Complexity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by summerdragonfly
Chapter V
"Truth"
A/N: Thanks to everyone, especially Lasaire for the corrections! ^^;; My Japanese is a
little rusty, I must apologize XD And I did read somewhere that Sharingan can indeed
tell the difference between shadow clones, so I'm sticking with that statement. =D However,
to each his own, so I'm keeping it my way, ehehehe. I appreciate your view though. It's
only a minor detail, as we really are just focusing on the fact that Takeshi does indeed
have it. Besides, we never know how the Sharingan might advance over time. Yeah. O_o Anyway, in
this chapter, I'm going to assume that Hinata has gotten less shy over time and is now a more
sociable person. There's this chapter and about one or two more to go, so enjoy.
Um...I have tried my best to keep Sasuke in character, and it is a horribly tedious
task. He's not exactly the type to come out and confess all his feelings, is he? I think
I've done about an A- job here but let's just say that he trusts Sakura a lot...
yeah, that sounds good....XDDD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back at Sakura's house, Hinata had come over and the two were having a nice, female-ly
discussion over tea. Hinata had become a dear friend of Sakura's, and had helped
her out a lot over time. Today, the topic was not a favorite of Sakura's---Sasuke.
"So what's going on with you and him anyway?" asked Hinata.
"......." Sakura sighed. "I don't know. I honestly don't know. I wish I did."
"He seems so attached to Takeshi."
"Yes, they've been inseperable lately. It's so unlike him." Sakura laughed.
"It's great to have him back," Hinata said.
"Hai....I've...missed him." Sakura said in a small voice.
No sooner had she said this when Sasuke and Takeshi burst into the door.
Sasuke didn't look angry, but rather worried.
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said rather surprised. "Back so soon? Has he done anything?
What happened?"
"...he didn't do anything wrong." Sasuke said. "But there's something I need
to discuss with you. In private." he looked at Hinata.
"Oh, of course," Hinata smiled. "I've got to be meeting Naruto-kun in a little
bit. I'll see you later, Sakura. Come, Takeshi, let's go visit your uncle
Naruto."
Takeshi said to Sasuke, "You won't tell her, will you?"
".....don't worry." Sasuke said.
Wordlessly, Takeshi followed Hinata out of the door, leaving Sasuke and Sakura
alone.
"What's going on?" Sakura asked Sasuke worriedly. "Is it Takeshi?"
"Yes." Sasuke said seriously. "I should've asked---no, told---you this sooner."
A bad feeling welded up in the pit of Sakura's stomach. *This must be it.
I was hoping I could put it off later, but it looks like I can't.*
"I know." Sasuke said, looking at Sakura. "That Takeshi is my son."
Sakura didn't answer. She closed her eyes and looked away.
"Isn't he, Sakura?" Sasuke said. "I figured from the start. You know me
better than anyone. You knew I knew."
"I...did." Sakura said sadly.
"Didn't you ever wonder why I didn't say anything?" Sasuke said fiercely.
"I wanted to hear it from you. I wanted to you to tell me for sure."
"....."
"And you still can't, can you?"
"How can you even asked me that question?!" Sakura stood up defiantly,
tears brimming in her eyes.
"You should've told me the first time I met Takeshi!"
"I've been trying! Yondaime knows, Sasuke-kun, I've been trying!"
"...some effort you've made." Sasuke scoffed.
"Don't," Sakura said, shaking her head. "Don't you dare take that
attitude with me."
"....?" Sasuke did not expect Sakura to say this.
"Do you know how much I've been struggling to this day?"
"......."
"I knew you knew the truth! It's always right there....he looks
exactly like you, he acts like you, fights like you....and---and---"
Sakura's eyes widened. "My goodness...he has it, doesn't he?" Sakura's voice
was shaking. "The Sharingan, he has it?"
Sasuke nodded silently.
"I thought I was halluncinating the first time I saw it in
him. I refused to let myself believe it."
"Doshite?" Sasuke looked up.
"....I didn't...I didn't want....him to be like you."
Sasuke was taken aback. The same question was on his mind: Why?
