Author's note: Gah, the suspense is killing me too… . -writes more-

Gomen.. this one is rather funny at the beginning… at Sasuke's expense.. xDD

It's also way longer than the others.. O.O and a teeny bit OOC…

Chapter 4

His lips moved by themselves, as if he were under some sort of spell, "I was in the old Uchiha ornamental gardens." (Adeacia: ..o.o;; what a let down after the suspense. ToT)

Sakura stared at him incredulously. Ornamental gardens? What was he doing there? Gardening? Ehh.. she shouldn't quite see him doing that.

"What were you doing?" she asked slowly.

"Picking the weeds," was the reply.

Huh?

What the hell kind of reply is that! Uchiha Sasuke weeding a garden? Out of his own choice? Images of Sasuke wearing garden gloves and a shovel flashed before Sakura's eyes. Well, obviously, he wasn't wearing the shovel. But you know what I mean. Sakura struggled to hide her amusement.

"I'm going now," said Sasuke, flustered, and deeply shocked at himself for revealing his secret to Sakura. The regret hit him at once, and the spell Sakura had cast on him was immediately broken.

Sakura stifled her laughter and said, "Can you show me the gardens?"

"…no."

"Why not?"

"I don't have time for this. Go away, I have things to do."

He shrugged her hand off his shoulder and put his key into the lock on his front door. She didn't move. He was just about to turn round and tell her to piss off, but she spoke first: "Okay, then I'll go by myself!"

"Wait-!" he said, but she was gone.

"Oh shit," he groaned, "Why did I tell her?" He put away his key and chased after her over the rooftops. He ran as fast as he could, but she noticed him, laughed and sped up too. Unfortunately, it was too late. She got there before he could stop her. He watched as she disappeared behind the old building he'd lived in as a child.

"This is bad…" he thought. A few seconds later, he jumped down into the garden too, finding his comrade standing stiff in surprise.

"Hn," he said, folding his arms and frowning.

"Sa-Sasuke…" she said, "This is so beautiful…"

She was faced with what was probably the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen. In the corners of the garden were four of the most perfect sakura trees. There were healthy green shrubs and plants round the edges and rose bushes either side of a path running down the middle of the garden. A small pond was situated in the centre, over half of which was a gorgeous cherry wood decking. There were koi swimming happily in the clear pond water and hiding beneath the many white water lotuses. There was a small water feature made of halved bamboo sticks, channelling water into the pond through a small rockery. Everything in the garden was so bright and alive. Sakura just gaped in astonishment. Sasuke did this?

"You can go now," said Sasuke, who was now feeling rather annoyed.

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"You didn't need to know. Go home. Now."

She turned to him slowly and he saw a look of such awe in her eyes, "So you do have a softer side to you, Sasuke-kun…" And she smiled at him. His heart skipped a beat.

Woah.

"That did not just happen," he thought, "I am not that stupid. I need to get her out of here right now."

Sakura noticed the funny look he was giving her. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

He looked down at the floor, "You shouldn't see this."

Sakura realised she'd seen something that meant a lot to him. This was something personal to him and for his eyes only. She'd discovered his weakness. She noticed how different he looked now with his eyes to the ground in submission. It was as if he was a different person.

"I-I'm sorry… Sasuke-kun…" Sakura stuttered, feeling embarrassed and guilty.

"It's too late now," he said, turning and walking down the path through the rose bushes.

Sakura debated with her inner self on what to do.

Sakura: Should I follow him? Or should I leave?

Inner Sakura: Follow him! You'll be able to find out more about his feelings! Go for it, you know you want to!

Sakura: But… he seems so broken down… wouldn't that be taking advantage of him?

Inner Sakura: Shannaro! This may be our only chance to discover things about Sasuke we never knew before! Take it before it slips away!

She remained rooted to the spot, unable to speak or move.

He reached the decking and sat on the edge, feet dangling over the water. All Sakura could do was watch him and he looked back with a piercing stare. She didn't have to decide what to do, because Sasuke began to speak.

"I used to live here with my parents and my brother."

"Uh- I know that, Sasuke-kun…"

"It's been ten years …"

"I know."

"That bastard… he killed them! Every one! Why did he do that? What kind of a sick, twisted person would do that? No one who does that deserves to be alive."

The green eyed kunoichi was unsure of how to reply to this. He seemed agitated. She noticed his fists opening and closing at his sides. His head was bowed and his eyes were shut. He was so tense. All of a sudden, Sakura saw the lost child within him. He'd lost his parents when he was seven. Everyone he'd loved had been taken away from him just like that.

What a cruel fate… He'd grown up without the protection of a father or the softness of a mother. He probably didn't remember what it was like to be told off by his father. Or cared for by his mother when he was ill. He had been unwell before but had still dragged himself to training and completed missions. She understood why now; he had no one to look after him at home, so he didn't see the point in staying at home in bed when he could be out strengthening himself to kill the one person who had broken him. He needed someone to keep his spirits up when he felt down, but, she realised, he'd allowed his pride to conceal this fact. He wasn't good with other people. He always preferred to sit by himself at lunch times rather than with his team mates. If something was troubling him, he'd always hide it and no one would know.

If he was happy, he didn't know how to express himself. If he was depressed, he didn't know how to express himself. He always ended up just appearing arrogant and annoyed, giving off a generally cold impression to others.

This realisation was what caused Sakura to trace his footsteps down the path and sit down beside him.

"Sasuke-kun…" she said quietly, "I understand why you did this…"

"No you don't."

She continued speaking, however, "This is for your clan isn't it? You can't say it, so you express your feelings towards your family through this garden, don't you?"

He was silent as he watched the rippling water and swung his feet back and forth slightly. Sakura felt his awkwardness, noticing a sweatdrop fall from his face. She must've guessed correctly. Her skills of deduction were the best in their team of three. She continued to speculate aloud.

"It looks like you come here often - it's all so well cared for. You must really feel strongly about them. You must come here every day. That's why you were late today; because it was the tenth anniversary of their …passing… you wanted to put in extra effort… ne?"

Still, he didn't speak. One of the fish came to the surface of the water and flipped over, just beneath the surface, so its tail flicked out and made a 'plop' sound.

Author's note: O! Nearing ze end now. :3 I have already written half the next chapter, I just had to split this one cause it was so long. xD Well, the next chapter shall be up within an hour! D