Author Note: Love this Chapter.
Eripmav
Part Two, Chapter One
Sakura's eyes fluttered open; sunlight spilled through her windows and spread across her floor, bringing everything it touched to life. 'What a beautiful day…' she thought happily as she sat up. She swung her legs over the side of her bed, and slipped them into pink bunny slippers.
Shuffling to the kitchen, she started on coffee and was just pouring herself a bowl of Cheerios when somebody knocked on her front door. She panicked.
She was in her pajamas; her hair was a mess and worst of all: she had no makeup on. She managed to squeak out a "Hang on!" and ran to her room, brushed her hair and slid into a fluffy pink housecoat.
"COMING!" she hollered sliding to a stop in front of the door and opening it with a strangled 'huff'.
"AK! SA-SASUKE!" she hid behind her door. 'NO!' she screamed inwardly. 'He can't see me like this!' /TOO LATE/ Inner Sakura pointed out helpfully.
"Um… hi… Sorry to bother you so early in the morning but –"
"OH MY GOD! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" Sakura immediately forgot about her horrid appearance and stepped out of her cover to get a better look at Sasuke. His eye was puffy and purple and his bottom lip was swollen.
"Yeah… Got in a fight last night on the way home… Anyway, I was wondering – if it's not too much trouble… do you have any raw steaks? I kind of ate all of mine…" he cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand.
"Oh…" Sakura frowned. "I don't think so…" When Sasuke nodded and turned to leave, she once again panicked. "No! Wait, I'll go look!" She grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside.
She pushed him into her couch and ran to her refrigerator. She babbled about anything and everything just to keep him there longer. "Um… nope…" she said coming back into the living room. Sasuke looked her up and down.
"Do you always only wear one slipper?" he asked cocking an eyebrow; Sakura gasped.
"Ah… I'm going to run to the corner store. I'll be right back…" She blushed deeply, giving herself an excuse to leave temporarily.
--
She didn't realize she was still in her night things until she was walking into the store. She was so busy being embarrassed about Sasuke, she forgot to change. Inner Sakura laughed evilly as other shoppers gave her odd looks.
She grabbed a few steaks and paid for them, her face a deep crimson (a color that clashed dreadfully with her hair) the entire time.
She sighed heavily when she stepped back into her apartment. This was so far not the awesome morning she had anticipated earlier. She gasped in horror when she walked into her living room, nearly dropping her bags and blushing even brighter.
Sasuke sat on the couch still… her twelve foot scarf, originally for him, in his lap. He smirked.
"This is awfully long." He said teasingly. Sakura forced herself to calm down and ignore her Inner self's crying laughter and ripped open a steak.
"Yeah, well," she said placing it on his bruised and yellowing eye. "Better not make fun of it too much; it was your last years Christmas present." He raised his eyebrows.
"Really?" he sad sounding mildly amused. "Must have got lost in the mail, I never got it…"
"Yeah, must have." Sakura rolled her eyes standing up and retrieving another steak from the bag now on the floor. "Here, you must be hungry."
"Hn. Thank you." Sakura watched in fascination as Sasuke chewed on it. It was so disgusting… but then again… what else could he eat without hurting people?
"Good?" she asked shifting her weight. Sasuke shook his head and let his eyes wander the room. Neither realized when he had finished his 'meal'. (If you can call it that) Their eyes met for a second – The clock chimed nine.
Sasuke jumped up, stepping on the scarf that had somehow managed to twist its way around his ankles. He tripped forward. Sakura automatically reached out to break his fall, getting herself tangled and found herself falling with Sasuke rather than helping. She yelped when she hit the ground, Sasuke on top of her. Sasuke took a sharp intake of breath as he tried to lift himself off her, only managing to get into a more intimate position.
"Here," Sakura cleared her throat and sat herself up, reaching down for the scarf. The end of it was just out of reach so she sat further forward, putting her chin on Sasuke's shoulder. She snatched up the scarf and pulled, tightening its grip rather than pulling Sasuke, and herself, free.
"This isn't exactly an easy position to hold…" Sasuke said through clenched teeth. "So if you hurry along, we'll both be relieved." Sakura nodded uneasily, her heart racing. Her finger was now caught in one of the scarf's many uneven stitches. This was so not good. (Not that she didn't enjoy having Sasuke so close…)
She collapsed back onto the floor, holding her hand out to keep the scarf from cutting off her fingers' circulation.
"What?" Sasuke asked shifting his position a tad.
"Uh… I'm stuck." Sasuke sighed and said: "Here, why don't we try this…" He rolled onto his side, Sakura dragging along with him as the scarf's grip on her finger tightened. "Ow!" she cried bringing her other hand out from under herself and Sasuke and trying to free her hand.