"...because..." Sakura sighed. "I was afraid. Afraid he would turn
out like you, afraid that he would just turn his back on everything
that was important to him....But I just couldn't squeeze the Uchiha
out of him, I see. 'He's the spitting image of him, Sakura', people
told me...."
"So you didn't want my son to be like me?" Sasuke said, his tone
rising. "An heir to the Uchiha bloodline has been here for seven
years and you didn't tell me---"
"My God, Sasuke, is that all you care about?!" Sakura said, her
voice rising too. "The clan? The bloodline? Takeshi is a living,
breathing human being, and I refuse to let you talk about my---
about OUR son like that!"
Sasuke was breathing heavily. Why was she telling him this? She
knew that he wanted to restore his clan. But a little voice inside
of him told him that she was right. Then he thought of something.
"....seven, almost eight..."
"What?"
"...you knew, didn't you? That night, you already knew! That you were---"
"Yes, I knew!" Sakura said.
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
"....don't you think I wanted to?! More than anything in the world!
When you asked me to meet you in the park, I thought that it was perfect,
as if fate had allowed me to tell you at the right time....I even
prepared what I was going to say!"
"And what was that?!"
"...." Sakura could not stop the tears that she knew were coming. "'Isn't
this wonderful, Sasuke-kun? We're going to do this together, Sasuke-kun, we're
going to raise this child....aren't we?'" Sakura said in perfect
memory.
"......"
"I was so happy..." Sakura said, smiling through her tears. "I thought you would
be too...."
After a while when no one said anything, Sakura said, "Why did you do it,
Sasuke? Tell me the truth...why did you really do it?"
"Why did you think?"
"I don't know what to think...."
Sasuke sighed, knowing he couldn't delay it anymore. After all, no one deserved
the truth more than Sakura...he owed her the truth. "I can't believe how much
I've changed."
"I've noticed." Sakura said rather impatiently.
"...back then, too..." Sasuke said. "I woke up one day to find myself...SETTLED...
with friends, a well to do shinobi life and even a---"
"Girlfriend?" Sakura asked, knowing Sasuke too well, and knowing that it was
near impossible for him to say that word.
"......." Sasuke nodded. "I had all these things....all these people...and
I had even grown fond of them."
Sakura was hardly believing that she was hearing this. *Maybe...I really
do mean something to him.*
"I remembered imagining what my life would be like if I weren't here. If
I didn't have all these people...and then something struck me. It was
possible. All of this really could be taken away from me."
"How?"
"...Itachi." Sasuke said, his voice growing darker and darker. "He already
did it once, he could do it again.... Take away everything I had...I just didn't
want that to happen again. No, I wouldn't let that happen again." He scoffed. "I even
consulted myself as weak, caring so much about these other people, who I publically
stated to have little meaning to me. But...but the thing that I hated most about myself was
the part of me that cared so much about you."
"...nani..?" Sakura was utterly bemused, and maybe a little angry, too.
"...I didn't know what I would do if anything happened to you." Sasuke
said. "I didn't want to think about what happened if you weren't there with me
anymore. I just couldn't rest knowing that my ultimate opponent was still
out there, and that he could destroy my life and take yours at anytime. I wanted to
do something about it so badly...."
"Why couldn't you have just told me that?" Sakura asked quietly. "I would've understood---"
"I was....afraid." Sasuke said. "I didn't know how to tell you. Leaving
you hanging was hard, but telling you the truth was harder."
"It sure didn't look that way."
"You think it was easy, don't you?" Sasuke said incredulously.
"You had already left me once!" Sakura said. "Why would it be any harder to
leave me again?"
"Well, you're wrong." Sasuke said. "It wasn't easy to leave the most
important thing in the world to me."
"Then why didn't you act more like it?" Sakura said. "Back when we were
still together...you never even told me you loved me. To this day,
I still don't know."
"I did." Sasuke said with extreme difficulty. "And I still do." He
moved closer to her. "...more than you'll ever know."
"Sasuke-kun...." Sakura could feel her face burning, he was dangerously
close to her, their lips inching closer and closer.....
BAM. Sasuke and Sakura broke apart at once, for someone had opened
the door with a loud crash.
