Ahh!! The second chapter is finally up! School has officially started. And well, I need to raise that GPA. Expect little to no writing to be done on my part. Well, until Spring Break or something like that.
Haha the reviews were quite amusing…apparently a SasukeIno marriage BIG nono. Anyhoo…sorry about the total lack of knowledge on New York. I found out that Battery Park is practically on the other side of NYC in relation to Wall Street, which means that Sakura and Naruto walked across Manhattan to get to their restaurant. O.o
What can I say…? Let's just disregard that. On to the story.
Moon River – Zero Sum Game
Naruto's punch sent Sasuke rolling over the table behind him. Sakura screamed and ran over to the fallen man. His hit had left a red mark on the side of Sasuke's face., not to mention various plates of sushi on the ground beside him.
"Sasuke, are you alright? Goodness…look at that." Sakura grabbed a nearby glass and placed it against his face. He winced as the glass' cold sensation stung the fresh injury.
Holding the glass, Sasuke could do nothing but stare in disbelief. The blonde stranger had punched him.
"What the hell are you doing?" growled Sasuke, feeling his right cheek throb with pain.
"I'm giving you what you deserve, you two-timing jackass. Aren't you happy yet?" Naruto had seen how friendly he was acting towards Sakura. "…I'm not going to let you take another one from me."
"What the fuck are you talking abo—oh." Sasuke scoffed as the realization dawned on him. "You never even had a chance to make her yours."
He smirked. Naruto really had changed. Developed, even. Sasuke laughed inwardly. This man that he had known for years to be a scrawny, not to mention moronic pushover had sent him flying with one blow. He had finally taken a few visits to the gym.
"You fucker. I'm going to kick your ass." Spat Naruto.
Naruto was on the verge of making a second lunge at the raven-haired man when Sakura stepped in his line of vision.
"Naruto! What are you doing? Don't even think about hitting this guy again! Uzumaki Naruto, tell me what the hell is going on right now!" demanded an irate Sakura. Her eyes blazed, anger slowly taking over her features. "Answer me, Naruto."
Her infuriation grew as she watched the blonde man glare spitefully at the near-stranger, not speaking a word. Naruto had hardly glanced at Sasuke before deciding to clobber him and insult him with various degrees of profane words.
"Well? W-What's wrong?" Sakura was beginning to worry. Naruto was aggressive and hot-headed, but he didn't assault strangers in public places. And he surely never seemed this furious.
"Sakura, I…He…" Naruto growled, livid. Fury and confusion clouded his ability to form a coherent sentence. His face fell. "I need some air."
With that, he left the restaurant and lost himself in the passing throng.
Sakura could only watch as her coworker walked out of the now semi-demolished restaurant. She had never seen him look so…well, miserable before in the five years they worked together.
I'm not going to let you take another one from me.
What did that mean? Whatever it was, she decided that she didn't care at the moment. Snow fell in droves outside and Naruto's coat was still in her hands.
She was pushing the restaurant's main door when she felt a hand on her shoulder. And then heard a distinct cough.
"Miss, there's still the matter of the bill." The waiter turned and scanned the wreckage. "And I assume, for the broken water glasses and the labor needed to clean the result of this incident. Oh, and of course…there's a ten percent gratuity added to every bill. Well actually, this is a buffet. So that means it's just going to be added to your bill. You're a special lady." Sakura gaped at the man, eyes wide and speechless.
Sasuke sat in taxi S190 and stared out its window, eyes dark. The taxi reeked of the scent of some passenger's odor before him and artificial pine. The beaded seat cover he was sitting on poked his—well it hurt. The driver's attempt at interior decoration had only helped add physical discomfort to the list of undesirable occurrences.
He still couldn't believe it. He had thought Uzumaki Naruto would be out of his life forever. After all, the blonde had given up on her; given up on Ino.
He smirked.
He had married her. But somewhere during the battle for Ino's heart, the woman had lost his interest; he had developed more of an enjoyment for watching Naruto suffer. The man's endless determination had irked him. He had so much of it, even in the face of obvious failure. Now the blonde channeled this determination into obtaining that Sakura woman.