She kicked in frustration just as she got free and cheered quietly, only to find her foot now caught in the tangled mess.
Sasuke propped himself up on his elbow and reached down with his other hand and started untangling one of his feet.
"Oi! Sakura!" Sakura shrieked and Sasuke started at the sudden sound coming from the front of the apartment, falling back on top of Sakura.
Naruto.
"Sorry to bother you so early, but I wanted to return the book I borrowed from you. Your door was unlocked and I know you're always up at this time, so…"
Sakura stiffened as she heard Naruto's footsteps coming towards the living room.
"Oh my God." Sakura craned her neck and saw Naruto staring at her and Sasuke (who groaned) on her living room floor in a very suggestive position. His eyes widened.
"No! Naruto! It's not what it looks like!" Sakura said quickly.
"Oh… my… GOD!" Naruto screamed.
"……" Sasuke rolled back onto his side and reached down for the scarf again; he sighed heavily.
"No, really, Naruto! NOTHING happened!" Sakura sputtered feeling her foot come free.
"Yeah, I can SEE that! At least your clothes are still on… but I don't even WANT –"
"NOTHING HAPPENED! Sasuke was looking at the scarf I made, and then the clock chimed nine –"
"And you both decided it was a good time to get it on." Sakura ignored that comment.
"He jumped up, but the scarf, being so long, had tangled around his feet and he fell over –"
"Taking you with him. I see. Sasuke, I didn't think that you were like that." Sasuke snapped his head up and glared.
"No, dobe." He growled as Sakura strained for the rest of the scarf. "She tried to help me, but just got herself tangled in a mess. We fell in this kind of position –"
"And you thought 'Wow! I kinda like this!'"
"FELL IN THIS KIND OF POSITION and Sakura –"
"What's going on here?" Sasuke groaned and flopped back to the ground, not caring what it looked like. Sakura 'um'ed'.
Kakashi raised his eyebrows and said "I was just walking by… you were making quite a hullabaloo. The front door was wide open!" Naruto snorted.
"Yeah, I just walked in on their play time." He crossed his arms angrily.
"FINE!" Sasuke yelled holding himself off Sakura once again. "YES! We were getting it ON! Happy now!"
Naruto cleared his throat and turned to leave. Sakura started squirming and Kakashi scratched his head.
"Really? It just looks like you got tangled in that scarf and fell in a…ah… suggestive position and were trying to untangle yourselves when maybe Naruto walked in…" Sasuke moaned and fell over once again, cursing every curse imaginable.
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Sasuke was in a very bad mood for the next few days. It was like a dark storm cloud hanging over his head that zapped whoever happened to get too close to him. He must have decided he had received enough physical contact to last a long, long time – and he probably needed to recover.
Sakura was silent – for the most part, shy. She hovered around not quite in sight. She jumped whenever somebody said her name or her and Sasuke's in the same sentence.
They, Sasuke and Sakura, had both decided, (after getting fully untangled with Kakashi's help) to keep the scarf locked up somewhere safe rather than destroy it – Sakura didn't have the heart.
Naruto was cheerful (oddly). He still didn't fully believe the real story as to what happened (told by Kakashi after tying him up and gagging him – the only way to get him to listen). And he loved to go around the village and tell everybody his juiced up version of what he had walked in on. It was getting pretty far from the truth…
People Sakura didn't even know were giving her odd looks.
Tazuna had gone home early – Inari had fallen ill. And Kakashi left for some mission with some of the other cell leaders. The three were on their own.
"See those two over there?" Naruto pointed out Sasuke who was sitting on a bench glaring at him (a bench in the shade of course) and Sakura who was under a tree. "Heh, I walked in on them." He waggled his eyebrows at the old lady to whom he was telling his story to. She gasped, eager to hear more. "Yeah, they were on my living room floor! Can you believe it? The girl of my dreams and the jerk who knows it! My BEST friends, to-boot!" Naruto growled in Sasuke's direction for effect.
"Clothes were flying everywhere!" he continued, not noticing that Sasuke had risen to his feet and was stalking over to him, eyes glowing bright red. The old lady did, however – she gasped again and started backing away. Naruto finally turned, coming nose to chest with a very angry Uchiha.
"When I'm angry enough, I have noticed, my fangs grow conveniently longer and my eyes go red, and it's not the Sharingan." He made sure Naruto got a glimpse at his teeth. "And I'm hungry. So, either you shut the hell up, or I'll close that over-sized mouth for you." Naruto swallowed hard and quickly turned back to the old lady who had paled considerably.