.:END CHAPTER V:.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by summerdragonfly
Chapter V
"Truth"
A/N: Thanks to everyone, especially Lasaire for the corrections! ^^;; My Japanese is a
little rusty, I must apologize XD And I did read somewhere that Sharingan can indeed
tell the difference between shadow clones, so I'm sticking with that statement. =D However,
to each his own, so I'm keeping it my way, ehehehe. I appreciate your view though. It's
only a minor detail, as we really are just focusing on the fact that Takeshi does indeed
have it. Besides, we never know how the Sharingan might advance over time. Yeah. O_o Anyway, in
this chapter, I'm going to assume that Hinata has gotten less shy over time and is now a more
sociable person. There's this chapter and about one or two more to go, so enjoy.
Um...I have tried my best to keep Sasuke in character, and it is a horribly tedious
task. He's not exactly the type to come out and confess all his feelings, is he? I think
I've done about an A- job here but let's just say that he trusts Sakura a lot...
yeah, that sounds good....XDDD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back at Sakura's house, Hinata had come over and the two were having a nice, female-ly
discussion over tea. Hinata had become a dear friend of Sakura's, and had helped
her out a lot over time. Today, the topic was not a favorite of Sakura's---Sasuke.
"So what's going on with you and him anyway?" asked Hinata.
"......." Sakura sighed. "I don't know. I honestly don't know. I wish I did."
"He seems so attached to Takeshi."
"Yes, they've been inseperable lately. It's so unlike him." Sakura laughed.
"It's great to have him back," Hinata said.
"Hai....I've...missed him." Sakura said in a small voice.
No sooner had she said this when Sasuke and Takeshi burst into the door.
Sasuke didn't look angry, but rather worried.
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said rather surprised. "Back so soon? Has he done anything?
What happened?"
"...he didn't do anything wrong." Sasuke said. "But there's something I need
to discuss with you. In private." he looked at Hinata.
"Oh, of course," Hinata smiled. "I've got to be meeting Naruto-kun in a little
bit. I'll see you later, Sakura. Come, Takeshi, let's go visit your uncle
Naruto."
Takeshi said to Sasuke, "You won't tell her, will you?"
".....don't worry." Sasuke said.
Wordlessly, Takeshi followed Hinata out of the door, leaving Sasuke and Sakura
alone.
"What's going on?" Sakura asked Sasuke worriedly. "Is it Takeshi?"
"Yes." Sasuke said seriously. "I should've asked---no, told---you this sooner."
A bad feeling welded up in the pit of Sakura's stomach. *This must be it.
I was hoping I could put it off later, but it looks like I can't.*
"I know." Sasuke said, looking at Sakura. "That Takeshi is my son."
Sakura didn't answer. She closed her eyes and looked away.
"Isn't he, Sakura?" Sasuke said. "I figured from the start. You know me
better than anyone. You knew I knew."
"I...did." Sakura said sadly.
"Didn't you ever wonder why I didn't say anything?" Sasuke said fiercely.
"I wanted to hear it from you. I wanted to you to tell me for sure."
"....."
"And you still can't, can you?"
"How can you even asked me that question?!" Sakura stood up defiantly,
tears brimming in her eyes.
"You should've told me the first time I met Takeshi!"
"I've been trying! Yondaime knows, Sasuke-kun, I've been trying!"
"...some effort you've made." Sasuke scoffed.
"Don't," Sakura said, shaking her head. "Don't you dare take that
attitude with me."
"....?" Sasuke did not expect Sakura to say this.
"Do you know how much I've been struggling to this day?"
"......."
"I knew you knew the truth! It's always right there....he looks
exactly like you, he acts like you, fights like you....and---and---"
Sakura's eyes widened. "My goodness...he has it, doesn't he?" Sakura's voice
was shaking. "The Sharingan, he has it?"
Sasuke nodded silently.
"I thought I was halluncinating the first time I saw it in
him. I refused to let myself believe it."
"Doshite?" Sasuke looked up.
"....I didn't...I didn't want....him to be like you."
Sasuke was taken aback. The same question was on his mind: Why?