Well then, Sasuke would see that he never succeeded in doing so. He would make Sakura his.
Sakura. Without a doubt, miss Haruno Sakura was indeed beautiful. Sasuke noticed first when she walked into that overpriced skin shop. Her strikingly powder-pink hair had first caught his eye—it wasn't something you saw everyday. It was apparent to him why Naruto would want to win her affections. She seemed to glow with a great inner passion as she spoke; her cheeks rouged and her eyes blazing.
Her eyes.
Her most exquisite features were her eyes. Sea green, and gleaming with inner strength.
They exuded confidence as she expressed her feelings entirely, no holds barred, not even for courtesy. He'd always liked women who didn't hold their feelings back. Those that were constantly gracious and refined struck him as false.
It seemed to him that the quest to win her affections would not be such a terrible one. And it didn't hurt that she was fascinating and easy on the eyes either.
After running four blocks in New York pedestrian traffic, as well as against the direction of falling snow, Sakura was positive that she would be bedridden along with Naruto. She smiled inwardly at the thought. That would be the perfect time to lecture him on the matters of common sense and get him to do her housechores. And make her soup, because Chicken soup really did taste good when she was sick. Oh yes, revenge was sweet.
It was amid her pleasant thoughts of yelling at Naruto when she finally spotted him.
"Naruto!! She shouted. "Uzumaki Naruto!" She forced her way through the crowds, trying her best from knocking others to the ground. Stepping in front of him, she placed her hands on his shoulders and looked up at his face. She gasped.
"Oh God…" she whispered. His face was pallid. His cheeks were already an ominous shade of purple; his eyes red rimmed and lacking their usual glinting quality. Sakura threw the coat on him and led him by the arm until they reached the next climate-controlled building. She was suddenly very grateful for the Starbucks chain and how they forced a coffee shop of theirs on nearly every block of the city.
The place glowed with a comfortable aura and Sakura was instantly surrounded by the familiar scent of roasting coffee and casual banter. This was a definite contrast to the icicle she pulled in behind her.
Ignoring the worried and questioning stares, she eased Naruto into the couch adjacent to the fireplace in the center of the building.
"Naruto."
No response.
"Naruto!" Sakura cried, eyebrows furrowed. The blonde finally looked in her direction. His eyes were still empty, lifeless.
"Naruto. I'm going to get you some coffee, okay?" She smiled brightly. She wanted him to cheer up. He had to cheer up. This stoic, emotionless Naruto was beginning to frighten her. It was too out of character.
"I'm s-sorry, Sakura." He stammered, trying to focus his unsteady gaze on her face. His mouth quivered as he tried to speak. Sakura's hands felt like fire on his own. "That Sasuke...he took someone special from me. Someone I thought I'd spend the rest of my life with, ya know? She was that special. And well, you know how that must've turned out." Naruto paused. He promised himself he wouldn't shed any more tears over her. He had once wept until the tears would no longer come, and that was never to happen again.
"Obviously I haven't forgiven him since. Or her either, for that matter," he continued, "That man was once my best friend, Sakura. I trusted him with everything. And her…I don't know what he said to her, but she sure as hell fell for it." Naruto was seething; he hated unearthing painful memories. It was a zero sum game with emotions, especially Love. But back then, that intruder was the one benefiting. He himself was the one who had always gotten pushed to the ground.
Naruto realized he was rambling, and suddenly became very aware of Sakura's presence and gaze.
He sighed. "Didn't mean to depress you, Sakura-chan." Naruto forced a dimpled smile onto his face. "Don't worry about it, okay? Just as long as I don't see that Sakuke guy again, I act sane. I promise."
He reached over to give her a comforting embrace. "You know I never go back on my word." said Naruto softly.
"Who did he take from you, Naruto?" whispered Sakura.
His eyes widened and he moved to look at her eyes, trying to read her expression.
"He took my fiancée, Yamanaka Ino."
A/N: eh…no on-getting yet. You must develop the angsty personas before the on-getting can begin. So in that sense…a slightly boring chapter. A lot of thoughts and past remembrances. Too many? But the affair will develop. Soon, my pretties, soon. Haha like next chapter?