"And, umm… It turned out to be two newlyweds in the wrong house – TELL ALL!" he dashed away as fast as he could.
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Sakura stalked down the street at a pace so fast, people in her way had to jump to get out of it.
"You going so fast!" A shop woman grabbed her wrist in attempt to slow her. "You slow down, yes?" She patted Sakura's cheek.
"Fine, whatever." She snatched her arm away and turned sharply to keep walking, but crashed into something solid. "SHIT!" she screamed landing hard on her buttocks.
"Oh, I'm – Sakura?"
Sasuke!
It was Sasuke!
Why now?
'I can't face him yet!' Sakura thought frantically.
He reached out his hand to her. She took it, her face beginning to flush. "S-sorry…" Sakura nodded as he helped her up, not daring to meet his eyes.
"Oh! My orange stand! You knocked over my orange stand!" Sakura looked up and saw an old man rushing towards them, babbling about when they had collided, they had upset his display of oranges. They were now currently rolling and bouncing all over the street. "You!" he pointed at them. "You, clean them up!"
Sakura nodded and started running after the fruit, still not looking at Sasuke. She kept her eyes down whenever he happened by in front of her. She could feel him watching her as well, which added to her embarrassment.
After fifteen minutes of orange-chasing, they had all that they could find together in a neat pile. Sasuke helped the vendor right his stand and Sakura started placing the oranges carefully, one by one on its surface.
"Sorry," she said for the umpteenth time. The vender waved her off and worked on his display. "I seem to be doing that a lot these days…" she mumbled walking away slowly.
"Both times it was my fault." Sasuke said eyeing her. "Something wrong?" Sakura shook her head. They walked in silence for a minute. Sakura looked up.
"Um," they both said at the same time.
"You go first…" she said fingering the hem of her shirt.
"No, you can –" Sasuke stopped himself.
"Just… I wanted to say… sorry… about the other day… that was kinda embarrassing." she peeked at Sasuke, he nodded.
"Yeah, um… me too." A small smile found its way on his –beautiful- lips and he slowed his pace. "Actually, I was going…" he pointed in the opposite direction.
"Right!" Sakura said quickly. "Uh…"
"I better go."
"Okay… See you later!" Sasuke cleared his throat and turned around and began walking away.
--
Sasuke's mind wandered. He didn't have to leave so early. It's not like he was in a hurry. He wasn't even going anywhere in particular! They could have talked and – WHAT WAS HE THINKING!
SAKURA! She was the annoying little girl who was obsessed with him… Annoying girl with the big forehead and who followed him everywhere! The annoying girl who always got perfect scores and tried to show off just for him… The annoying girl… beautiful woman… who didn't seem so annoying anymore…
Sasuke was shocking himself. (This seemed to be happening a lot lately.) Why was he – of all people – thinking like this? Sakura haunted his thoughts and he couldn't chase her away. And when there was a time where he wasn't thinking about her, she was right in front of him…
Bright green eyes and silky hair.
"Oh my GOD, Sasuke, SHUT UP!" he covered his ears with his hands and squeezed his eyes shut. What was happening to him!
This was exactly the way he should not be acting! This was unlike him, and he was starting to scare, which was even more unlike him!
Where was Sakura? She could –
NO! MUST NOT THINK ABOUT –
SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!
'I'm hungry, dammit! HUNGRY!' Sasuke opened his eyes and looked around, but none of the people around him looked biting-worthy. (Not to mention, they were all starting to back slowly away from him…)
If he were with Sakura, she'd probably slit her own wrist for him –
"STOP IT!" Sasuke screamed angrily at the sky.
He needed to get out of the sun. The heat must be getting to him…
He ran the rest of the way home and locked himself inside, breathing heavily.
His chest was starting to ache as he paced around his bedroom. What this what they called love?
Wait a moment.
SAKURA? LOVE? HIM!
No, no, no, no, no… Not him. Not Uchiha Sasuke. He DID NOT fall in love. He DID… not? A small voice somewhere in the back of his mind begged to differ. And it was that little voice that grew louder and louder until it was the only thing ringing in his mind. So loud he had to shout just to hear himself.
HE WAS IN LOVE WITH HARUNO SAKURA!
"I AM IN LOVE WITH –" He stopped himself. "No." he squeaked very quietly and falling to the floor.
This couldn't be.
He had to drain Sakura… If he wanted to be normal again… but… That would mean killing her.
It wasn't worth it. It couldn't be.
He could live like this. But…
What did Sakura think…? About… him. Now that he was different.
Sasuke sighed.
'One step at a time.' He told himself getting up off the floor and walking slowly to his door. 'One step at a time…'