"...because..." Sakura sighed. "I was afraid. Afraid he would turn
out like you, afraid that he would just turn his back on everything
that was important to him....But I just couldn't squeeze the Uchiha
out of him, I see. 'He's the spitting image of him, Sakura', people
told me...."
"So you didn't want my son to be like me?" Sasuke said, his tone
rising. "An heir to the Uchiha bloodline has been here for seven
years and you didn't tell me---"
"My God, Sasuke, is that all you care about?!" Sakura said, her
voice rising too. "The clan? The bloodline? Takeshi is a living,
breathing human being, and I refuse to let you talk about my---
about OUR son like that!"
Sasuke was breathing heavily. Why was she telling him this? She
knew that he wanted to restore his clan. But a little voice inside
of him told him that she was right. Then he thought of something.
"....seven, almost eight..."
"What?"
"...you knew, didn't you? That night, you already knew! That you were---"
"Yes, I knew!" Sakura said.
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
"....don't you think I wanted to?! More than anything in the world!
When you asked me to meet you in the park, I thought that it was perfect,
as if fate had allowed me to tell you at the right time....I even
prepared what I was going to say!"
"And what was that?!"
"...." Sakura could not stop the tears that she knew were coming. "'Isn't
this wonderful, Sasuke-kun? We're going to do this together, Sasuke-kun, we're
going to raise this child....aren't we?'" Sakura said in perfect
memory.
"......"
"I was so happy..." Sakura said, smiling through her tears. "I thought you would
be too...."
After a while when no one said anything, Sakura said, "Why did you do it,
Sasuke? Tell me the truth...why did you really do it?"
"Why did you think?"
"I don't know what to think...."
Sasuke sighed, knowing he couldn't delay it anymore. After all, no one deserved
the truth more than Sakura...he owed her the truth. "I can't believe how much
I've changed."
"I've noticed." Sakura said rather impatiently.
"...back then, too..." Sasuke said. "I woke up one day to find myself...SETTLED...
with friends, a well to do shinobi life and even a---"
"Girlfriend?" Sakura asked, knowing Sasuke too well, and knowing that it was
near impossible for him to say that word.
"......." Sasuke nodded. "I had all these things....all these people...and
I had even grown fond of them."
Sakura was hardly believing that she was hearing this. *Maybe...I really
do mean something to him.*
"I remembered imagining what my life would be like if I weren't here. If
I didn't have all these people...and then something struck me. It was
possible. All of this really could be taken away from me."
"How?"
"...Itachi." Sasuke said, his voice growing darker and darker. "He already
did it once, he could do it again.... Take away everything I had...I just didn't
want that to happen again. No, I wouldn't let that happen again." He scoffed. "I even
consulted myself as weak, caring so much about these other people, who I publically
stated to have little meaning to me. But...but the thing that I hated most about myself was
the part of me that cared so much about you."
"...nani..?" Sakura was utterly bemused, and maybe a little angry, too.
"...I didn't know what I would do if anything happened to you." Sasuke
said. "I didn't want to think about what happened if you weren't there with me
anymore. I just couldn't rest knowing that my ultimate opponent was still
out there, and that he could destroy my life and take yours at anytime. I wanted to
do something about it so badly...."
"Why couldn't you have just told me that?" Sakura asked quietly. "I would've understood---"
"I was....afraid." Sasuke said. "I didn't know how to tell you. Leaving
you hanging was hard, but telling you the truth was harder."
"It sure didn't look that way."
"You think it was easy, don't you?" Sasuke said incredulously.
"You had already left me once!" Sakura said. "Why would it be any harder to
leave me again?"
"Well, you're wrong." Sasuke said. "It wasn't easy to leave the most
important thing in the world to me."
"Then why didn't you act more like it?" Sakura said. "Back when we were
still together...you never even told me you loved me. To this day,
I still don't know."
"I did." Sasuke said with extreme difficulty. "And I still do." He
moved closer to her. "...more than you'll ever know."
"Sasuke-kun...." Sakura could feel her face burning, he was dangerously
close to her, their lips inching closer and closer.....
BAM. Sasuke and Sakura broke apart at once, for someone had opened
the door with a loud crash.
.:END CHAPTER V:.