoha, Sasuke offered to drive Sakura home. He walked Sakura to her doorstep.
"Get some rest," he told her. "I'll . . . see you tomorrow." He walked back to his car but when he reached halfway, two hands wrapped themselves around his waist. Baffled he turned around only to be met my Sakura's lips upon his.
He was shocked at first as Sakura was kissing him with so much passion but eventually he gave in and kissed back. Sakura had tears streaming down her face and after a while she pulled away and hugged Sasuke.
"Sasuke," she murmured shakily. "I . . . I need you. Please . . . make love to me, Sasuke. Please?"
Sasuke was shocked by what she asked him but he looked at the pink haired agent, lost, confused and sad with tears dribbling down her cheeks. He brushed the tears away with the pad of his thumb and kissed her. They went inside and Sasuke made love to the pink haired agent.
He pulled the covers over them and held her close. Before sleep could take over him, he whispered the words that he had kept in his heart for so long, "Sakura . . . I love you."
Sakura stared at the sleeping face of Sasuke and more tears streamed down her cheeks. She snuggled close to him and wrapped her arms around his body. This may be the last time she would ever see him and she knew that because her life was about to take a different turn.
Me: -hoot! - That was some hot love up there!
Suigetsu: Erm . . . hope you liked it. Psy-chan got a bit horny writing that.
Me: Hey I did NOT get horny!
Suigetsu- grins and shrugs-
Itachi: Please leave a feedback. We'll update after Psy-chan's exams are over.